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| View Larger Image | Cooperative Game of Consultation Decision Making and Natural Selection, Max | Toyby Family Pastimes
| List Price: | $15.99 | |
| | Sales Rank: | 14,324th |
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FEATURES | - Co-Operative Games are Better Games for Young Children
- Candian Toy Testing, TOP Rating
- Includes: 12 x 12" board, special dice, 4 movers, 4 cat treats.
- Designed by Jim Deacove
- Recommended Age Range 3 to 5
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Max is a cooperative board game whre the layers help each other and are never 'against' each other enabling youngsters to play with older brothers and sisters without always being beaten. These are great family games. Players must help get all of the little creatures home before Max, the tomcat, catches them. In an exciting way, children learn logic, consultation, and decision making. And they learn to talk about the issue that Max catches those little ones that they like. How do they resolve this issue in their minds and hearts? They talk it over. Includes 12 x 12" board, special dice, 4 movers, 4 cat treats. Top Rating by Canada Toy Testing. For 4 to 7 years old. 1-8 players. |
Editorial Review
This board game doesn't pit players against each other in competition. Instead, all players work cooperatively to get a bird, a chipmunk, and a mouse (collectively known as Little Creatures) safely home before Max the Tomcat catches them and, presumably, eats them! The dice have single spots--either black or green--on each face. Black spots move Max, green spots move the Little Creatures. Players roll the dice and, in consultation with each other, decide which pieces to move in a game-long effort to foil Max. A refreshing twist on more traditional board games, this is a win/win situation for the players. They will undoubtedly always be able to save at least some of the Little Creatures from Max! Children might need help from an adult in separating the cardboard game pieces. The full-color game board is 12 inches square. --Wendy Slotboom |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 5 reviews)
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We like this game, too! by Donna Kay Finlay (CA)  5 Stars
June 16, 2009
At first glance it doesn't look very impressive (it seems kind of cheap), but, I have to agree with the other reviewers that this is a great game! My 4.5 and 6.5 year-old girls like this game quite a lot, and I like that they don't really have to compete and with each other (there is enough sibling rivalry in our house already!) They are disappointed when Max catches one of the little creatures, but there is a lesson there and it does not take away from the fact that they like the game.
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Awesome Game of strategy by Grandma Jeanne (New York State) 5 Stars
December 22, 2008
My 5 year old grandson absolutely loved this game and didn't want to stop playing. I thought it was great because we worked as a team to beat the cat. It wasn't about winning as an individual, but winning for the critters so the cat wouldn't catch and eat them. It was great fun to watch my grandson think through what he should do next in order for the critters to get home safely. I would highly recommend it for children ages 4 to 10.
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A friendly game for young children by M. Capra (Chapel Hill, NC) 5 Stars
January 12, 2006
Here's how the game works:
The three Little Creatures get a head start on Max. You roll the two dice, and you either get two green dots, two black dots, or one of each - green dots move the creatutes, black dots move Max. If you roll double green you can move one creature two spaces or two creatures one space. Each creature has its own shortcut to skip a corner, but it has to land on it exactly. Max can take all the shortcuts, and he doesn't have to land on them exactly, but he does miss them if you roll double black. You also have four treats. Giving Max a treat makes him go all the way back to his house, but once the four treats are used up they are gone. Max also goes back to his house if he catches a creature. My understanding of the game is that it's difficult to get all three creatures safely to the tree, but it's almost impossible for Max to catch all three creatures.
While the game is driven by rolling the dice to see whether you move the creatures or Max, the child has two decisions to make:
1. Which creature(s) to move
You have to learn how to balance movement among the three creatures, and how to arrange it so that a creature lands exactly on the entrance to its shortcut. Older children will realize that sometimes you have to let Max catch one of the creatures to make sure that the other two get home safely.
2. When to give Max a treat
To do this properly you have to be able to predict the furthest Max could move on the next dice roll, and whether that puts any of the creatures in danger. If you give Max treats too often you'll run out, not often enough and he'll catch the other creatures.
I bought this game for my youngest nephew because I'm an avid gamer but, at 4 years, he was a little young for most games. He really likes this game because he gets to participate in every turn. He got a little upset at the thought of the small animals getting eaten by Max, so his mom changed it so that Max just sends them back to his house at the beginning of the path and they stay there, instead of going to the tree at the end (more like "catching" them than actually "eating" them).
I like that the game is cooperative, with all players moving all the creatures - little chance for hurt feelings at the end of the game. There can still be turn-taking in the form of who gets to roll the dice, and who gets priority over movement decisions. I also like that there is some strategy to the game, unlike Candy Land which is purely chance-driven. This is also a game that a child can play by herself.
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Fun Without Fighting! 5 Stars
July 12, 2000
I bought this game for my then 5 year old son to play with his friends who came over to play because more traditional competitive games were causing too much conflict. What I hadn't counted on was how much fun this game is for parents to play with kids too! Gone is the frustration of my little boy when he feels he never whens because "he's the littlest". This game puts all players on the same team. The rules of the game are just structured enough to give you a starting point, but we change how we play depending on our mood. Sometimes we each take turns rolling the dice and making decisions and other times we decide that each of us must agree on the decision to be made. My son even pulls the game out and plays several rounds by himself! My family is looking for more games simliar to good ol' Max.
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MAXimum family fun! 5 Stars
December 07, 1999
We have been playing this game for 8 years (first with my daughter, now 13, and now with her two little brothers), and it never loses its appeal. There aren't many pieces, making it easier to keep track of them. My kids feel like they know the little creatures and hve a personal rrelationship with them. It is wonderful that there is no desire to cheat, no sore losing, no bragging winners. With two little boys 16 months apart, cooperative games are imperative. We love Max!
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