Board Game Reviews

My First Treasure Hunt Board Game

Overview:

photo courtesy of Jumping High Five Games

You are treasure hunters who have landed on a lush tropical island ready to search for gold, but an approaching storm threatens to thwart your plans for fortune!

Players must work together to explore and discover hidden treasure chests around the island as weather cards are flipped to represent the storms that could halt treasure seekers in their tracks!

Game Play:

First, determine the challenge level of the game by deciding to locate 1,2, 0r 3 treasure chests. Players take three cards to start the game, then take turns playing a card to the discard pile and completing their action: either moving their treasure hunter down a path, flipping a cloud to a storm cloud, flipping a storm cloud back to a cloud, or getting lost in the mysterious mist. After discovering all treasure chests, players must make their way back to the dock and board their boat before the storm makes it impossible to do so.

photos courtesy of Jumping High Five Games

Gameschooling:

As an introduction to board gaming, My First Treasure Hunt helps very young players build a gaming foundation and improve basic board gaming skills like taking turns, handling cards, counting, making age-appropriate decisions, and learning simple strategy.

What We Like About This Game:

The box is appropriately sized for the components, a rarity in board gaming!
The components are very colorful and sturdy, sure to capture the attention of little board gamers.
Reading not required for this game, but a general knowledge of numbers and counting is.
The game plays in about 10-15 minutes.
The level of difficulty can be adjusted depending on ages/skill of children playing.

Final Thoughts

Cooperative games are fantastic to play with children because it lessens the competitive factor and focuses on everyone working together to beat the game. Playing through My First Treasure Hunt, we found the style of game play and colorful look to be similar to another cooperative board gaming publisher we love, Peaceable Kingdom. (And this is a great compliment, because we love their games!)

We were impressed with the components, rules, and overall game play. Our 6.5 year old had fun playing this simple game even though she has moved on to playing some games from our collection. She also loved coloring the including sheet featuring the characters of the Jumping High Five Games universe.

For board gaming families who start their children in the hobby at a young age, I believe the sweet spot for this game is about 4-5 years old. And while our daughter has generally outgrown the simple play of My First Treasure Hunt, she still enjoys breezy children’s games and has requested to play this one when it’s her turn to choose games for game night. For non-gaming families just introducing mechanisms to their children, I think this game is perfect for 4-7 years old.

Bottom Line:

My First Treasure Hunt is a fun, colorful introduction to board gaming I would recommend for ages 4-6.

We received our copy of My First Treasure Hunt from Jumping High Five Games for review, but all opinions are our own.

(Review) Dragon’s Cave

Dragon’s Cave is a fun, quick game that usually results in a lot of laughter around the table.

Here’s what we think about Dragon’s Cave, in our own words:

Stephanie: I am always up for a game of Dragon’s Cave. I enjoy push-your-luck games, and the suspense with this one is just enough for kids and families. We really get into the hiding of the gold in our hands – it is extremely dramatic. I feel like we rarely beat Brian, but, whatever.

Brian: I liked this game more with the first few plays, but it’s a great first game to introduce kids to the concept of probability. There are other children’s games I would rather play as a family, so this one isn’t a favorite of mine.

5 year-old: I like to play the game. I like the coins. I like the cards. I also like the little dwarves.

Who should play: families who want a quick game that is easy to learn and fun for all ages

Good for newbies? For sure – it’s an accessible family/children’s game.

Good for kids? Blue orange designs many fun family games. Dragon’s Cave works well for children as young as 4-5 years old.

Want to learn more about Dragon’s Cave? Check out this post that covers the game in-depth!

(Review) Santa Monica

While we liked Santa Monica the first time we played it, our gameplay was a bit rough with learning how to best place the cards, move the meeples, and score. With the next few plays, Santa Monica climbed its way onto BOTH of our top five lists.

Here’s what we love about Santa Monica, in our own words:

Stephanie: First off, the art and theme are awesome, and definitely what caught my eye when the game was released. I love 14 turns to choose the best cards for maximum scoring. It’s really puzzley without being a brainburner, and we can play in about 30 minutes.

Brian: I like that there is strategy to the game, but it doesn’t feel complex – this makes it a perfect 25-30 minute weeknight game for us. It’s fun to look for combos to try to score and make chains of cards. The art is great.

Who should play: people who like drafting and tableau building games with a nice theme we don’t usually see in boardgaming / people who like puzzley games

Good for newbies? I think for new gamers, getting used to different scoring methods and iconography can be challenging. BUT, I think this game is generally accessible.

Good for kids? The Board Game Geek community puts this game at a 10+ (never go by the ages on the box, as this is for safety testing, NOT ability) and I would agree with that. There is minimal reading, but the game is strategic.

Want to learn more about Santa Monica? Check out this post that covers the game in-depth!