ThinkFun Rush Hour Jr.
by ThinkFun
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List Price: Our Price: $11.48 You Save: $6.51 (36%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $8.95 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of ThinkFun Rush Hour Jr.
Customer Review: Lots of fun but not too hard even for some 4-year-olds
Summary: 4 Stars
My son has speech development problems but, at 4, he's fairly good with patterns, so when we strolled into the local B&N store today he saw this and insisted that I buy this for him. I'm short on funds but decided to satisfy his desire for this puzzle board game with plastic car toys (thanks to the guy who invented credit cards in the 50s).
The aim of the game is to get the ice cream truck to the exit, which is on the same row as the truck but the truck is always blocked by at least one other vehicle, which makes it a challenge to move the pieces back and forth (no sideways or corner turns allowed). There're 40 challenges printed on cards, with the challenge on the front and the solution on the back of each card. There are 10 challenges per level: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert.
My 4-year-old quickly finished the 10 level-1 challenges, and he tried 2 intermediate challenges before asking for the harder ones. He then proceeded to solve 1 level-3 challenge before moving on to level 4, and he quickly solved 3 of them. Then he got a little bored and said he'd finish the rest tomorrow. He's definitely not a high-IQ kid -- he's at most average IQ for his age -- but like I said he is fairly good with patterns, and I have absolutely no idea how he was able to solve each puzzle rather quickly - faster than I, at least.
The game is still a lot of fun, and I'm defintiely not suggesting every 4- or 5-year-old will find this easy or enjoyable. I do wish the challenges had been a little harder, like maybe including a few super-guru ones.
Customer Review: One of my best toy purchases ever!
Summary: 5 Stars
I would highly recommend this game. I bought it for my 5 year old son. He is in kindergarten and they needed activities to fill their 'busy box'. The activities needed to fit in a shoe box and needed to be for independent play.
When we got the game he was excited to play with it (the cars, colors etc). There are 40 puzzles to solve. There are 4 levels within there (10 for each level). They get progressively more challenging.
He was able to solve 1-10 all by himself. Nice balance between ease/difficult so that he was interested, not frustrated and proud of himself. Absolutely independent play for him here. He can set up all the puzzles.
Starting in the 20's he starts needing a little guidance. It goes something like this....
Q: What is blocking the Ice Cream Truck?
A: The bus
Q: What is blocking the bus?
A: The police car
Q: What is blocking the police car?
A: The purple car.
Q: Can you move the purple car out of the way?
A: Yes.... (this leads to then going back and moving the police car and then the bus etc.)
More challenging puzzles involve moving the same cars more than once in different directions.
Answers for all the puzzles are included.
Ultimate answer for me on this game.... my son woke up this morning and played the game instead of watching TV. That's a miracle.
I'm very impressed with ThinkFun and plan to check out their other products.
Customer Review: Fantastic game!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great game for any child, even an only child because it is a one person game. It really requires analytical thinking. Basically, you set up the cars and trucks according to each card, and you move them around to get your ice cream truck out of the traffic jam. It is really fun and challenging. Each card gets more and more challenging. My kids love to try to get to the expert level. The question I had when buying it is whether to get the Jr. or the regular version. I would say most kids can get through every level of the Jr. game at age 7, but all kids are different. Some will be able to fly through them earlier and others it will take more time (the recommended age is 6-8, but I would say younger kids can do the easier levels for sure). It is still challenging once you have gotten through all the cards because you don't remember how to do each card. Eventually, your child will be ready for the regular Rush Hour game. I wish they would just sell the deck of cards because the game is pretty much the same. Both come in a drawstring bag to keep all the pieces together. There is also a train version of this game. It is a bit bigger. I think this is one of the best games out there!Customer Review: Fun & Educational
Summary: 5 Stars
I've never played Rush Hour, but the Junior version was a big hit with my 5 and 8 year old kids (and me!) this Christmas. It has 4 levels of difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert, with 10 cards in each level. You pick a card and set up the grid with vehicles as depicted on the card. The object is to get your ice cream truck through the traffic and exit the grid.The rules are: no moving cars sideways. You have to move them forward or backward based on the direction the vehicles are facing. The beginner cards typically require each vehicle be moved only once before you are able to get the ice cream truck through the traffic. With the advanced cards, you may have to move vehicles a few times as you strategically plan your escape.
This game is not only fun, but helps with organization (setting up the grid) and planning (figuring out how to get your ice cream truck out of a jam). It also gives the kids a sense of accomplishment as they move on to the more difficult cards.
I highly recommend it and we plan on buying the adult version soon!
Customer Review: Go play in the street!
Summary: 5 Stars
My 4.5 year old saw this game at a friend's, and has devoured it (figuratively) since she got it a few days ago. I gave her some basic organizational pointers, like 'put the cars you need on your left side' and stressed that the Ice Cream truck was always the one to focus her efforts on, and she has really amazed me with her problem-solving abilities. The game has many different aspects that aid development, including the setup of gamepieces according to a diagram, spatial relationships on a grid, taking on a challenge, and feeling accomplishment. Going through the cards sequentially helps her see what her next objective is, and she feels the thrill of chipping away at a problem, one obstacle at a time. The reward so far, has been moving on to the next card. However, in going with the premise of the game, when she finishes the last card, she get's to go out for a real banana split.