This is a game of observation and speed, both of which are really hard for young children. Each of the cards has a gnome-like character on it wearing pants, a top, and a hat.  They are all doing something different like standing on their heads, or jumping in the air so that each card is not only distinct by colors but by action as well.

Children take turns rolling the dice (three of them).  Each die has two sides that are blue, 2 sides that are red, and 2 sides that are yellow.  Once the die are thrown the children have to count the colors that appear.  Each combination represents one of the cards and then the children have to search for that specific card. Once the card is found, that child keeps it and the next player tosses the dice.

Matching the colors to the cards is quite difficult. When the game begins there are 56 cards to look through so it takes some time.  As the cards thin, it becomes easier to see where the correct card is and to distinguish the colors, etc.  The children have been looking through them for a while at that point, so they have an idea where the card with the red hat, the red pants, and the yellow top is.  They may even memorize many of the cards and their placements.

This one is also by Selecta Spielzeug, a German company, and I suspect that is why it was translated to “dwarves” rather than “gnomes” or something more appropriate.  When you see the pictures you know that they are referring to small elfin creatures rather than little people.

We received this game as a birthday present when Noah was 3 and we played it for the next couple of years.  The premise is this…

Pippo, the waiter, needs to clear all of the dishes off of the tables.  Children take turns moving him around the restaurant piling the dirty dishes on his trays until they topple over.  The game requires patience and steady hands but is really about balancing the dishes equally so that they don’t topple.

Children use their fine motor skills to place the dishes on top of each other, but it is their spatial skills that are honed while playing.  They have to figure out that the larger dishes should go below the smaller dishes, that the round sides will not balance well and that the two sides need to be balanced equally.

This game is beautifully made; small wooden dishes come in a little drawstring bag.  The board is colorful and beautiful to look at.  Pippo himself is a little carved wooded figure with a large flat head that can be used to carry dishes as well.