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Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Nine of the best family games for the summer holidays
I grew up fighting with my siblings and watching Neighbours and Home and Away. When we got bored, we'd be thrown outside to play in the street or told to shut up and play a game. Fast forward 100 years and I'm a kids' coach (and a lawyer), and my early days being forced to play games have turned me into a fully fledged addict. I love them — I use them to salvage a rainy Sunday afternoon with no plans; to keep things light in coaching sessions and to prise my own kids away from their screens. I really believe there is a game for any occasion: have a child struggling with maths? Rat-a-tat Cat will get them adding up small numbers in no time — don't punish them with Rummikub unless and until they become more confident. Perhaps it's a teenager who struggles with school but is amazing at art — crack open Pictionary. What about a kid just having a hard time, feeling things keenly and lost in their feelings? Try the very silly Gas Out, to lighten the mood. This most steady and reliable of games keeps everyone happy and it's very fun. I don't think I've been out for a family meal without it for about five years. The aim is to get as low a score as possible so it's very good for learning how to add up small numbers. Everyone gets a card with the same list of 12 topics — eg a girl's name, a fad, something your partner does that annoys you — and everyone also gets given the same letter, eg T. You then have three minutes to give a word for every subject ('Tamsin', 'Tamagotchi', 'Turns off sockets at the mains even when there's nothing plugged in'). If you don't have the same answer as anyone else, you get a point. It's sort of like an inverse and live version of Family Fortunes. The questions in this game are updated in line with current affairs, supplementing a stock of evergreen questions. You play on an app which can be off-putting if you want your game time to be screen free, but you do learn a lot while you're having fun. If you're tech savvy it means you can play with friends remotely too. • Read more parenting advice, interviews, real-life stories and opinions Two brilliant and absorbing building games with a very high boredom threshold. Yes, it's a bit annoying to crawl around looking for one of the random tower pieces but in this case, the juice is well worth the squeeze when you beat all previous tower height records and your opponent marvels at your dexterity and engineering prowess. The kids' version of the grown-up game Linkee, although truthfully the Dinkee version is plenty hard for the adults in my family. The game itself is like Only Connect — each card has four seemingly random questions on it. You write down the answer to each, and if you can guess what links the four answers you win the card. It's an absolute riot and I can see my kids' brains unfurl in real time when we play. This card game is based around a watering hole. You start with a hand of animal-themed cards, from elephant to mouse, and the bigger animals 'eat' the ones further down the chain. Each go, you lay cards and pick up cards, trying to 'eat' other animals to keep in your stockpile. It's really simple and quite therapeutic. This card game is basically snap but with actions and a hypnotic chant. The players all chant 'taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza' over and over again, matching the rhythm to the laying of cards. If the card laid matches the word being said, you 'snap', and the last one to snap has to pick up all the cards. To add a twist there are additional elements where players have to do an action. The last one to do the action has to take all the cards. • The best podcasts and audiobooks for a family road trip This game is suitable for all ages. It's basically about farts and not being the last person to hit the button that triggers one. There's a central character toy, Guster the Gas Cloud, with a button on top. Each player starts with three cards. Each go you play one and pick one. The cards have a 1, 2 or 3 written on them. You have to press the button the number of times that is written on your card. The fart builds up each time and if your push lets one go, you are also let go! Simple, dumb fun. Another winner that has kids crying with laughter. Players are asked a simple question and they have five seconds to come up with three answers before the buzzer rings. It's a good one to take out with elderly relatives as they can play too. Quick and easy. What are you favourite holiday games? Let us know in the comments below
CTV News
22-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Orillia's great flag challenge names most patriotic street
Orillia's great flag challenge resulted in one street being named the winner with 95 Canadian flags per house.
CBC
18-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Halifax mayor says it's the premier's job to intervene when council is wrong
Premier Tim Houston said he will overturn Halifax council's decision to make a downtown street one-way only. Mayor Andy Fillmore says he expected the move and it's the premier's job to intervene when municipalities make a mistake. Haley Ryan has the story.
Washington Post
14-07-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Asking Eric: Nice neighbors' dog barks all day and night
Dear Eric: Six months ago, new neighbors moved onto our street. They fenced in the front and side of their corner lot and keep their large dog outside all hours of the day and evening. The dog barks constantly and all of us adjacent neighbors are extremely annoyed. No one wants to say anything to them as otherwise they seem like nice people and were friends with some prior to their move. None of us understands how they can be so clueless, but the barking is becoming intolerable. What might we do?
