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SUMMARY
The ‘New’
Touch is an interactive, educational game used to help develop fine
motor and visualization skills, while challenging memory. Both adults
and children can play in friendly competition, including those younger
than the manufacturer recommended age (with altered rules and close
supervision).
The
objective of the game is to identify and collect pieces using tactile
perception. Play pieces are placed inside the blue container and the
cards are set up around the unit. Players take turns spinning the outer
ring and selecting a card based on the red indicator arrow. Once a card
is picked up, the included timer is set and the player reaches in to
find the specified pieces only using their sense of touch while other
players can watch through a transparent window. As players select the
correct pieces from the container, they set it aside in their “pile of
wins”. Scores are taken and winners are determined based on the number
of pieces and cards a player accumulates.
The
‘New’ Touch does not require any assembly out of the box, contains a
starter set of 49 play pieces and 20 theme cards with “Fun Facts”.
Expansion packs are sold separately to provide different play pieces and
cards.
INDIVIDUAL CATEGORY RATINGS
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Started out easy - we took The ‘New’ Touch blue
container right out of the box and placed it on the
table, opened all the toy pieces and threw them in –
but, wait a second, our team wasn’t exactly sure what to
do next?! After a couple reviewers took a look at the
directions (and noted they were still a little lost),
the team decided they would just jump in and figure it
out as the game went along. As the reviewers got to
playing (from the youngest to the oldest), the team
determined that it’s extremely easy to use if you make
your own rules – while the rules included seemed to be a
decent suggestion, there appeared to be numerous ways to
make it work. |
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Overall, the base container, a blue flying saucer style
unit seems fairly well-made. The play pieces were also
impressive – not junky little toys or pieces – with a
nice weight to them. Only a couple minor problems were
recorded – first, when some of our more rambunctious
spinners took a turn, the container slid a bit across
the table – obviously, this issue can simply be solved
by playing on a different surface – but we would expect
a table game to easily be able to be played on a table.
The second issue was a discussion on the hand entry into
the container. While perfect in size for the children,
a couple of the dads on the panel had hands that were
the full size of the hole – the concern was that their
hands may eventually ruin the game when trying to reach
inside – therefore, they just exerted caution! |
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The ‘New’ Touch rated extremely well in this category.
This is no “guess what’s in the brown bag”! The blue,
flying saucer style unit is inviting and interesting to
the eye – the kids were definitely drawn to check it
out. The included pieces were detailed and colorful.
The play cards were interestingly shaped (different from
the cards in other table games we’ve seen), and the
pictures were up-to-date and easily identifiable. |
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Even though The ‘New’ Touch came with directions – our
review team found a multitude of ways that this game
could be utilized. Starting with our youngest reviewers
(two-to-three year olds), the game can be used as a find
and match to the cards, either through the transparent
container, or just with the pieces laid out on the table
without using any time restraints. For the next group
(about four to eight), we used about half the pieces and
cards to make it a little easier and used the timer for
the older kids in this group. And – for all those older
(including the adults!), we used all the pieces and all
the cards – and had just as much fun as the younger
ones! Discussion arose with regard to the possible use
of this product for therapy purposes – while our review
team is not specifically special needs driven, multiple
people noted that they would expect this product would
be useful for occupational and physical therapy as well
as other special needs fields for both the young and
old. |
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Yep, great products cost lots of money! Here’s our
issue – for at home use, a few reviewers on our panel
were willing to go back to the good, old brown bag once
price was discussed. The panel felt the cost was a bit
high in the games category. Additionally, they felt,
for the price, that the package should at least include
scoring sheets to make it easier to keep track of the
game (if played as the directions guide). It gets
better, though - once we got past this issue, further
discussion developed on the possible use of The ‘New’
Touch in schools and at therapy centers where many
children would get use out of it – in this case, the
team felt the price was well worth it! |
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This educational, hands-on game stands in a group by
itself. Our reviewers weren’t aware of anything else
out there like it. From the unique blue container to
the ability to purchase expansion packs to keep the game
fresh, our team was blown away by the uniqueness of the
product. |
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A little tough at the get go, and a bit pricy, BUT
our reviewers concluded that this product is a
winner! So many uses and a great way to keep the
entire family entertained! There aren’t many games
out there that truly span the ages – so this one is
worth it if you’re looking for something different
that can grow with your family. |
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