Name 5
by Kim Vandenbroucke, The Game Aisle

Recently on The Game Aisle I reviewed the game Name 5. Yes, the premise of Name 5 is exactly what the name implies; you have to name 5 things within a category in 30 seconds or less. Given that the name explains about 85% of the game, it’s an easy game for anyone to pick up with little to no explanation!

During a recent game night, one of my testers said, "Hey this would be a great game to use in the classroom!"

And she’s right. Unlike games like Classroom Jeopardy, this game doesn’t require prep work or question writing – in fact, you could easily makeup the categories on the fly! "Name 5 parts of the circulatory system" or "En français, nom 5 nom de 5 fruits." (I hope that’s right; my French is a little rusty!)

Beyond just naming 5, the board includes "Flip-Flops" spaces. If landed on, teams go head-to-head giving answers until no one can think of a correct answer and the team that gave the last answer wins the round. This is a fun "all play" element that often goes far beyond 5 or 10 words! There are also "Wild" spaces on the board. If landed on, why not choose a card from the game's deck and ask a topic off of it? It will add some variety to the game! Additionally, the game can easily be adjusted for younger kids by omitting or increasing the 30-second time limit.

Overall this game is a lot of fun whether you’re playing it at home with friends or in a classroom setting with topics from your weekly lesson plan. So if you're like a lot of other teachers out there who pay for classroom games out of their own pocket, this game can do double duty in both your classroom and personal game collection! And don’t worry about losing parts because you probably won’t notice a couple missing cards and the die and movers are standard pieces so they’re easily replaced.

Name 5 is published by Endless Games and can be found at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and it will be in Toys R Us in the fall.

If you're looking for an expert in the game industry, you're probably looking for Kim Vandenbroucke. Not only does she review games at The Game Aisle, but she also designs them and is one of those people that companies call when they need to have a game designed.