Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review. This post contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase through these links, I will receive a small commission. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

It’s hard to walk into a restaurant, playground, or even my own living room without seeing people glued to the screens of various devices.  It really does take effort for most of us to forgo checking the phone for a text.  Adults and kids alike have become addicted to the technology that is supposed to make our lives easier.  Sadly, for many of us, we have to issue the decree that we’ll have a day (or hour) to “unplug.”  Would your own family take the challenge if you asked them to Unplug and Play, or would they run away with the device in hand?  Brad Berger’s book Unplug & Play! offers 50 games and activities that can help.

This book is a very thin paperback so it’s easy to tuck into your car’s glove compartment for road trips.  The glossy pages are attractive and have nice graphics throughout the book. It would be ideal to take along on a camping trip as well.  Teachers and group leaders, this is a good resource for icebreakers.  The games are easily modified to suit a larger audience as well as a smaller group.  The materials required for some of the activities can likely be found in your desk area.  Pencils, paper, and imagination are the typical supplies needed.   Playing these games with your family is a sure way to get everyone laughing and talking.  It’s also fun to learn about each other.

The instructions for most of the games are fairly easy, if not wordy.  Even adults would skip over some of the games simply because it’s too confusing to read the directions.  I’d love to see a shorter, more kid-friendly version of the book written for slumber parties or troop leaders.  It would also be helpful if a few topic lists were given as suggestions.   I plan to use some of the activities in my classroom using our study topics as the game’s focus.  I’ll need to simplify the rules and instructions for my students, but it’s handy to have a starting point.  The biggest downside of this book is that it’s fairly expensive.  Ironically, it’s most accessible on Kindle.  Too bad since we’re trying to unplug, right?