Want to play a game with young kids who can’t read yet? Want a little bit of strategy that comes out in the biggest moments of the game? Don’t have a lot of time, but want something that will be a fun play during your short game session? This game might be up your alley.
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Short Explanation of How to Play
This is the game we affectionately call “the path game.” The gameplay is simple. You take one of the square cardboard cards from your hand and place it on the table. You move your character piece to the end of the path. If the path moves off the board, then your character goes off the board and you lose. If the path remains on the board, then you continue. At first, this is easy, but as the spaces on the board become sparse, and as players begin to interact with one another as they get closer together, the strategy for each move can be very important in determining whether your piece stays on the board, or you can knock your opponent off the board.
Why it Works/Doesn't Work For Our Family
What Worked: This game is simple to play. There are few rules, and it is easy even for a young child to pick up. It also has some strategy involved to make sure your piece does not fall off the board.
What Was Challenging: No real challenges involved in playing this game.
Why it Works/Doesn't Work With Friends
This game works with a gaming group because of the strategy and the quick turnarounds, but the replayability is limited since the strategies are similar from one game to the next, and the winner or loser is sometimes determined by the cards played on the board as well as the randomness of the cards that players draw and have available to them.
Teacher's Corner
I would not say that this game has any particular topics that I would try to teach with it. Young children can play it, so they can learn recognition and cause and effect from this game, but this may not be the best tool for teaching these skills.
Overall opinion, rating, and recommendation
6 year old son - This is one of my son’s favorite games. He was able to play this a few years ago, simply because it only required placement of the piece and movement along a track. He did need to read anything, so it was great for a pre-reader.
9 year old daughter - My daughter enjoyed this game, but was not as excited to play it over time. She became more interested in games with more depth and higher levels of strategy
Mine - I will rate this game Casual Family. It is a simple game that allows for a quick play while including depth in strategy for a few intense moments at the end of the game. It has more longevity with a family group than it would with a group of gaming friends. This might be a game that would make for a fun evening with a gaming group, but would not be a game that would likely be a stalwart that stood the test of time.
Games with similarities with this one at each rating level:
Casual Family: My First Carcassonne
Heavy Family: Ticket to Ride
Casual Adult: Carcassonne
Heavy Adult: Steam
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