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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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I really appreciate all that this game strives to be in terms of 'co-operative' game playing, but in terms of how the physical game is manufactured, it's a bit lacking.

1. The board itself is tiny. When you put young children around a standard table to play it, their arms aren't long enough to reach the board at all (with a bigger board everyone could at least reach the side closest to them) and if you put it on a very small table, adults are knocking knees and getting a backache.

2. There are times when the critters have to share a board space, but the spaces aren't big enough to fit two, let alone all three critters. If two or three game pieces can end up on one space, the space should have room for them.

3. Max's cat treats have no 'holding' area. We are instructed to put them 'off the board'. Why wasn't a holding area created on the board? Again, the board should be bigger.

4. The game pieces Max, critters, and treats are all just pieces of simple cardboard. Flimsy and cheap.

5. The board bends in half (to fit in the box), but they put the fold vertically on the board and the lumpy bumpy seam affects game play in three(!) places. If the seam was horizontal, it would only affect game play in one place. Arg.

The story and flow of the game is fairly smart but the design and manufacture of it is not so much. Especially for the price.

Best Deals for Family Pastimes / Max - A Co-operative Game

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.

Honest reviews on Family Pastimes / Max - A Co-operative Game

My preschool age daughter loves board games, but I can only take so much of Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, or Hi Ho Cherry-O. Max is so much better than the "regular" board games you find at stores like Target. The objective of this game is to get the squirrel, mouse, and bird to safety before the cat Max gets to them. You roll the dice to determine if Max moves or the little creatures move. When Max gets too close, you can call him back to the starting point for a treat. Kids and adults can work together to try to get the little creatures to safety. My preschool age daughter has no trouble figuring out the rules and she enjoys calling Max back for a treat. Like I mentioned before, some preschool games get old real quick for adults, but Max is entertaining for all ages. The only complaint that I have is that the pieces are made of cardboard paper. I think it would be more appealing and durable if they have little plastic figures for the animals.

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This is a great game!!! It teaches children about the food web, differing perspectives (i.e. cat, small animals), strategy (to call Max back or not), patience, how to follow game rules, turn taking, and strategy (to move one animal two spaces or two animals one space, deciding which animal to move first, calling back Max or not). Besides all of that, it's really fun. I would highly recommend this game to any parent or care giver of small children over three.