Review: 'Build a Castle' is just the staying-to-ourselves-because-there's-a-pandemic-raging-throughout-the-world activity

Anyone else constantly searching for new pandemic activities for their kids to do? All the sidewalk chalk in my area was sold out within a 15 mile radius, so I resorted to ordering a big box online. I just looked at the site where I purchased it and they're now all sold out too. I hope we don't run out of sidewalk chalk any time soon!

When Build a Castle unexpectedly appeared on my doorstep last week, my kids and I were ecstatic for something new to do. I was especially glad that no gluing, cutting, or any other kind of crafting was involved (remember, the craft-loving gene is missing from my DNA).

Image from Amazon

Since then, my kids have gone through this box numerous times, creating in new ways, and exploring the different types of builds they can come up with.

First of all, let's get something clear: this is not a book. I know, I know, I usually review books on here. But not everything is about books (wait, did I just say that?!). Right?

Image from Amazon

This is a box of 64 cardboard pieces. Each card has several slots in it, making the pieces versatile building pieces and each piece is the same size. The pieces are sturdy. We've had this in our home for a week now and, despite our best efforts to keep it away from her, my two-year-old has gotten into it several times and none of the pieces have been bent. Woohoo!

Tell me you understand how hard it can be to find two-year-old proof items.

Image from my phone. This was an actual castle my kids built. Good job, kids!

However, even though my two-year-old was interested in this, I don't want anyone to misunderstand and think she was actually building anything. Build a Castle (that link goes to a 28-second video clip on YouTube) isn't for two-year-olds. My eight through 12-year-olds were the ones who were really able to grasp the concept of these cards and put them to good use. 

Now, there is also a fold-out sheet of paper that goes over the history of castles very, very briefly. But my kids weren't interested in that at all. Who wants to read when you can build (again, did I just say that!?)?

If you're like me, and are physically distancing and want something new for you kids to do that doesn't involve screens, Build a Castle is an easy pick. I would particularly recommend this for any kid who is interested in engineering-type activities.

Review breakdown:
1 page and 64 building cards
Full color
Best for ages: 8 through adult
Educational factor: low
Moral content: nothing to worry about!
Parents could be concerned about: Nothing