The Melissa and Doug Suspend Game Is Fun for Everyone

I’m always on the lookout for fun games for everyone to play together. After days of Candyland and Chutes & Ladders, we were ready to graduate to LIFE, Battleship, and Trouble.

Those are great, but we’re big fans of variety around here, and the Suspend game from Melissa and Doug was intriguing when I saw it for the first time at Hobbytown. It reminds me of a cross between Jenga and those games for kids from the 80s and 90s where you had to stack things, like plates, on a flat but unsteady surface, hoping they wouldn’t fall on your turn.

This game is for one to four players and consists of 24 wire pieces with rubber on the ends. They’re all notched and you have to hang them from one another, carefully balancing them so the whole thing (or even just part of it) won’t come crashing down.

Each time you take a turn, you have to reevaluate and possibly change your strategy, because with each piece added to the “sculpture” the balance changes.

The game is for ages eight and up, but my six-year-old has been beating me in games like this for at least a year, so I think if you have a child who’s mature for his or her age (and one who has quite a bit of patience!), you’ll be fine with this game.

It’s $16.99 and can be personalized for $1.99 more if you order from the Melissa and Doug website. Personalization allows you to add a name or a brief message to the supporting block at the bottom.

Photo credit: Melissa and Doug