🐵 Monkeying Around Review 🍌
Wiggle & Giggle - Hop & Balance - Play Together!
Monkey Around - The Wiggle & Giggle Game for Toddlers!
🌟 What is Monkeying Around (Monkey Around)?
Monkey Around: The Wiggle & Giggle Game is an award-winning active movement game by Peaceable Kingdom designed specifically for 2-year-olds and their parents to play together. Draw cards prompting fun actions like hugs, high fives, balancing, hopping, and marching—all while playing with an adorable plush beanbag banana!
Tiny Board Gamers captures the magic: "This action-packed delight turned her 2nd birthday into a family dance-off, with cousins, kids, and even adults joining in!" With an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, PAL Award, and Parents' Choice Silver Award, it's earned its reputation as one of the best first games for toddlers.
🎯 Quick Take: Monkey Around earns 9.2/10 as an outstanding first board game that gets toddlers moving and giggling! Features 40 movement cards, a plush beanbag banana, no winners or losers, adaptable difficulty, and teaches gross motor skills, vocabulary, and social-emotional skills. Perfect for ages 2+!
🎲 How to Play
Setup: Place the colorful game board (tree) in the center, shuffle the 40 movement cards, and grab the plush beanbag banana!
Each Turn: Draw a card and do the action shown together—hop! balance! high five! Then place the completed card on the tree game board.
Action Types: Solo actions (balance banana on head!), Together actions (give a hug!), Banana challenges (catch the tossed banana!), Movement actions (hop in a circle! march around!)
Win: Once 5 cards fill the tree, celebrate together! Everyone wins—no losers, just shared giggles, wiggles, and connection time!
📊 Aggregate Review
| Source | Rating | Key Takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 4.8 / 5 | 501+ ratings — "Best toddler game ever!" |
| MindWare | 4.7 / 5 | 31 reviews — "Great game for a 2 year old!" |
| Target | 4.3 / 5 | 22 reviews — Solid marks across the board |
| Tiny Board Gamers | 10 / 10 | Expert review — "A must-have first game" |
| BoardGameGeek | ~6.0 / 10 | Typical for a toddler game on BGG's adult-skewing scale |
Our Take: Monkey Around scores consistently high across every major retailer and review source. The triple award recognition (Oppenheim Platinum, PAL, Parents' Choice Silver) further validates its exceptional quality for toddler development.
📝 Monkeying Around Reviews
Tiny Board Gamers: "I'd rank it right up there with First Orchard as a must-have first game. After dozens of plays, Monkey Around remains a family favorite. My daughter beams with pride as she masters each move!"
MindWare Customer: "We love this game. Our kids are 3 and 7 and even though this game is for younger kids they still love it. The best part are the 'together' cards where they have to play together. It's always a great family fun activity!"
Amazon Canada Review: "My daughter fell in love with the banana right away! We were so impressed with how much the kids enjoyed themselves and just when I thought their vocabulary wasn't ready yet, they surprised me with their ability to mimic and follow instructions!"
Home and on the Way: "We started playing right away and both kids loved it. It is silly and all about movement. It's one you could start a bit before 2 but it's still fun for my 3-year-old to play with us!"
🎓 Age Breakdown
Ages 18-24 Months (Early Start!): Home and on the Way says "you could start a bit before 2." Toddlers may not follow every card perfectly, but they'll love imitating and grabbing the banana. Use the parent guide to adapt!
Ages 2-3 (Sweet Spot!): Right in the target zone. MindWare reviewers call it "Best Toddler Game Ever!" and kids at this age light up doing the silly actions, especially the "together" cards that prompt hugs and high fives.
Ages 3-4 (Still Fun!): MindWare reviewers confirm their 3 and 7-year-old "still love it." Add challenges—hop on one foot, balance the banana while walking—to keep it engaging for older toddlers.
Ages 5+ (Time to Graduate): Most kids outgrow it. Move to Duck Duck Dance, Feed the Woozle, or HABA First Orchard for more complexity.
⚖️ Pros & Cons
✅ What We Love
- Triple award winner!
- Gets toddlers MOVING
- No winners or losers
- Adorable beanbag banana
- 40 varied action cards
- Develops gross motor skills
- Builds vocabulary naturally
- Parent-child bonding time
- Adaptable to child's pace
- Used by speech & occupational therapists!
⚠️ Things to Know
- Kids outgrow by 4-5
- No strategic depth at all
- Banana can fray with rough play
- Short game sessions
- Only 2 players
- Not a "game" by traditional standards
🏆 The Verdict
Monkey Around nails the "first board game" formula. The genius is in the simplicity: draw a card, do a silly action together, giggle, repeat. The plush banana becomes an instant favorite toy, the actions are perfectly calibrated for 2-year-old abilities, and the "together" cards create genuine bonding moments. Speech therapists use it for language development, occupational therapists love it for gross motor skills, and parents love that it gets everyone moving and laughing together.
✅ Perfect For:
- • Toddlers ages 2-4
- • First board game introduction
- • Active kids who can't sit still
- • Parent-child bonding time
- • Speech & motor skill development
❌ Skip If:
- • Kids are 5+ and want more challenge
- • You want strategic gameplay
- • You need 3+ players
📦 Where to Buy
Available at: Amazon (~$20-25), Target, Walmart, MindWare, Barnes & Noble, Local Toy Stores
Includes: 1 Game Board (Tree), 40 Movement Cards, 1 Plush Beanbag Banana (8"), Parent Guide, Instructions
Details: Publisher: Peaceable Kingdom | Released: 2018 | Awards: Oppenheim Platinum, PAL Award, Parents' Choice Silver | Players: 2 | Time: 10-15 min | Ages: 2+
If You Like This: Duck Duck Dance, HABA First Orchard, Peaceable Kingdom Acorn Soup, Feed the Woozle
❓ Monkeying Around FAQ
What age is it really good for?
Ages 2-3 is the sweet spot. Some families start as early as 18 months with help, and it stays fun through age 4 with added challenges. By 5, most kids are ready to graduate.
Is it really a "board game"?
It's more of a structured activity with game elements. The tree game board and card-drawing give it just enough structure to teach turn-taking and following directions—perfect for introducing the concept of games to toddlers.
How durable is the banana?
The plush beanbag banana holds up well to normal play. Some reviewers note fraying after months of heavy use, but it's designed for toddler handling and most families report no issues.
Can siblings play too?
Absolutely! MindWare reviewers confirm their 3 and 7-year-old both enjoy it. Tiny Board Gamers reports cousins and even adults joining in. The box says 2 players, but the actions work great with a group.
🎯 Final Thoughts
Monkey Around delivers exactly what a first board game should be: genuinely active, genuinely social, and genuinely developmental. The cooperative design means no tears at game's end—just celebration. The included parent guide shows how to adapt the game to your child's pace, and the triple award recognition confirms what families discover immediately: this game sparks joy.
For families wanting to introduce board gaming to their 2-year-old while getting everyone up and moving together, Monkey Around is as good as it gets.
🐵 Get Up, Get Moving—Monkey Around! 🍌
Review Sources: BoardGameGeek, Amazon, MindWare, Target, Tiny Board Gamers, The Montessori Room, Home and on the Way, Montessori Services, Peaceable Kingdom