Gift Giving Guy

The toy gift search is over. I know what game we’re getting my young nephew for his birthday in March. It’s called Hide & Seek Safari Tiger ($30). This weekend, I witnessed two other nephews, ages three and five, comb our house seeking their tiger prize. One hunt lasted nearly 30 minutes with no signs of either nephew giving up.

Here’s how the toy works. An adult switches the tiger on and secretly hides it inside or outside. The kids track down the tiger with electronic seeker wands. The wand’s green light tells you the wand is on, and the tiger is not near. As you get closer to the tiger, more of the wand’s four red lights glow. The wand will beep when you are very close to the tiger. The first one to find the tiger wins.

We enjoyed finding more and more challenging spots to hide the tiger. And that tiger is sizable: about 10 inches long, four inches wide and seven inches high. So adults must seek creative hiding places that will mask the tiger but won’t block its signal. (Hiding the tiger in the fridge won’t work with the wands.) You could also give the Hide & Seek Safari Monkey or the Hide and Seek Safari T-Rex. Batteries are included.

Because each toy comes with a single seeker wand, I suggest buying an additional wand or two wands (sold separately) for siblings, cousins, friends, or even young-at-heart adults to play along. This toy brings the “you’re getting warmer” search game I played as a kid into the 21st century.