Sometimes good parenting has undertones of deception. (See also: vitamins shaped like cute animals and strawberry-flavored toothpaste.)

But tricking them into a reading lesson? Now that’s a sleight of hand we’d like to see. Or rather, to play.

Word Chase, aimed at kids ages 4 and up, is a charming, simple board game (just one brightly colored game board, 50 word cards, and four game pieces) that teaches beginner readers the 25 most commonly used words in the English language.

Tykes love the strategy it requires and the cute little touches (teeny bees buzz along the bottom of each card, indicating which way is up). Parents dig the enviro-friendly construction (it’s printed entirely with soy ink) and that it educates so effortlessly.

All kids have to do is a little learning for parents to let them play for hours.

Which begs the question: Who’s fooling who?

Available online at beyond-learning.com.