Soggy Doggy Game

Shake Off Boredom

• What: Soggy Doggy Game
• When: Ages 3 and up
• Why: Entertain young kids, number and color recognition
• Where: Amazon

My youngest son received this Soggy Doggy game for his third birthday, and all three of my kids plus all their friends find it hilarious. They don’t even always play the game, but the wet dog has won them all over.

My youngest didn’t know what to make of of the moving canine at first. My three year old loved filling it with real water, and pushing the button to shower the dog. But the random shaking and the attendant noise did not sell him. Now that he knows what to expect, he turns the handle repeatedly until the dog shakes, and delights in not knowing which turn will start the shaking. He finds the water droplets flying everywhere fun, and loves to show off to friends on play dates.

I like that all the pieces come apart for easy drying. Unlike some games, the pieces fit easily back in the box with no particular arrangement required. The batteries go into a watertight compartment underneath, and it features an on and off switch on the underside (which can be tricky to access once the tub’s full of water).

My kids routinely flood the bathtub when setting up the game. And I’ve never once gotten all the water from the shower to flow off the dog back into the bathtub. But we solved both problems by putting everything on top of a hand towel folded in half, so the table or floor don’t end up soaked along with the dog.

The game requires no reading skills if your kids actually want to play by the rules. It comes with four brightly colored plastic markers. Two to four players roll the die, and move their chosen marker to the color on the board that matches the die roll. The first player to move all the way around the plastic circle board and come back to the basket wins. Each colored space has a paw or bone pictured in it, along with a number. You push the corresponding button or turn the handle the number of times shown. If the dog shakes, you go back to start. Players get a token if they have to return to start, which they can use to prevent being sent backwards a second time.

You can definitely play the entire game without adding water, but I suspect that might take away most of the excitement. My kids routinely play with the dog solo just for fun, though, without ever using the board or accompanying pieces.