Race to the Treasure

Race to the Treasure is a game where everyone cooperates to build a path that leads to the treasure -- but not only do you have to gather 3 keys on the way to the treasure, you have to try to get there before the Ogre does. I was looking for some games for my kids -- 8, 4, and 2.5 -- to start getting them (the 4 year old in particular) into playing board games. I liked the idea of a cooperative game, so thought I'd give this one a try. It has been such a hit with all of the kids! The instructions were easy to follow, and there is an envelope to hold all of the pieces (so cleanup is easy and everything stays organized in the box). My oldest acts as the "teacher" and helps her younger brother & sister play the game. They all are great about taking turns, and then encouraging each other about how to place the path pieces. The game is not overly long, so it holds everyone's attention from beginning to end. I really like how they have to strategize on how to place the pieces so that they can get to the keys, but also be moving towards the treasure. And I can't get over how excited they all become when they get to the treasure before the Ogre does... it is really sweet to see how much fun they have playing this game together. Even though this game is supposed to be for 5+ year olds, my 4 year old had no problems understanding what to do, and is able to play with his older sister. My youngest would NOT be able to play the game without the help from her two siblings, but she is able to wait her turn, and doesn't try to run off with the cards or move the path pieces around on the board. As for my oldest, I worried that the game would be too easy for her (and it is easy for her), but she loves puzzles and mazes, so this game is appealing in that sense -- plus, I think she likes being able to "instruct" the other kids on what to do. I think it works well for a group of younger & older kids playing together (because normally the older kids would win a game, but in this case, they'll help the younger kids so that everyone wins together). I also really appreciate how sturdy the board and pieces are, and how colorful and cute the illustrations are. Highly recommend this game.

I love this company and so many of their games - the concept of cooperative board games is so great for young learners! The game is so easy to set-up, and each time you play will be different. My students are happy to play this, sometimes multiple times because it's always different.

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.

Perfect for a 5 year old and his grandma.

We like the cooperative games by Peacable Kingdom. I'm a huge fan of board games for the kids, but sometimes it's hard to deal with gloating winners and sore losers and the picking and bickering that comes along with that. Playing cooperative games bypasses all that AND (hopefully) teaches what's important in today's world (including the business/career world) - cooperating and teamwork. This game especially has been a hit with our 4-yo because he's into everything magical and having to do with monsters or, in this case, ogres. He's been playing this game for about a year now and he's almost 5, so I'd say it can be played by a younger age group than indicated on the box (which says 5+). There's not much to it skillwise, you just draw cards and place them on the board to form a path to get keays to the treasure. If you draw an ogre card the ogre advances a step and the point of the game is to make it to the treasure before the ogre does. Our 7 year-old likes thi game, too, but it's probably a little bit below his skill and interest level at this point. But it's nice that he and the 4-yo can play it together without either one of them getting too bored and, since it's based on luck, there's no advantage for the older kid. With other cooperative games I sometimes find it to be a problem that they're not as exciting or motivating because there isn't that "I don't want to lose/I really want to win and beat my sibling" thought going on since either everybody wins or everybody loses. But because they like ogres and the idea of "getting to the treasure to beat the ogre" and especially my husband is good at playing to that idea with lots of sound effects and descriptive language, it's a pretty entertaining game for them with plenty of excitement. So, all in all, great game and I recommend buying it. The reason for 4 versus 5 stars is that it's not as elaborate as some other games but a pretty simple set up with a board and cardboard cards. That can be an advantage and keeps everybody focused on the game itself versus nifty plastic structures or sound effects like some other games have...but I still think it'd be even better if there was a bit more complexity to it, especially for the older (6+) crowd.

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 :)

Fun game gor all ages. Played with 5, 7 and 8 year-old grands plus parents. Good strategy and coop game. No two rounds are the same. Can be played in 30 minutes. We played 5 rounds each day over 2 days.

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.

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

My 5 year old enjoyed playing this.. Really easy to learn. Not sure how much life there is in it as it is very 'samey', but for what it costs, it's been worth it already.

This is a fun one for the kiddos. Probably best for 7 and under. Nice collaboration. Well balanced where you sometimes lose to the ogre.

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)