Featured game: Sprint
We all know the tale of the hare and the tortoise, how the arrogant and speedy hare went for a nap and was beaten by the tortoise, proving that slow and steady wins the race. However, in Sprint! the pressure is on to get the characters to stick to their story.
This co-operative game for families with younger children has players working on a team to race the tortoise around the board. With a fast play time of around fifteen minutes, Sprint! is a great family game for 2-4 players - though it could easily be adapted to fit in an extra player or two.
So gather together your Team Tortoise, and get ready to show that hare who is the fastest of them all.
Why we love it
Sprint is so easy to teach and learn: players take it in turns to flip a card which will show a number, they then have to lift exactly this amount of cards from the stack. If they lift too many the tortoise will not move at all, lift exactly the right amount and he'll move four spaces, lift one too few and he'll only move three.
After determining how far the tortoise will move, the player then flips a card to show how the hare will move.
The game ends immediately after either the tortoise or the hare cross the finish line. If the tortoise wins then all players win together, if the hare wins then all players lose together.
We love co-operative games for teaching younger children about board games. As there's no competition between players, it's easier to guide little ones through their turns without putting them at a disadvantage. Plus they encourage teamwork, which is never a bad thing.
Where Sprint! really shines is in it's simplicity. It's small and portable, great for getting out at a moments notice and could easily be travelled with. It's compact nature makes it playable anywhere. It manages all of this, and is still a really original and unique game, we've never seen one quite like this, where the challenge is in your perception of how many cards you're lifting.
Who’s it best for
Sprint! Works well at 2-4 players, but as a co-operative game you could easily add in an extra player without it having a negative effect on the game play.
This one works well with children as young as four, ranging up to around seven or eight. Older children may feel less engaged as the game is so simple, but due to its speed it works nicely as a warm up to something a bit longer.
Loved it? Now try…
Outfoxed, a co-operative deduction game, a bit like Cluedo but friendlier to younger children.
Monsieur Carousel, a wonderfully tactile co-operative memory game
Dragon's Breath, a competitive game for younger children about judging probability and stealing gems from a dragon.