Race to the Treasure

I purchased this as a last minute gift for my 3-1/2-year-old niece. I warned that it might be just a bit too much for her, given her age and what others have said. But she absolutely LOVES IT! It's at my parents' house, and whenever she goes over there she plays it multiple times. She went five games in a row one day, only stopping because it was time for lunch. I'm a huge fan (and player/DM) of Dungeons & Dragons, and I can honestly say this game is like that at it's core element. That is, all the players work together to accomplish the goal. You either win as a team or lose as a team, but it's about the experience of working together. This game is great for any child and adult to play. But if you're a fan of D&D or other similar tabletop games, you'll definitely enjoy this. And hey, it's never too early to start prepping the little ones. Tip: There are eight Ogres in this box. They are represented as cards. But if you search other sites, you can probably find 8 Ogre miniatures that you can put on top of the cards. It makes it that much more enjoyable for the little ones! I suggest auction sites as buying a bulk of 8 might be cheaper there than specialized hobby websites. For example, I was able to purchase two sets of four Ogre miniatures from the Pathfinder Battles: Rise of the Runelord set on a popular auction website. I paid $50 for the 8 total pieces, which worked out to be $6.25 each. But according to the prices on the more popular websites for buying/selling miniatures, they were valued at $9-$10 a piece. So I saved some money there. Again, still rather expensive, especially or a $15 children's game. But if you can swing it then I feel it's worth it.

What a fun cooperative game! Short play is good for young kids’ attention spans. Play is a little different each time. Easy to play and chat the same time. Quick game to learn. Sturdy board and playing pieces. Art and colors fit well to the theme.

Fun family game and great for including kids as young as 5. Our two year old just played with the dice while we played the game (the dice are only needed for initial setup). The materials used are of a good quality and everything about it is great. It's a bit of a chance game, in that you're drawing tiles at random hoping to get ones that let you build the path you need to build, but there's still some strategy in how to place those tiles to keep your options so you don't get screwed by getting a straight path when you need a bend. Perhaps I should explain the game a bit. The board is set up like a grid, the players work as a team to build a path of tiles that start at the top left and end at the bottom right. Along the way, the players must pickup 3 out of 4 keys that are placed randomly before play begins. The game is played by each player taking turns drawing tiles and placing them on the board on a space adjacent to the tiles that have already been played. Tiles are either straight, 90 degree bends, t-intersections or troll tiles (that advance the troll). The players must collect the keys and complete their path before the troll reaches the end space. The troll begins at the top right, and advances one space down the right side of the board for each troll tile pulled. Believe it or not, it's not as easy as it sounds. You do have to use some strategy in how you build your path to maximize your chances of getting the keys you need and building your path to the end. My 8 year old seemed to enjoy the game, the 2 year old definitely wasn't ready for it yet. Hopefully the older one will still find it interesting when the younger one is finally old enough to play, though I'm not sure if this will hold the interests of a kid in middle school or high school. Update: 2 years later this is one of the best games we have that both the (now) 4 and 10 year old can play together. The pieces have held up perfectly, it really still looks brand new. I came across this when looking for more games by this company and decided to give an update since it has been such a great game for us :)

We struggle with our 5 year old being overly competitive and not having a good time when he loses. This game is a nice break from that as you work together to 'Race to the Treasure' before the Ogre gets there. You start by rolling the dice to set up the game board to determine where the keys and ogre snack goes. Then you draw the cards one at a time to go through the board, collect three of the four keys and then make it to the end before the ogre makes it there. It's easy to understand, holds his attention very well, is fun and he finds it very exciting. It's such a refreshing break from competitive games. Now that we've played a dozen times it only takes about five minutes per round and we play a few rounds. The ogre seems to win about a third of the time. The quality of the materials is above average and there are some nice touches like the instructions are printed inside the game lid so they can't be lost and it comes with a little bag for the game pieces.

Excellent game for kids and parents. My 4yo plays it often. The game is well made, sturdy.

This is a good little game for children under 8. You play as a team in a race against the Ogre to get to the treasure 1st. Easy to play you roll 2 dice to place 4 keys & an Ogre snack on the game board and the rest is just turning over cards which will either be a path or an Ogre. If it is a path you have to work out between you which direction to take on the game board to collect 3 of the 4 keys you need and possibly the Ogre snack which can be used to slow the Ogre down. If you turn over an Ogre card you place it on the Ogre's route to the treasure which is a straight route. Your route is longer than the Ogres but there are more path cards than Ogre cards. Part of the excitement for kids is what card will be turned over next and can you collect the keys and get your path to the treasure before the Ogre. I have played this quite a few times with my just turned 7 year old granddaughter and she has enjoyed it. On average you probably beat the Ogre 4 out of 5 times. Game lasts about 5-10 minutes.

It’s used item!!

Its quite a simple game. Perhaps, I would chose something else. We played it once with kids and they found it very simple (my kids are 6 and 9)

Awesome little game, loved by all ages but especially the elementary and under set. I use it during ESL teaching. Sturdy construction. Some suspense if played like a story.