boarding school   Good ol’ board, card or word games now come in junior versions, some of which impart essential life skills to your child. YANNI TAN has a riotous time reviewing eight of them.   Boggle Jr $26.90, from Toys “R” Us and major department stores FOR PLAYERS Aged three and up; for one or more kids HOW IT’S PLAYED Unlike adult Boggle where you form as many words as you can in three minutes, your preschooler gets to practise spelling and picture recognition at his own pace. There are 30 picture/ word cards with 60 easy three- and four-letter words (eg, cow, bird, pie) – place a card on the game tray and let your child form the correct word using the letter cubes. LESSON PLAN Customise how you play to reinforce different skills. Your child can learn simple spelling by looking at the answer before him and matching the letters. Or, cover the words with the flap in the game tray, and get him to spell them with the pictures as clues. You can even emphasise correct pronunciation with it. WHAT WE LOVE The game’s simplicity and effectiveness as a basic English-language teaching tool.   Clue Jr: The Case of the Missing Cake US$9.99 ($13.83), from www.amazon.com FOR PLAYERS Aged five and above; for two to six players HOW IT’S PLAYED Like the grown-up version of Clue (formerly known as Cluedo), players solve a mystery. But here, it’s the delicious case of who ate a piece of cake, with what drink, and at what time – all before dinner! The usual suspects are still Miss Scarlet, Mrs Peacock, Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, Mr Green and Mrs White. With a detective notepad, you play a character and move your pawn through the different rooms in a large house, hot on the trail of cake crumbs. Don’t make an accusation too soon though – guess correctly and you win, or get booted out if you guess wrongly. LESSON PLAN Your child learns that patience is a virtue, and an ingredient for winning this game. By exploring various scenarios, analysing clues, and using the process of elimination to arrive at a conclusion, he is developing problem-solving skills and sharpening higher-level cognition. Besides, the game also reinforces moral values (stealing is wrong) and manners (no dessert before dinner). WHAT WE LOVE Solving a mystery is such a tantalising prospect that adults may find themselves raring to have a go at it.   Monopoly Junior $29.90, from Toys “R” Us and major department stores FOR PLAYERS Aged five to eight; a maximum of four players HOW IT’S PLAYED A scaled-down version of adult Monopoly, with fewer squares and a smaller gameboard. Instead of trading in property (and collecting rent and salary), your child goes to the fun fair. To earn enough pocket money to buy candy floss, attend a magic show and visit a haunted house, he has to set up ticket booths on individual squares to earn entrance fees from friends going past. He also collects pocket money each time he passes Go. LESSON PLAN As your child handles the cold hard fake cash ($1 to $5 bills) and makes buying decisions, he will learn to count and strategise his spending – perfect for inculcating responsible money habits and strengthening his maths. The game also nurtures his competitive spirit without taking away the fun. WHAT WE LOVE Never been to a real carnival? Make up for it with this game.   PHOTO JUSTIN LOH