Mail Order Express are selling this Hasbro Jenga Max game for £7.99, with free delivery if you use code SHIP2012, rather than £16.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at Jenga Max

I love playing Jenga - it was, still is in fact, great to play with the kids when they were younger and rather fun to play with friends after a glass of wine too many.

I'm not sure about this Jenga Max version but it's being billed as the most nerve-wracking game of Jenga you'll ever play - well, now I'm intrigued, because normal Jenga can get the adrenalin pumping quite nicely...if you're as competitive as I am.

Basically, it looks as if you hang Jenga blocks into a round frame that sits on a pole.  Then you just keep adding to the blocks and can either build up, down or stretch out to make the connections wide (look at the picture, it'll help explain my shocking game play description) - the trick is to keep everything balanced and not be the one to make everything fall down.

Weird and looks like it could be rather fun; for £7.99, it won't end up being a costly mistake to find out.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

Amazon are selling Twister for £8.99 instead of £13.99 - well worth twisting on over there to pick one up if you aren't already an owner!

• Click HERE to take a look at Twister

Who doesn't LOVE Twister?!  Alright, maybe there are some people who don't like playing Twister but they're no fun and can just go and sit quietly in the corner - as far as I'm concerned, Twister RULES!

Now, I suppose it is possible that there are one or two people out there in the big wide world who haven't heard of Twister before and don't know how to play - hard to believe, I know - so, just for them, here's a quick low down on all things Twister.

There is a large play mat with a series of four coloured circles on it: red, blue, yellow and green; there is a board with a spinner in the middle and sections for right hand, left hand, right foot and left foot each with the four coloured circles.

When it's your turn, the spinner is spun and if it lands on 'right foot green' you put your right foot on a green circle.  Then it's the next player's turn and they do the same, perhaps they get 'right hand red' - and so it goes on.

As you can imagine, you quickly end up with a mass of tangled bodies and plenty of hilarity - the last person standing (or bending over in a strange contorted shape) is the winner.  Twister is awesome - great for kids, great for student parties, great for family parties.  Just buy it!

All the usual Amazon delivery options are available to you - free if you choose the SuperSaver deal or paid for if you want to start playing Twister pronto.

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD

I've lost count of the number of times I've played this Penguin Pile Up game; my aunty bought it for my daughter a good 10 years ago and it's been worth its weight in gaming gold!  Amazon are selling it for a bargain £9, rather than £14.99.

• Click HERE to take a look at Penguin Pile Up

At 16, Elise isn't really interested in Penguin Pile Up anymore so my youngest son 'inherited' it and he loves playing it lots; so do I!

The premise is very simple: divided the penguins equally among players and take it in turns to balance them on the wobbly iceberg.  If your penguin stays put then it's the next player's turn; if your penguin falls off and takes others with him (which he will) you must take those penguins and add them to your collection.  The first person to balance all their penguins on the iceberg WINS!

All of the children have loved playing Penguin Pile Up as a family and with friends, they also took to practising on their own too - not that they're competitive or anything *wink*

I can't recommend this game highly enough.  It's lots of fun and develops fine motor skills, along with good hand/eye coordination, into the bargain; marvellous!

Thanks to lucerysmum at HUKD 

Most children love to play games. My son is not most children. He's only just got into playing something that has rules - he's six, nearly seven. Snakes and Ladders is a favourite, as is Ludo. But now that he's found out how much fun games are there's no stopping him.

These games from Bananagrams are about the best thing I've ever come across. Banangrams is in fact the first game they made, but they've since added to the brand. All with a fruit theme. And all designed to be good looking, have a sense of quality, and be portable.

We got three for review, Bananagrams, Appletters and Fruitominos. Here's how my family (and some friends) got on with them.

Click here to read more...

Asda are selling this rather fun and fabulous Whac A Mole for the rather fabulous price of £7 - Amazon are selling it for£27.99!

• Click HERE to take a look at Whac A Mole

My youngest son would L.O.V.E this Whac A Mole game - he's played the bigger versions at various soft play places and we had a devil of a job tearing him away from them.

