Super Genius is a series of educational flashcard games. Normally, I avoid flashcards. They have one job, they do it well, but then you never need them again.
But instead of your normal flashcards, Super Genius players match questions and answers in a variety of different games. Each game comes with several rule-sets, allowing each one to be played in a half-dozen different ways, including cooperative, matching, and ditch-your-cards style games.
Opening the first box was both underwhelming and exciting. Each box is exactly the size it needs to be, not bigger or smaller. Each of them comes with brightly colored cards, covered in a collection of numbers, pictures, or words. Setup was easy and took maybe a minute, including reading the rules.
Each package of cards comes with an answer guide, and all the sub-games are for learning, based on those guides. Thanks to the guides, kids don’t need anything other than the cards that come in the game.
Each Super Genius product comes with its own age guidelines. This is great, because there are so many different skill levels available. First Words, for example, starts at age 5, where the Multiplication 1 set starts at age 8.
Here’s the rub: Kids can master these skills, especially in game form, at much younger ages. Each game is about 15 minutes, but that increases with younger kids or larger groups, of course. Blue Orange suggests 1-6 players, and I’ve found that to be dead on. The solo variants are great, but all the games lend themselves well to groups.
Kids and adults alike will hone their reflexes and mental prowess no matter which edition or rules they are using. Mix things up, or even create your own rules to keep getting a great experience from your copy.
This is definitely a know-your-kid purchase, but the games have other purposes as well. Since our family is a bit older, we decided to practice our German lessons! One of the reasons schools introduce kids to addition as early as possible is that addition helps kids cement number identities. This is great for learning a foreign language, because you practice the numbers inside your head, which builds pathways in your brain that connect numbers. This is reinforced by your brain, as it associates each number with existing memories, making learning an easier process.
We use the Addition set, the Reading sets, and the First Word sets for this, because they are fairly basic, but are super flexible, too. Check out the whole list below, and decide what’s best for your family. So far, there are only five, but there are bound to be many more later.
Addition
Reading 1
Reading 2
First Words
Multiplication 1
Each game retails for $12.99, but can almost always be found discounted through Amazon. I feel like I get a good $10 in value from each game. The quality of boxes and cards are phenomenal. The package is tidy and easy to fit just about anywhere (including a purse).
GeekMom received this item for review purposes.
