Monday, November 22

Twelve Days of Giveaways! Ubisoft Video Games

This post is part of a sponsored series from Ubisoft, celebrating "12 Days of Giveaways." See below for how you can enter up to 12 times to win fun and family-friendly video games.

Plain and simple: my family loves video games. My husband and I bonded over our love of Super Mario and on our first Christmas together we surprised each other with the SAME gaming system. It was probably at that exact moment that we began to think that just maybe we were meant to be together 4ever yo. On a total tangential note I'd like to take a moment to state that sometimes we totally miss the days of completely extravagant and over the top disposable income spending *sigh*. Okay, we miss that all the time.

Anyway, our five year old girl shares our same gaming passion. The first time we let her try a video game, she was hooked. Watching that girl on her Nintendo DSi, our Wii, or on my iTouch is fascinating. Kids these days take to games like ducks to water and personally I think it teaches them very useful skills in this digital world. Mousing 101 is part of my daughter's kindergarten curriculum and while her grandparents might think it's odd, we don't. We live in the computer age. The only caveat we have is: everything is fine in MODERATION (and with supervision.)

Obviously we don't let our daughter play just any old game. She is definitely not ready for World of Warcraft or Call of Duty but if a game involves dancing or puppies or dancing puppies, she's your gal! Now at this point I was going to share a video game review for a new kid-friendly game by UbiSoft that is now available at Toys R' Us but unfortunately the game didn't arrive on time (sad panda). BUT I'm still going to run the contest and then I'll share my review when the game actually arrives.

** updated to add review! **

Our game arrived (*shakes fist at general direction of Canada customs then immediately apologizes*) and my 5yo was rarin' to break out Petz Fantasy Sunshine Magic. That's right, Fantasy AND Magic (with sunshine of course). So we did.

This Nintendo DS game reminds me of a more interactive version of a toy who's name I forget that my sister sent me about 15 years ago. I had to take care of this digital pet and if I forgot to water, feed, and clean up after the little creature, the pixelated thing up and died. This game is the same concept but with cuter  and way more interactive 'babies' plus there is no traumatizing death element. Which now that I think about it, thanks a lot sis. I still can't forget that fatal night at the Pizza Hut when I left it out in the car and it up and died on me while I gorged on a stuffed crust with extra pepperoni. Now I have a pizza complex.

Anyway. Back to the game: Basically my daughter is in charge of a little baby creature (could be a dragon, unicorn, mythical creatures that would appeal to young girls and boys) and she must take of three basic tasks to move forward in the game: hunger, fun, and hygiene. Don'tcha know that all baby unicorns must eat pink swiss cheese, catch bouncy balls, and bathe while being shot by a bubble spray to survive? Those are key elements when you're covered in stars, with super huge eyes, and make completely adorable noises.

The activities a player does with their creature really appeal to my 5yo but in general she needed to repeat games in order to acquire enough points. But that hasn't bothered her (practice makes perfect). The onscreen instructions are short and basic but my girl figured out the rules by trying things out -- intuitive play always gets a thumbs up from me. Older children would probably move through the levels a lot faster but the part that posed the most challenge for my girl is the medal round that comes up when certain goals are achieved. I even find them more challenging and so far I've had to do them for her. When those rounds are won, new creatures are introduced which is a major incentive to learn how to use each creature in these dexterity-dependent challenges.

Overall we are enjoying the game and it wouldn't be a total lie to say that I might have opened a few more creatures for my girl to use in the game AFTER she went to bed tonight. In fact I may be going back to play it right about now ;)

** end up updated section now read about the GIVEAWAY! **

Here's the deal: this giveaway is going to run from today until December 3rd which translates to TWELVE DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS! And I'm not the only one running this contest so you should check out the bloggers below and enter over at their sites to UP YOUR ODDS (that was said in my echo chamber voice just like on the commercials). Now this contest is only open to residents of continental US which I know sucks for Guam and Canada (sorry eh) but I'll make it up to my fellow Canadians by giving away some chocolate. No really, I will. US folks can enter for the game and Canadians can enter to win chocolate (I promise it will be really yummy chocolate that weighs the same as the game.) Guam for the record, still gets the shaft.

So here is the mighty fine dealio print my friends: Please visit these participating bloggers for more chances to win games, including Just Dance 2 (Wii), Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike (Wii), Petz Fantasy (DS) and Petz Nursery (DS). Want more ways to win great games for the whole family? Visit each of these blogs during our 12 Days of Giveaways from now through December 3. I'll be drawing a winner on December 3rd, just leave a comment on this post.
 
Romy Raves

I was selected to participate in this sponsored series by
Ubisoft and Clever Girls Collective. I received a video game and compensation for my participation in this program. We believe in Blog With Integrity.

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED. 
WINNER: Lucky #13 selected by Random.org and that means it was the comment from Joyful Noise. CONGRATULATIONS!
Thank you to everyone who entered. More contests coming soon.

47 comments:

Cagey (Kelli Oliver George) said...

I completely agree with you re: video games and kids. Moderation! As long as my kid is still interested in other activities and is not playing the Wii 24/7, then he will be fine. He might even still grow up to be a productive human being. Maybe.

Seriously though, I LOVE playing video games with him, so at least it is a family activity, too.

Anonymous said...

would love this

Lucinda H said...

WE WOULD LOVE TO WIN THIS, WE AS A FAMILY PLAY ALL THE TIME

dogwood said...