The principle is simple - whack the moles, as they pop up out of their holes, before they disappear again!  I must confess, I'm rather partial to the odd game of  Whac A Mole myself a) it's strangely satisfying and b) it properly brings out my competitive streak and I do love exercising that every now and again.

You can play by yourself or with another player - Whac A Mole comes with two whackers - and it features various lights and sounds and requires 3 AAA batteries, which aren't included.

You can collect your Whac A Mole game free from your local Asda, or you can pay £2.95 for standard home delivery.

Thanks to wishihadadonkey at HUKD

John Lewis are selling Guess Who Extra for £12.99 - so are Toys R Us (in case John Lewis run out of stock) - the next cheapest price I can find is over at Amazon for £15.99, then £17.99 at Play.

• Click HERE to take a look at Guess Who Extra

Guess Who Extra is an electronic version of the original flippy-over game.  I used to play the original version with my cousin when we were small and I loved everything about it - trying to figure out the best questions to get rid of the maximum number of people as possible before she guessed who I had.

This extra twist on Guess Who - which is why it's called 'Guess Who Extra' (genius of board game naming in action there!) - is  that it comes with sounds, a timer (to add suspense and excitement apparently) along with six different themes to play with

One of the new themes is 'animals' - so instead of asking whether your opponent's person wears a hat, you'd ask something like, "Does your animal live in water?"  then, instead of answering yes or no, they'll press the yes or no button which will make an appropriate 'CORRECT!' or ' INCORRECT!' sound.

Reivews for Guess Who Extra are great and you can collect yours in -store at, both, John Lewis and Toys R Us for free; home delivery with John Lewis is £3 and £4.95 with Toys R Us.

Thanks to tizerg at HUKD

It's New Year's Eve - hurrah! - and all the toys and games mania which surrounds Christmas is almost done for another year - hurrah! - because I'm feeling a little jaded by it all now.

That said, I'm rather taken with this Spongebob Springboard game and wouldn't mind having a go at it - it looks like FUN!

• Click HERE to springboard over to Debenhams

Spongebob Springboard is suitable for one or two players who are aged three years or more and the game principle is nice and simple - just aim and fire your coloured balls into Spongebob's mouth and whoever gets four in a row first is the winner.

I love games where there's an element of skill involved; you can imagine playing nice and carefully to start with but all that care going straight out the window when your opponent starts to get a few in a row and threatens to steal the win!

The price on the Debenhams website is currently £8.10, to drop the price down to £7.29 just enter code VX99 to your basket before you check out.  Then all you have to do is choose whether to collect your Spongebob Springboard game in-store or have it delivered to your home, both options are free.

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD 

Time has pretty much run out for home delivery with lots of places and this Bop It XT is out of stock for home delivery with Argos anyway, however there are plenty of them in stock in most stores around the country so it's not going to be a huge drama for you to go and pick one up.

(You can check stock around the country over at icheckstock.co.uk)

• Click HERE to take a look at the Bop It XT

I bought my eldest son a Bop It for Christmas five years ago and it was a HUGE hit with everyone, not just him - if you want to bring out the competitive element in almost every family member and friend who comes to visit over the festive season then a Bop It XT will certainly do that.

Here's how it works: there are four handles with a 'task' on each end - flick it, spin it, twist it and pull it, then in the middle is a big button to BOP IT!

You can play as one player or with three others and as the music plays you will be given instructions to either twist, pull, spin, flick or BOP IT! Fail to perform the correct task in the correct order and in the correct time the you're OUT; the more sequences you perform correctly the faster and faster the music goes.

I loved playing Bop It and just telling you about it makes me want to go and find ours and play it again; plenty of hours will be spent messing around on a Bop It XT if you have one, for kids and adults it's just too much fun and a bargain at £17.99 instead of £24.99.

Thanks to Plum at HUKD

I love this Penguin Pile Up game, my aunty gave it to my daughter for Christmas y-e-a-r-s ago and now my youngest has it - we all still have so much fun playing it and you can pick it up from Toys R Us for £9.99.

• Click HERE to grab your own Penguin Pile Up

The aim of the game is very simple - you have to be the first to balance all your penguins on the wobbly iceberg, any penguins that fall off during your turn become yours and the further into the game you get the less space there is for the remaining penguins.

