A Review of Cranium Hullabalaoo

We were on vacation at the family cabin and wanted some
civilization so we went shopping at Wal Mart. I went to look
for something for the kids to do and found hullabaloo and
Cadoo, (both Cranium.) I finally decided on hullabaloo
because it encouraged physical activity and listening skills. I
put it in the cart, much to my husband's dismay and luckily it
was under the $25.00CDN limit he set.

It was an instant hit with everyone at the cabin, 5 little girls. -
ages: 2,3,3,4& 6 and one 6 year old boy. Even my teenage
cousins played it with my little girl and of course grandma
had to get in on the action too.

The best part, even after being played on sandy floors it isn't
any worse for wear, just a little dirty. I have a huge issue with
toys that don't last, this one lasts.

The game consists of 16 colourful play pads in various
colours and shapes with an image printed on them. The
talking audio console is large, needs 3 AA batteries (not
included) and has one big red button, that's it. No small
breakable pieces.

The kids place the pads around the room, each steps on a
purple cranium pad and pushes the big red button. The
console tells them what to do, "Crawl to a yellow," "Spin to a
square," "skip to a triangle." The winner is announced at the
end of a sequence, "Is anyone standing on the piano?" The
winner is then instructed to "take a bow," or "do a funky
dance." Then it starts over again. Its so simple and the kids
just love it. I love that they can set it up and play it without
adult help.

At most we had 9 kids playing, at least 1 kid played. The box
says 1-6 players aged 4 and up but 2 year olds with parental
encouragement love it, and baby-sitting cousins tolerate it,
while grandmas just like to make fools of themselves. My
daughter gets it out regularly to play by herself, the console
doesn't bother me. Usually I can't stand toys that talk, maybe
it's the volume control on the console, the variety or the
voice but it doesn't bother me at all.

Educational value for any toy is a top consideration to me.
Hullabaloo doesn't disappoint, it teaches colours, shapes
and some word recognition. It promotes activity, following
directions and listening skills. Can't ask for more than that
for preschoolers.

Any preschool birthday kid gets this gift from us, it makes a
great birthday party game. For some reason they catch on
quicker to it than musical chairs. Maybe because no one is
ever out of the game, in fact the console tells them to share
the pads; so three kids can be on the same pad and all can
be winners.

To summarize, fair price, fun, easy to use, durable, for 2yrs
to 6yrs, as many players as can fit in the room, educational,
no one left out, and best of all no small pieces.