I recently found The Rainbow Fish Lotto at a used bookstore near our home (Half Price Books). It was a low-enough price that I decided to risk buying it to see if it was a good gateway game for our two-year-old.
The game consists of four cards with several images from The Rainbow Fish story printed on them. There are smaller cards with one image each from the story. A basic way to play is to give each player a large card and place the stack of smaller cards in front of everyone. Someone (maybe Mom or Dad) picks up a card from the pile and each player looks to see if it matches one of the images on their larger card.
The box says the game is for ages 3-6. We found good ways to use it with a just-turned-two-year-old who could match the pictures.
For other skill levels, the game can be simplified or made more complex. There are two different versions specified in the game instructions and when playing the game it is easy to think of different ways you might want to use the cards. One way, which a toddler will quickly discover, is to take out all the cards, look at them, and then put them back in again. And repeat.
Speaking of toddler play, one of my favorite things about the game is the sturdiness of the cards and the game box and lid. This type of game could easily be made at home by printing out pictures from a storybook and cutting and arranging them. However, the game we bought will live through toddler play for quite a while.
And of course, this would be a great activity after reading The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.
(I don't get any compensation from this review of the game; I just liked playing it with our toddler. :)
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