Thomas and Friends have been popular characters in our home for many years now, and are well loved in so many families with young children. If you have toddlers or preschoolers who are fans of Thomas, they may love these new wooden preschool games from Flair.
We were sent the Thomas and Friends Wooden Tic Tac Toe game and the Thomas and Friends Wooden Dominoes Track Puzzle for review.
Both of these were a hit with the boys, with the Tic Tac Toe game probably being the overall favourite. Both toys are recommended for age 3+ which seems about right to me, although the games could be enjoyed together by all three of my boys age 3-6 with my eldest getting involved to help the younger ones.
Thomas and Friends Wooden Tic Tac Toe Game
The tic tac toe game is really lovely. Yes, you could just play noughts and crosses on a piece of paper but actually for the younger players I think this wooden version of the game offers so much more. It is much more tactile and visual and we were much better able to help T with his strategy and understanding of the game. T, who is 5 years old, is Autistic and has developmental delays. This wooden version of the game with blue and red counters to differentiate were so much easier for him than a x or an o on paper, and by placing the counters in different spaces to show him we were able to help him see and understand the outcome of placing the counter in each place rather than just randomly putting it anywhere.
My 3 year old R picked up the game very quickly too, and my eldest Z is already very keen on noughts and crosses so even though he is moving on from the Thomas stage really at 6 years old he was very happy to join in and play this with his younger brothers.
It’s a very simple game, but it’s a classic game for a good reason and is lots of fun. This wooden version is very well made and nicely finished, and the Thomas characters will definitely add an element of excitement for little train fans.
This game will last very well and is a great one to add to your child’s toy collection. It’s available from Amazon and other toy stores. (Current price £9.99)
Thomas and Friends Wooden Dominoes Track Puzzle
This game is a 2 in 1. On one side you have the Thomas and Friends character dominoes, which children can use to match up as a traditional dominoes game, and on the other side you have tracks that children can put together as an open ended puzzle to set up their own train track layouts.
Both of these activities are ideal for age 3+. 2 year olds would also be fine with this, with some support and supervision. My boys all loved this type of activity from age 2 and up. Both sides of the puzzle work well for children to do together since it’s spreads out wide across the floor and each can work on different sections.
Both activities in this game help children to work on their matching skills, and encourage them to think logically and plan what would be the best layout for their pieces, helping them to develop strategies and experiment with different ideas.
This game is available from Amazon and other toy shops, with a current price of £12.99
What I really like about both of these games is that they pack away very neatly inside their boxes and don’t take up much storage space at all, so they are really practical choices and are great learning toys that help children to develop skills while having fun and including some of their favourite characters.
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
Great reading, thank you for sharing.