Race to the Treasure
$15.00
Race To The Treasure at a Glance
| Game Type Tile Placement Treasure Hunt Co-Operative Strategy | Play Time 20 mins | Skill/Complexity (1 - 5) Non-Complex Light Strategy |
| Age 5+ | Publisher(s) Peaceable Kingdom | Published 2012 |
| Categories Kids Educational / Children's / Family | Players 2 - 4 | Rules Manual Official Rules PDF |
| Our Rating 9/10 | Cost $15.00 + |
About – Description
Race To The Treasure! is a co-operative tile placement game where players must work together as a team. Drawn from a bag, tiles show either a picture of the Ogre or a path. Path pieces mean you move forwards a closer to the treasure!
Ideal for young children in particular, it’s great for teaching problem solving and teamwork. As it only takes around 20 minutes to complete it will hold their attention too!
Best Suited For Children Ages 5 +
As the game is aimed at players aged 5 and over, Race To The Treasure! is an entry-level family game. It could be considered educational in some aspects as it requires some low level strategy and the ability to work alongside others.
Skill – Complexity
Despite the recommended minimum age, due to its very simple nature and low complexity it could be played by children as young as 2.
Set Up – Playing Rules & Instructions
Setting up
Inside the box you’ll find:
- 1 game board
- 1 pair of dice
- 37 game cards
- 4 key tokens
- 1 Ogre snack
- Instructions
Open the board and roll the dice to decide where you want to put the 4 Keys and 1 Ogre Snack on the available spaces. For example, if you roll a B on one die and a 4 on the other, a Key should be placed on the space in column B and row 4. Do the same for all Keys and then the Ogre Snack. Only one Key or Ogre Snack can be on a space.
Next, shuffle the Ogre Cards and Path Cards together and put them in a draw pile face down where each player can reach them. Now you’re ready to start.
Object of the game
It’s a race to see who can get to the treasure first – you or the Ogre! Players work together to make a continuous path from ‘Start’ to the treasure while collecting 3 Keys that will unlock the treasure. If the players collect 3 Keys and reach the ‘End’ space first, they win.
If the Ogre reaches the end first, he wins. Players must also collect a minimum of 3 Keys or they cannot win, even if they are first to reach the end.
Playing Instructions
Decide who goes first and then take it in turns to take a card from the pile to either place a Path card or an Ogre card on the board. Ogre cards should go on the right side of the board in the Ogre’s Path which is shown in Red. Begin at the top and each time an Ogre card is played it will go down the path toward the End space (you don’t want that!)
A Path card has to start on the Start space and end on the End space and must stay connected right across the board. You must also collect 3 out of the 4 Keys in order to win. Paths can branch out from each other and go off in various directions, that’s fine, but ultimately one path needs to run from Start to Finish.
Tip: If players are worried about the Ogre beating them, why not try collecting the Ogre Snake token early on to remove one Ogre tile from the Ogre path.
Short video overview you may like!
Versions – Editions
After the launch of the English edition in 2012, two further editions were made in Russian (2014) and Chinese (2016).
Likes & Dislikes
There’s plenty to love about this game and frankly nothing much to dislike. The mechanics are simple and straight forward for young children to remember and perform as it’s really only a case of drawing and placing tiles. The good thing is it’s showing children how to spot the moves that most benefit the team. Solidly built and with traditional style artwork, this is a game that’s not to be missed.
Final Thoughts
Race To The Treasure! is a cool, quirky little game that children spanning a broad range of ages will enjoy. Building a path encourages kids to consider all options and plan ahead, so there is a certain element of strategy involved as well as luck.
A fast and fun game that parents will also enjoy (even if it’s the 20th time they’ve played it in a day), it doesn’t get boring as each time a new path is formed. A perfect game to play whilst getting dinner ready or just before bed.