It's much tougher than it looks to balance all your penguins in Penguin Pile Up, although it's not too tricky to make youngsters want to give up.  We've all even been known to play it on our own and try to get all of the penguins on the iceberg without any falling off, I think you have to have played it to understand just how 'normal' that sounds.

It's selling for more everywhere else:

• £12.99 in Tesco
• £13 in Hamleys
• £17.99 over at Amazon

Apparently it's been seen for £4.99 in-store at Poundstretcher, so if you have one of those local to you it might be worth taking a quick look in there before you order Penguin Pile Up from Toys R Us.

You can collect Penguin Pile Up for free from your nearest Toys R Us, if you can't then you're looking at £4.95 for home delivery.

Thanks to shuggyyadobber at HUKD for the Poundstretcher heads up

Fans of the original Boogle game are definitely going to like the new 21st century version - Boggle Flash! They'll also like that it's currently half price at Amazon - £12.50 rather than £24.99.

• Click HERE to get Boggle Flash

Writing for PlayPennies is costing me a fortune this year!  I've found some great things, bought some great things and just when I think it's all over I come across MORE great things - this Boggle Flash game being one of them!

We love words in my family; Scrabble isn't just a game to us, serious bragging rights go to the winner of a game played against family, and Boggle Flash is going to be exactly the same.

I used to play the original Boggle (you know, the one with the 16 dice inside the plastic cube) with my cousins and I've just ordered this Boggle Flash game to play over Christmas (just 17 days away); my husband is flying home from South Africa (a bit of a Scrabble fiend) and my parents are flying in from Italy (also Scrabble fiends), I'm going to get some practice in with Boggle Flash before they arrive!

So, there are five digital cubes that display letters and you have to arrange them into as many words as you can; the blocks know when you've spelled a correct word and will even keep score for you - you've got 90 seconds to make as many words as you can.

You can play with just four of the cubes too if you're playing with younger players and there are three modes of play.

Boogle Flash, having read the reviews, is AWESOME; it's fun for the sake of fun and would make a great learning tool for younger kids learning to spell.

Thanks to jojotall at HUKD

Creative sets, kids games and board games always make for great Christmas presents but, with so many new ones to choose from, how do you know which ones are going to be good and which ones are going to be flops?

Paul Lamond sent me three games covering the age and gender spectrum to test out on your behalf.

Makeover Friends Craft Set - for girls aged 3+

I don't have a girl aged three plus, or know any, so I sat down, spoke ever so nicely to my five-and-a-half year old son and asked him to help me with some work - it's a good job he's up for most things that's all I can say!

The Makeover Friends Craft Set retails for £9.95 and everything you need is included in the box which opens out to become 'Rose Cottage'.  Inside are three flat dolls for you to decorate and display, along with a rug to put on the floor of your cottage, some plain paper, two patterns and a cardboard scene to colour in, some beads and various coloured strands of wool

Marks and Spencer are currently selling a selection of 41 games with two different discounts running – some of the games are 50% off and some are included in a 3 for 2 mix and match.

• Pop over to M&S for all your Christmas entertainment from £1.25

So say you buy the Wallace & Gromit Rocket Race Game for £15 and the 3D Family Games Compendium for £15 and you add the Panini Table Football for £19.50, you’ll receive £15 off the first two games, but it doesn’t look as though you’ll get the 3 for 2 offer. You will, however, get free delivery (takes care of £3.50) and your order total will be £34.50.

If you buy the Crazee Cube, the Metal Puzzle (both of which would make excellent stocking fillers) and some Terry O’Neill playing cards, your order total would be £16.50, but the cheapest item would be free – the playing cards  were £3.50 – so your order is now £13.  On this you have to add delivery unless you’re picking up in store though.

Your best bet is to have a play around then, and see whether it’d be better for you to go for the 50% off offer, or the 3 for 2 offer, and if you’re picking up in store, to perhaps do two transactions.

Happy playing!

Thanks to sancho1983 at HUKD

This Pumpaloons game looks rather fun and is on sale with Asda for £7.50 instead of £10.

