My First Castle Panic

By Fireside Games
Price $19.95
Age 4+ yrs.

It's easy to see why kids find this remarkably well-crafted cooperative board game to be hugely enjoyable. The setup itself is captivating: a colorful game board with a rustic path leading to a castle and an ever-changing cast of monsters heading steadily towards that castle! The object is to catch all of the monsters (represented by illustrated tokens) before one reaches the castle and knocks it flat. These captures are achieved by players matching shapes and colors on cards to those on any space on the board with a monster on it. The capture of monsters happens frequently (off to the dungeon!), but the rules of play cause the remaining monsters to advance towards the castle, with new monsters regularly added to the mix. With easy-to-learn rules and no reading required, My First Castle Panic is an outstanding game for young children and has the added benefit of remaining exciting and entertaining even after many games played!