Hasbro Gaming Cranium Cariboo

My son loves all things pirate like, treasure hunts, etc. So this game's idea of unlocking a treasure box is fun for him. It is simple enough for him to play with an adult (we got it a few months before he turned 4), but I'm not sure if he's able to do it alone or with another child yet. You basically draw a card and open a secret compartment that corresponds to your card (for example the card says "A" or "2" or has a circle or color on it; Door have things such as 2 red airplanes in the shape of triangles, so they can be chosen for their shape or color or number or letter....) It has a more advanced version for when he is ready for more variety than the basic ABC/123's. Inside the compartments one will sometimes find a rubber ball, and if so, that ball is placed in a track on the side of the board. When all balls are in the track the treasure chest opens up and reveals gold sparkles and a purple plastic gem. We've had a lot of fun playing this game, so I'd highly recommend it!

I love this game and had one for my older daughter when she was little. I bought this used used one for my younger daughter, and it’s in poor condition.

My kids like this game, but usually tire of it after three or four rounds. The concept is very simple and each round has very little variation and as a result, my 4 & 6 year old sons don't stick with it for too long. It's a great game for younger children working on ABCs, colors, shapes, and taking turns. A couple of notes... The cards that slide in to each opening aren't too durable so watch out if you have a younger one who likes to tear things. Also, my kids quickly figured out that they could spot where the balls were by looking in to the open doors and quickly started cheating! It would be nice if the balls were a little less visable once the doors were open. Overall, this is a fun game and a good value for the price.

This is a well thought out excellent board game for everyone! Each child gets to be in charge of the key which is something kids love. You can play with a mixed age group as some can't count yet and older children are bored with simple things sometimes. Every turn is a surprise if whether you get a treasure ball or not and everyone is working together to get the treasure chest. The box IS the game so storage and keeping track of the few parts is a snap. I bought it hoping it would just be more fun than Candyland or Chutes & Ladders as not only were my husband and I bored with those games but my 3 year old was definetely no longer interested. We played it and I immediately bought one for her preschool and all of my nephews. It is now my favorite gift to give for birthdays. Absolutely excellent as a first board game to help them get interested in board games and just as excellent as a 100th board game as it's got so many tangible parts and is lots of fun. Nice work Cranium. This board game is anything but "bored."

A little disappointed. We paid about $50 for a used game, and the game was in good playable shape, but the game itself is a little too simple for our four-year-old granddaughter. Also, the game construction is not great, because once a couple of the ball-cover-lids are opened, it is too easy to see if other balls are in adjacent spots. The best part about it for us is it is an activity one of us can do with a grandchild, but the actual game play is a little boring, and I think over-priced for what you get, especially if one purchased a new game, at about $150 retail, but that's just my opinion.

As a former teacher and mother of a preschooler, I am always in search of good educational games that last and keep the interest of my children.Cranium Cariboo delivers, the counting, color and letter recognition are so important but children don't even realize they are learning it's soooo much fun. All children have a natural fascination with treasure and keys, so the problem is getting them to play...it's getting them to stop!I must also say, it seems so high quality compared to other games priced in the 15-20 range. Most are made of cheap plastic molds, clunky, noisy, falling apart. This one is sound and packaged so well.My only suggestion for improvement would be to be able to buy change out cards and door covers, for advancement with age. These go through colors, abc and 1-4. It would be great if they had add-on packs once kids get to where it's easy for them and need a new challenge. I looked and they would be quite easy to swap out.Regardless, it's a five star toy, also would be a great birthday gift!

The cranium Cariboo received is not new, one ball, one key, and a few cards missing. Also the treasure (diamond) is broken. Awful!

While this looked like a really cool toddler game-I was at first intimidated by the small bouncy balls I knew my son would want to throw. While that did happen, the problem I had with the toy were the small insert cards that each treasure "spot" had. They fell out easily, and in the event that several came out, there weren't any extras to replace lost ones. It would have been easier to have labeled double sided doors that were more secure, than the slip in papers.Next problem were the two separate stacks of small cards that the toddler draws and has to match up to the above treasure spots to open it to see if a ball is hidden there. My active son scrambled up the two separate types of cards within moments and, much to my dismay,there was nowhere to hold the cards within the game itself, and they were continuously strewn about until we gave up.Finally, the last problem, after collecting all of these little pieces, was that the box had been destroyed in the process of opening the clear front cover of the game, and again, there was nowhere to store the pieces.It was poorly designed for curious toddler play...