• Click HERE to go and grab Pumpaloons

I like games that are quick, easy and simple for kids to play; games with no pieces to be lost, no arguements over who's going to be banker (and then get accused of stealing money when no one's looking), just something straightforward and FUN.

This Pumpaloons game looks like it could fit the bill rather nicely - the premise is simple: there are two inflatable characters and two pumps, the person who fully inflates their Pumpaloons person first is the winner!

Not only does it sound like a lot of fun, with plenty of scope for lots of crazy giggling, it's also going to be rather physical too - if you've ever pumped up an inflatable bed in record time, you'll know how tiring that can be (or is it just me who's done that?!).  Tired kids mean early to bed kids and THAT can only be a good thing.

Standard home delivery with Asda is £2.95 or you can collect your Pumpaloons game in-store for free; marvellous.

Thanks to thriftyshopper at HUKD

Amazon are selling the rather fabulous Guess Who game for £9.99 rather than £12.99 - personally, I'd be happy to pay the £12.99 as I'm a bit of a Guess Who fan!

• Click HERE to go over to Amazon

I just love everything about Guess Who; trying to figure out the best questions to get rid of the maximum number of people as possible before your opponent guesses who you have.

If you've never played Guess Who then that won't make any sense to you at all, so let me explain...

You pick a card, so does your opponent; you have to guess who they have by asking questions about your opponent's person: "Are they wearing a hat?" or, "Do they have a moustache?" and they will ask the same questions of you.

You both have a board featuring all the Guess Who characters and the answers your opponent gives you will determine which characters you cover up; ask all the right questions and you should be left with the Guess Who person on your opponent's card.

Ask the right questions FIRST and you'll be the winner; HURRAH!!

It's a properly awesome little game that's dead easy for young ones to get the hang of, and is quick enough for just one or two games when you're not in the mood for playing an epic that takes hours, like Monopoly et al.

Thanks to k8ie1980 at HUKD

I love playing along with the Yes No game whenever it's on the radio (usually Radio One) and as with all armchair participation, I reckon I'm rather good at it.  On that basis. I'm rather tempted to buy this Yes No game from Play, TO play this Christmas and put my theory to the test.

• Click HERE to go over to Play

I think almost everyone knows how to play the Yes No game but just in case there are a few who don't, here's a quick Yes No game lesson - it will be quick too, it's very simple!

You are asked a series of questions, like, "Do you like chocolate?" or, "Do you think Gary Barlow is a rubbish judge on the X-Factor?" (I made that one up, I promise that won't be a Yes No game question, not for this edition at least) and you have to answer without saying yes or no.

It sounds easy peasy, but you have to keep your wits about you at all times or, before you know it, you'll have said the forbidden words and your turn will be OVER.

This Yes No game comes with a set of question cards and a bell for DINGING when someone says yes or no.  Play are selling it for £5.99 instead of £8.99 and would make a great stocking filler and game for after Christmas lunch.

The age guide says 8+ years - I don't agree with that; my youngest would be tickled pink trying not to say yes or no to questions, so I'm going to ignore that little recommendation and play it with him regardless.

Happy NOT saying yes or no!

If you're looking for a fun and simple game to play with the kids this Christmas, then might I humbly suggest Elefun by Hasbro? Amazon win the prize for the current lowest selling price - £12.34 - with Play, Debenhams and John Lewis coming up a very close second.

• Click HERE to go over to Debenhams

My youngest son has Elefun; we all - that's me, his dad, him and the Teenagers (who are 16 and 17 today) - love playing it although it does tend to bring out the family competitive streak somewhat.

If you've never played, or seen it, before I can tell you it's cute! The principle is very simple: an elephant shoots butterflies out of his very long trunk and you have to catch them in your net; the person who catches the most butterflies is the winner.

I've read mixed reviews about Elefun from various sources - some say it's rubbish and their butterflies don't fly out of the trunk properly, others say it eats batteries - well that's true; get some rechargeable ones, you'll save yourself a ton of cash - it'll be worth checking out my battery review from yesterday!

I've had nothing but fun playing my youngest's Elefun - maybe the 'complainers' just had dodgy ones...?

Happy butterfly catching!

