Friday, October 1, 2010

Travel Games - Keeping Kids Busy So They Don't Drive You Nutty!

Are we there yet? I'm bored. Stop touching me?

If this sounds familiar then you have probably taken a family vacation with your kids. Vacations are fun and create lasting memories for you and your children but getting there is another story. Like all good parenting it is best to have a strategy and come prepared. While having a portable DVD player and video games is helpful there is no reason to throw out your rules on limiting electronics just because you are on a trip. Doctors often say that too much electronics stimulus can cause attention problems, sleep issues, and can actually over stimulate children, thus making the car or airplane ride even worse.

The best thing to do is come prepared. The old favorites still work - have fun counting cars of different colors or have a contest to see who see a yellow car first. I remember looking for out of state license plates with my mom in the car when I was a kid and it was probably my first introduction to the concept of license plates or what they meant. My kids love to play I Spy (with my little eye . .) and my personal favorite when all else fails is the quiet game - one two three go - but that only works for a short time so keep that one for emergencies. In between these fun family games it is great if you can have some handy travel games available for your kids to keep busy. The games reviewed below are actually fun, educational, and easy to play.

The best travel games come in self contained packaging so the pieces don't' fall all over the place every time you need to break or go around a corner. Here are some ideas for keeping your children occupied while traveling:

1. Travel Bingo - there probably a lot of versions of this classic game but we like the one by Melissa & Doug. This kids travel games comes with four two-sided themed game cards and two game boards. Play begins as each player selects matching game cards and puts them into the slot at the top of their board. The both players can flip open all the doors so that the pictures can be seen. As you travel players look for objects in the environment that are pictured on their cards. If a player sees one of the objects, they point it out and say its name. The first player to call it is the only one who can close that door on their board. If the other player spots a similar object later, they may turn the door over. The winner of the game is the first person to close four doors in a row. We love this game because it uses a classic bingo concept that is easy to explain but it also inspires kids to really pay attention to the scenery they are passing through instead of just being passive passenger's zone out on some electronic game.

2. Find the Bear Flip to Win Game - this fun game comes with two boards with bear selection wheels. This game is ideal for travel because there are no removable pieces and the game in completely self contained. To play each player selects a bear hunt board and flips open all of the doors. Both players turn the wheel at the bottom of their board to select a bear. Players must not allow the other player to see the bear they selected because the game is played by figuring out what bear the other player has selected. Children alternate asking 'yes or no' questions about the other person's bear. They eliminate bears by shutting doors as the questions are answered. For example, a child can say 'Is your bear a girl bear?' If the other child says yes, they can flip down the boy bear doors. The first player to guess the other kid's bear is the winner.

3. Mighty Motors Magnetic Marble Maze - this is a great example of a magnetic maze board travel game. All these types of games are great for travel because there are no lose parts to lose and it is compact so it is easy to pack and to hold in the hands while riding in the car. This Maze has a transportation theme and features a friendly helicopter, a red fire engine, and fun loving purple car. You use the magnetic wand to guide the marbles through the maze. It is great way to keep kids busy while also improving hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

These are some great example of travel games to keep your kids occupied. They work in the car, on airplanes and even in a lobby or airport. Make sure to remember the basics - bring items with as few parts as possible and items that are completely self contained. The best items also have an element of cooperative play so that with a little planning you can start creating those family memories as soon as you get on your way.

Alycia Shapiro is Vice President in charge of product development for SensoryEdge. She has advocated for special needs children in order to get the therapy services they need. With this in mind she created SensoryEdge in 2003. Its grown to over 3000 products since then. To learn more about Maze Toys, children's Furniture, and classroom rugs visit her one of her sites.

Getting the Most From Banner Advertising Technology

Digital marketing in gaming - It's time to get aggressive

In World War II, the scourge of the Allied Fleet was the U-Boat. The Nazi submersible had a shot to hole rate that would make Tiger Woods jealous. There was very little reason that the Allies couldn't have afforded their counterparts the same punishment - they had perfectly good boats by 1940's standards), the same torpedo set up and crucially, they were defending an island - something that would have motivated any sailor to get happy on the triggers.

The reason there was such a disparity came down to briefing. The Admiralty ordered British submarines to defend the shipping channels against on and undersea attack. A very British approach.

Whereas the German sea lord's command said something like:- "If it's not ours Wolfgang, sink ze bastard".

When it comes to your digital acquisition strategy, the comparison is straightforward:-

Do you want banners that 'float' on the surface and reactively promote your brand, or do you want 'predators' that take an aggressive stance and beat your competitors into waving a white flag of submission?

The analogy here isn't about copy and offers leading the battle for new players. It's about the delivery opportunities available to target players in a personal, direct and more relevant manner.

The 'floating' banners relate to the standard Gif or Flash banner that has become to norm in any gaming marketer's toolkit. Safe, reliable and, until now, effective if placed in the right media, with the right frequency and with a tempting enough carrot to draw through new players. As marketing devices, they have become little more than wallpaper.