Yeah, not just any game will do. We LOVE Just Dance, though.

Julie @ The Mom Slant said...

I'm totally whoring out for Just Dance 2. Walking like an Egyptian at BlogHer10 was one of my favorite times, second only to cuddling you on a cheeseburger bed.

tlcfromtn said...

We love playing all kinds of games. It's great fun for the whole family.

braaisjo at gmail dot com

Kyla said...

Yay! We love us some video games!

Unknown said...

we love family video games! and board games too, and well, pretty much any games, so long as we can play in a group

Brittany said...

We're buying a Wii this year for Christmas. I'd love some fun games to go with it

donna m. said...

xbox kinect under the tree this year, loves how it really gets the kids active and includes the whole family

Janice said...

I love how Just Dance is this fun, silly, music game that helps you want to be more active

m8usi@yahoo.com

Jess said...

Mmm, chocolate! Sad panda face about the X-box, but dancing panda about chocolate!

Joyful Noise said...

I would love to give the Just Dance to my nieces who are in dance and would absolutely LOVE it...thanks for the chance to win!

dan_jody at live.com

Erika J said...

I have a friend who is DYING for this game for Christmas. We're such immature adults. HA!

Snowy Summer said...

Any game for WII.. And love chocolates too!!


spdls0215@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I love that there are so many wii games that get the whole family off of the couch and having fun Thanks for the giveaway
tanyainjville at yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

I'm a huge lover of video games, I hope to win!!

priteegrl88@yahoo.com

Kim said...

Just Dance looks like a lot of fun :)

kimkellydesigns at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the giveaway! Our daughter gets one hour a day to play games and/or go on the computer. I think it works well.
maddiemb (at) comcast (dot) net

Kim L. said...

We adore having a family game night together! We love trying out new games and laughing! It's super fun for all! xo

kimberly.long at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I am picky about games too. No violent games allowed at my house.

rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com

mayberry said...

I feel like singing "GOOOOOTTTA Dance!"

Unknown said...

Thanks for being a part of this. It's awesome

Mami2jcn said...

My son loves playing the Wii and he would be interested in this.

mami2jcn at gmail dot com

Jackie said...

My kids love playing games on the Wii! I do too on occasion!

@teekay421 said...

We are an ultimate gaming family! 2 XBox 360's 1 PS3 1 Wii 2 DS. As long as my children are bringing home A's & B grades, I'm fine with them playing frequently. Heck! I play along with my son head to head over XBox live.

My obsession falls back to the Atari, Magnivox Odyssey and Colecovision.

Last but certainly not least Ubisoft is a fantastic company that produces quality games.

Gav said...

My coworkers keep eating my snacks. Need chocolate. Send asap plz.

Anonymous said...

My son wore a patch for NINE years and his eye doc had him at two 45 min video game sesions per day! said it would help his fine tune focus...
his issue is not correctible with surgery so almost every day my boyo played his games.
these days he can still play but not when the sun is shining and not instead of any other activity.
I love his ds though..when hub and I make the long town trek I am just happy in my seat beeping and tapping.
thank you for this giveaway.
tattgiff at centurytel dot net

Tabathia B said...

We love playing video games
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

valerie2350 said...

we love playing video games together!

A Mom's Take said...

Sweet!! We'd love to win this!
janel_marie at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

My kids are getting board games for Christmas (Hungry Hungry Hippo and Candy Land), but my daughter wants some new games for the Wii and DS that she can play.

Angela said...

My daughter would adore this game I think. We're getting them a DSLite for their birthdays this year. Shhh...don't tell the kids. ;-)

Angela <><
ang.england at yahoo dot com

Daniel M said...

my nephew would love this! - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com

Mommy PR said...

Can i just say your writing cracked me up. I loved your post and my hubby and i bonded over Mario too lol.
We would love to win this :)
Angela@mommypr.com

Jennifer said...

This sounds like a blast and would make a great Christmas present this year! Thanks for the chance to play! Jenn

beth said...

u just made my stomach hurt laughing so hard at your giveaway details..poor guam! lol
on a lighter note, my dd loves pet nursery games and her ds goes everywhere she does! sad, but true.

AmyLynn said...

This would make a wonderful surprise for DH's cousin. He loves fighting games and dinosaurs. Thanks for the chance.

Melinda said...

I would LOVE to win these for Christmas gifts . . . i know just who to give them to :)

Anonymous said...

My step sister would love the pet game.

I hope I win

Love your blog btw

artisticbaker@gmail.com

Mass Hole Mommy said...

Thank you for the opportunity! I would love to win this for my son!

massmommie (at) gmail (dot) com

Kellie Conklin said...

This seems like a great game that the girl I babysit for would love! Thanks for the review!
kconklin1028@gmail.com

Angela said...

I would absolutely love to win one of these games for my kids. We love games (a little too much...) around here too. Thanks for the chance.

thesuburbanjungle @gmail . com

shirley said...

This would be very nice to win, Thanks.
supergrand2009@yahoo.com

Susan said...

I would love to win Petz Nursery for my daughter she would love it. suelee1998@ gmail.com

the weirdgirl said...

Even though I'm totally putting this on my Christmas list, too, I'm going to enter for a Just Dance 2. Because I need something to get off my butt. Apparently, running after my hyperactive 5-year-old is not an approved exercise regimen by the American Medical Association. Who knew?

cman said...

Please enter me for my video game lovin' kiddos :)

I found your site through all things fadra.