Tots’n’Toys have offered PlayPennies readers an exclusive 10% discount on toys, games and everything else in store – including sale items.

Fab toys for tots and babies

• Discount: 10% Off
• Valid on: Everything
• Expires: 30 September 2012
• Discount Code: PP11

There’s a huge variety of stock at Tots’n’Toys and it won’t be hard to find something for most of the kids on your list. There’s everything from Arts and Crafts to bath-time toys to dolls and wooden trains and the sale section (currently) has 32 items that are discounted, so you can add that saving to your 10%.

I love the Melissa & Doug Friendship Stamp Set which was £10.99 and is now £10, minus 10% so £9 for 8 playful stamps and a two-colour inkpad, as well as five coloured pencils in a sturdy wooden box.

There are parts for an entire wooden railway with prices from £3.69 for parts to £47.79 for the Wooden Town & Country Train Set.

Tots’n’Toys have a loyalty scheme where you earn points every time you show with them, so for each £1 you spend will earn you 1 loyalty point and each loyalty point is worth .05p and delivery is free in the UK.

I have a slight confession to make. Now, please don't think less of me but... I have never read any of the Harry Potter books, and I have only seen one of the movies. Shocking I know, and I should probably have to give up my UK citizenship as a result. But it is true.

So when it came to playing the Harry Potter Scene It The Complete Cinematic Journey game (£17.99 at Sainsburys), I wasn't just bad. I was spectacularly awful. But in the process I learnt a lot about the Harry Potter universe, and I had a lot of fun.

I don't want to put anyone off though. This is a game that those with just a passing knowledge of the movies can still do well in. It is just that I was playing a 12 year old boy who is a lifetime Harry Potter fan, and has amazing powers of observation.

If you're not familiar with the Scene It games, the premise is fairly simple. The game comes with a DVD and you answer questions and solve puzzles based on a variety of movie clips.

VUPbaby are offering 15% off toys, games, books and puzzles for half term.

Click here to see what you can find at VUP

• Discount: 15%
• Promotional Code: MID15
• Expires: Half-term week only

VUPbaby now staock a fantastic range of toys, books, games and puzzles, all of which are BPA and PVC free and are designed to keep children busy. They stock some 'usual' wooden toy brands, such as Brio, Plan Toys and Janod, but also have a few new (to me at least!) brands, such as Kid O and Lanka Kade.

There are so many more items in their range than I can possibly list here, so I'll just share a couple that caught my eye:

There's a gorgeous Vilac Chef's Kitchen which has a microwave, sink, two ring hob, oven and shelves. It comes with a log of accessories, including cooking utensils and dishes, which is nice as those can add up to a pretty expensive extra. Ordinarily £99.95 this will now cost you £84.95 (plus postage.)

There are also some fab wooden musical instruments – one of which is the wooden drum set from Plan Toys. It comes with realistic functions and includes two working wooden drums with fabric covers, drumsticks, cymbal, and rhythm block in the center. I love this – it's one way of encouraging your little drummer without the annoying bang and clatter. At £28.90, they'd make a lovely gift!

As an added bonus for those who might not really know what age appropriate toys are VUPbaby's toys can be sorted by age!

Ooooh this is rather good timing for Christmas - pop over to Woolworths and you'll be able to save up to half price on all sorts of toys.

• Click HERE to go over to Woolworths

In days gone by, sales started AFTER Christmas.

Now, there are sales BEFORE Christmas too and you know there'll be another one along pretty soon after that; sales, it seems, are not just for Christmas any more, but before, during and after.

There are all sorts of familiar names and toy brands included in this Woolworths Up To Half Price Toy Sale...

• Ben 10
• Bratz
• Crayola
• Disney Cars
• Disney Princess
• Dora the Explorer
• Hello Kitty
• Leapfrog
• Lego
• Little Tikes
• Peppa Pig
• Scooby Doo
• Star Wars
• Toy Story
• Transformers
• VTech

...just to name a few for you and whet your appetite a little.

Four hundred and thirty three items are included in the sale; I can't find anything that hints at when the sale ends.
If you can find it

1) you're a better detective than me and
2) could you let us know please?  Ta.

Thanks to hunnibee84 at HUKD