Zingo is a great toddler game that the whole family can enjoy. I have a three year old toddler, going on four. I don’t really buy a lot of toys because we already have a lot and we live in the city where space is at a premium. However, it was Christmas and I wanted to get my son something educational yet something fun. My husband buys our children lots of cars, and we have probably a big basket just full of all kinds of cars, maybe twenty to thirty cars. My toddler loves cars, but it’s not something I like him to solely play with. I wanted something different for his Christmas gift, something creative, something he’s never had before. Enter Zingo Bingo.
Zingo was recommended to me by a co-parent friend who has a kid the same age as mine and is a die-hard Montessori fan. She has devoured many Montessori books and raises her child in a mostly Montessori way. She recommended to me Zingo, which is something her toddler also loved.
So I went to Amazon, which is the only place one can ever really go to find anything they ever want. I looked around the different options, and I got the more expensive bilingual Zingo that had Spanish on one side and English on the other side. I didn’t really have high hopes about it, but I was desperate for some creative gift ideas. I’ve never played Bingo in my entire life.
What is Zingo?
Zingo is essentially Bingo. Each player has a card with nine pictures. Two chips are shown on each turn and if you have that same picture in your card, you claim it. The one who completes the entire card wins. I wasn’t able to give the Zingo for Christmas because I had to reserve some gifts for the Three Kings (people give gifts on January 6 here, the day when the three kings gave gifts to Jesus Christ). Since opening it, we have been playing it almost everyday.
At first, my husband and I made our toddler win by not claiming the Zingo tile (that yellow piece you see above), even if we had it in our card and deliberately making our toddler claim it. But now, it’s become more competitive and we try to claim the tile as fast as we can. Sometimes, my toddler will play the “it’s the end of the world” card when I get a tile that he also has. I always end up giving it to him so he can complete his card first. He always likes to win. When my husband’s mom comes to visit, we always play at least one game just so we can do something as a group. It’s fun.
I’ve had to hide Zingo now, because my toddler is always asking to play with it. I work from home from the afternoon until night, so I can’t play with him everyday. During weekends, though, we take it out twice a day, and it’s a game we all can play – my husband, me, and our 3.5 year old. I can’t wait for the day that my youngest son (who’s now 1.5 years old) can play with it too, so we can all play as a family.
So if you’re looking for games for younger children that you can play with them, look no further than Zingo. You’re welcome.