They are static, dull and entirely reliant on the audience to notice them and give them a click. As such, response rates have sunk dramatically in recent years.

'Predator' banners come in many shapes and forms. At the hardcore end of the scale would be the Phorm data driven experiment that BT just had its knuckles rapped for. Basically, by 'spying' on user habits, advertisers could tailor their offering specifically for an individual. However, there was a problem, as the venerable Sir Tim Berners-Lee pointed out last month.

He compared the kind of deep-packet inspection deployed by Phorm and others to reading people's letters. "It's opening the envelope and looking inside," he said. "It's the internet equivalent of wire tapping."

And as the gaming industry strives to maintain a squeaky clean image of self regulation, that doesn't sound like a viable option. On a less legally fragile tip would be live update banners. Using XML feeds you can show real time odds, jackpots, sign up bonuses - anything you like - all in the traditional banner space.

The great thing about live feed updates is that you can do it now. Immediately. This second. It's not 'next generation' technology, but technology you could implement within a week if you had a budget and a couple of email addresses.

For a poker room or a casino live banners are an incredibly effective means of displaying upcoming tournaments, prize funds, affiliate deals, bingo schedules and time specific sign up bonuses - all in real time.

For sports books, they are an essential. With the proliferation of in game betting, any sports book who cannot display second by second odds updates within the online banner space will be left behind. Of that there is little question.

Harry Lang works at McBoom http://www.mcboom.com, the digital gaming marketing agency. To get in touch to chat about their ideas for better player acquisition, email harry@mcboom.com

Article originally published in iGaming News March 2009

The SpaMobile Has Arrived! (Beep-Beep)

* Wood carving: As a woodcarver, I'm out of the art and craft world, and I have no background in the writing field whatsoever!

One afternoon, I drove past a bill-board with a cartoon-like picture of a silly octopus, which was an ad for Octopus Car Wash here in town. So, after seeing the bill-board, I wanted to carve a silly octopus, so that's what I did. I carved all nine pieces and glued them all together, and little did I know at the time, I was putting together my first "attention-getter," that I placed on top of my display at the arts and crafts shows I participated in over the years. My silly wooden octopus was on display at the Octopus Car Wash for a while.

* Imagination. This piece began the silliness in my wood carving days, in which I carved over 200 original pieces such as a lion sitting in a bathtub; a little black bear cub sitting in a red and white high chair; a flu bug sick in bed with the flu and the list went on and on. I sold just about everything I carved.

Website/email: When I built my website and got my email address, I knew my name would not be on either one. I wanted a "hook," an "attention-getter," something that would spark curiosity of people. I chose humordoctormd for my website and humor doctor for my email address. Now, I could build around these two words...laughter is the best medicine; humor can be dangerous to your illness, and so forth.

When I came on-line back in the Dark Ages (2003), I developed my "Getting Acquainted Expedition," and I went all over the Internet marketing my website. I would place the words "Getting Acquainted" in the subject line of the email, and I would always personalize the email, to stay away from spam, etc.

* House Call: The idea for my House Call, took its place, and now my emails contain the words, "House Call" in the subject line, and the humordoctor for the email.

* Spam: Back in the Stone Age (2004), I was trying to develop something for the word, "spam," because it is used so much all over the Internet, Week after week and month after month, I drew a blank. This search for an idea, was not a priority item, but I thought it would be fun, if I could come up with an idea! Three or four months went by and...and nothing but a blank page!

And, then one day...BINGO...three ideas came in for the word, "spam!" As you just read, the SpaMobile; the Spam-O-Gram and C-Spam, the politically incorrect network in Congress showing the daily government at work. (Test pattern/boring)

* Along The Bumpy Road of Life: (Orange Barrel Humor) I developed Orange Barrel Humor in 1996, as a marketing tool for my work here locally. The attention-getter is comprised of a bright orange envelope (business size), and all the contents in the letter are on bright orange paper! If this doesn't get your attention, I don't think anything will, etc. I'm now in the process of putting my display show together.

For me, there's no difference between wood carving and writing. That's because it's not the difference between wood carving and writing...it's about ideas and style. I took the same kind of chances in wood carving that I do now in website building and writing, etc.

Imagination; taking chances; hooks; attention-getters...sounds like a hit song in the making, doesn't it" Don't be surprised, if you receive an email one of these days with with the following words in the subject line, "The SpaMobile has arrived (beep-beep)" I think you'll know who it came from!

ARTICLES PUBLISHED: (70+ websites/includes links); Direct link: [http://humordoctormd.homestead.com/articlespublished.html] Website name; humordoctormd - Over 150 colorful pages; over 300 graphics [http://humordoctormd.homestead.com] email; humordoctormd@yahoo.com Copyright; Jerry L. Aragon (The Humor Doctor) 2007