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
How To Get Rid Of (EEK!) Mice Living In Your Car
Mice and rats can find a vehicle a safe place to call home, yet the can cause damage and prove to be ... More a health hazard. For many, a long drive unaccompanied by screaming kids and chatty acquaintances can provide a welcome respite from the day's trials and tribulations. But these wanting to drive solo may find they have some unwelcome guests coming along for the ride. Mice or even (shudder) rats. Whether a given car, truck or SUV is parked on the street or in a garage, it can become a safe haven for rodents and other pests to become squatters. Even if parked with the windows tightly closed there are plenty of ways for a mouse to move in and get comfortable. To a rodent, one's prized ride exists as a warm, dry and safe place in which to reside, but they shouldn't be considered welcome guests. Aside from the potential health issues involved by rodent-borne diseases, even a single rodent taking residence under the hood can cause thousands of dollars in damage. They can also leave behind their droppings throughout the cabin, which at the least is just plain gross. And you don't certainly want to be out driving when a mouse suddenly decides to start running around at your feet. How to avoid or get rid of an infestation? We consulted multiple sources to discover how to prevent them from nesting within a vehicle, how to tell if it's become a dwelling for vermin, and – importantly – how to evict them once and for all. To prevent critters from making a vehicle home sweet home, make sure the interior is kept clean and with no food residue left behind to attract them. This also goes for the garage where a vehicle is parked, which is the worst place of all to store pet food and bird seed which are guaranteed pest magnets. Also keep the garage clean from clutter that would act as hiding places for rodents. Avoid letting the vehicle sit parked for extended periods of time when vermin could find the solace especially hospitable. And though it may seem counter-intuitive, some sources suggest leaving the hood (also the air cleaner box, if it's accessible) open when parked in the garage to make things colder and less cozy to them. Likewise with the car doors. Aside from the obvious rodent droppings left on the carpeting, seats or dashboard, look for chewed wires under the vehicle's hood or dashboard. Pests are often attracted to the insulation, which these days is often made of yummy (at least to a mouse) soy, peanut oil, rice husks or various plant-based materials. Often, a vehicle won't start or fails to operate properly because mice have gnawed through wires in the engine compartment. Even if they're not eaten all the way through, frayed wires can be a fire hazard. Another tell is to inspect a car's interior air filter (if so equipped) to see if it's being clogged with droppings or other debris not typically known to be airborne. A likely spot for a nest, the filter box is typically located at the back of a car's glovebox or under the dashboard and may or may not be easily accessed (check the owner's manual for details). If there's rodent residue, don't bother to clean it out, just install a new one or have a mechanic perform this task and insure that surrounding areas, including the blower motor and housing, are likewise cleaned out and disinfected as a precaution. Pay attention to damaged upholstery, whether it's holes in the seats, chewed cushion foam or missing chunks of insulation. Those with kids who frequently eat meals or snacks in the car should remove or have the backseat taken out to ensure food and candy debris dropped on the floor or between the cushions is not providing a delicious food source for Mickey and Minnie residing underneath. Bad odors can also clue a motorist into unwelcome company. A foul smell can be evidence of an infestation, especially since rodents often use the venting system as a shortcut to the interior from the engine compartment to harvest nesting materials. It can also mean that a mouse has since passed away somewhere within the vehicle and (yuck) is in the process of decomposing. Short of calling an exterminator, experts suggest the following ways to rid a car, truck or SUV of rodents: One way is to simply make the vehicle uncongenial. Start by honking the horn and upping the radio volume to drive away pests who are otherwise seeking a quiet place to call home. Since mice don't care for extreme heat, park in the sun on a hot day with the windows up, or turn the heater on full blast to drive them to a cooler place. Try a mouse repellant that's available at home center and auto parts stores to place at various locations within the vehicle to drive pests away. Some motorists use peppermint oil either sprayed onto key areas mixed with warm water or soaked into cotton balls and placed strategically throughout the car. Some sources even suggest hanging cut-up sections of Irish Spring soap or Bounce dryer sheets under the hood or to use cayenne pepper, pepper spray or Pine-Sol cleaner as deterrents. it's an especially good idea to use a repellant if the vehicle will be sitting idle for an extended period. Finally, there's the time-honored practice of setting a trap baited with nesting materials like cotton balls. While the old-fashioned kind may not be suitable for in-car use (especially if the idea of seeing and dealing with a dead mouse turns one's stomach) choose the kind that traps a rodent within a disposable containment (some allow it to be released humanely elsewhere if revenge is not part of the picture. Once the squatter has been trapped or has otherwise fled the premises, it's a good idea to have the vehicle checked out by a mechanic to ensure no damage has been caused, and to clear out any nests, droppings or other evidence of occupancy left behind. Fortunately, any damage a mouse leaves behind should be covered under an auto insurance policy's comprehensive coverage component, minus any deductible.
