IQ Pentagon (A Timberdoodle Review)

 

Fill your homeschool game shelf this season! Consider grabbing single-player games for rainy days, snow days, or times when the energy level is high and you need to point your kids to a new task. The IQ Pentagon is a 1-player logic game created for ages fourteen and up—though it could be used to challenge younger learners. With 120 challenges presented in a beautiful hardcover book alongside a sturdy, colorful handheld game, your teen will be pushed to the limits with this mind-bending strategy game!

Beginning with 24 Starter challenges, the book moves through the Junior level, Expert level, and the Master level—120 challenges in total. The first aspect of the game that stood out to me is the stunning, gem-like game pieces. They are appealing to look at and make you feel like you are playing Candy Crush in real life! The quality of the pieces makes the game a high-end addition to your home, bringing a pop of color and class to your bookshelf. To display this game, I bought a small gold colored easel from the Dollar Tree—it adds a bit of sophistication to the homeschool room!

Strategy games are an excellent way to “get school in” without being obvious. Though this game is perfect to have on hand for an emergency, it is also great to add into the regular homeschool routine. This is exactly what I did with my teen. Right alongside math, history, and science in my daughter's assignment notebook, she was tasked with completing a challenge or two on select days. Something to break up the day. Something to make her smile—while learning. 

The compact size makes this game easy for travel. Your teen can throw this in her purse or backpack and use it on an airplane, while waiting in the doctor's office, or on a long car ride. When we train our children to have other options aside from screens during times of boredom, they will have the tools needed to develop positive habits. Even though detoxing from screens is challenging for all of us, those of us who remember a time pre-handheld screens, our brains can bounce back to that mindset quicker. For the generation that has not had that luxury, having options on hand can help rewire their brains. 

Just in time for the holiday season or for a birthday that might be coming up, suggest this gift when grandparents ask, or go ahead and pick it up yourself—I highly recommend it. You might even find yourself attempting a level—or 12!

Disclaimer: Many thanks to Timberdoodle for providing the above product in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.