Elefun game

by Amanda Nettgen
(USA)

Game:
Elefun
Game manufacturer:
Milton Bradley/Hasbro
Number of players:
2-4
Ages:
3-6 (okay for some older)

Quick verdict

Calling all kids fascinated with bugs and big animals! Elefun is a fast-moving, colorful catching game suitable for admirers of pretty things.

The game and gameplay

Elefun is very simple, but has a nature that delights the younger crowd. Have an adult set up and insert butterflies into the elephant, then switch on and let the madness begin!

Mr. Elefun will grow to be four feet in length (taller than some of the players, for sure!). A rainbow of butterflies will be regurgitated from his trunk, and it's the players' job to catch as many of the insects as they can using their individual nets.

Some of the butterflies are bound to escape the flying traps, and so players are allowed to pick fallen butterflies off the floor as well (watch out for stepping on hands!).

You keep going until the circus animal is fresh out of butterflies (two minutes or less). The catcher who netted the most former caterpillars is the winner.

In older versions of the Elefun game, a single blue bonus butterfly is present in addition to three-round play before a final winner is determined. I really don't know why they took out these aspects in the modern edition; it was a bad move, in my opinion.

Try mixing the gameplay up by having the kids aim to only collect butterflies of a certain color, or play (carefully) with their eyes closed and see how many they end up collecting.

Other games your family might enjoy!

Candyland board game
Clue Jr.
Connect Four
Cranium Hullabaloo
Cranium Puppy Pals Bingo
Don't Break The Ice
Elefun game
Guess Who? game
Hide and Seek game
Hi Ho Cherry-O
Hungry Hungry Hippos
Kerplunk game
Littlest Pet Shop
Monopoly Town
Mousetrap game
Operation boardgame
Penguin Pile-Up board game
Scrabble Junior
Settlers of Catan: Kids of Catan
Snakes and Ladders game
Twister game
Kid's board game guide
Best family board games guide

Pros and cons

Elefun is a fast, good b-sit game that is delightful for toddlers and kindergartners. Older kids will enjoy it, too, on their first few goes.

As for the bad side, the game retails rather expensive for what it is, I guess because its motorized.

It seems like it could break easily, people could get hit thanks to the nets, and loose butterflies may be at risk for being vacuumed up.

The verdict

The Elefun game is "a li'l fun", but does not have staying power past a certain age group. It's best reserved for situations where it will be used a lot, like a classroom.