“Who’s On First” Crosses the Road

By Staff Writer Alistair Gray

At last the opportunity arose for long-standing Bongaree retailers, David and Jennie Peard, to be first in line to seize one of Bribie Island’s prime retail locations. When a local realtor relocated, David and Jennie knew this was the moment they had been waiting for. And last week, they opened the doors of their new ‘Who’s on First’ store.

This incredible games store is filled with every conceivable game, brain teaser puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, escape room games, board and card games for the kids, teenagers, adults and the whole family. As a grandparent, I was particularly interested in the STEM educational games. There is also the perfect equipment for fresh air enthusiasts with cricket sets, footballs, frisbewes and kites to encourage all the family to enjoy our beautiful beachside location.

“We feel like we are now in the winner’s circle. After nine years across the road where we couldn’t even get a phone line into the shop. All has now changed and the future is very bright with fresh opportunities to grow our business”, David said.

After a lifetime in retail, specialising in toys and games, David has the contacts to source the very latest games and is constantly looking for new ways to grow and develop his business, having recently visited the Sydney Gift Fair.

When looking for games, and like me, have difficulty working out whether the games are suitable, the secret is to look at the age recommendation on the packaging – 4 plus is a child’s game, 8 plus is a family game, and 10 plus is an older person’s game.

With an increased focus in schools on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities, STEM educational games help the development of mindset, logic, coding, science, technology and strategy. These games are very diverse and develop tremendous skills and reasoning. Some STEM games even teach children how to build a robot. Games have come a long way from the ones I had access to growing up!

‘The Genius Square’ is an award-winning STEM game and one of the most popular kids games soldat ‘Who’s on First’. Genius Square is an easy to learn puzzle game that develops problem-solving skills in children over the age of six. With more than 62,000 possible solutions, involving dice, blockers and coloured shapes, it grabs the kids interest, is easy to learn and can be played solo or with family and friends.

One of our favourite card games is ‘Five Crowns’ which we bought from ‘Who’s on First’ when holidaying on Bribie over five years ago, bringing hours of entertainment, often long into the night, with our friends. This fantastic card game is similar to Rummy and can be played with two to seven players. It is easy to learn, played with five suits of cards and provides the right level of challenge to get you hooked. So if you haven’t played, try it!

Mums, Dads and Grandparents, if you are looking for that special birthday or Christmas present, or you are looking for a new game to share with your friends in the evening, you can’t go past checking out ‘Who’s on First’, Shop 2/1 Toorbul St, Bongaree. (Opposite Scoopy’s).