Customer Reviews

Cooperative Game for Cowgirls and Cowboys, Round-Up

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 8-year-old plays this game with his psychologist during therapy. He ADORES this game and we don't worry about who wins and who loses. We will purchase other games by this manufacturer. Highly recommended for children with special needs, such as Tourette Syndrome Plus! Our psychologist says that kids from ages 6-teens love this game in his office.

The "cooperative" idea of this game is the best feature. With two boys (a 4 and a 6 year old) we find that competition is always at the forefront of life. In this game we all have to work together. We all win or we all lose. Nothing in between. There is no ownership; we all share ideas and moves during the game. It's a great game for the 3-4 age range because all players discuss the playing strategies and the younger players are not constantly the underdogs.

I'm a speech-language pathologist and I bought this game after my students told me they played it with another therapist. I work with children ages 5-11 years and so far, I've used this game with 7-10 year olds and they all love love LOVE the game. I like it because it's not competitive at all. They all have to work together and talk about their ideas and their decisions. When they don't, there's a consequence (of not getting all the horses in the corral). It's also good because there's chance involved, so the children can't blame each other. For children on the spectrum who have difficulty taking other people's points of view into account, it brings the perspectives into light. It also requires them to converse with their peers to get things done.

In terms of durability, the board itself seems rather sturdy. The cards, as mentioned by other reviewers, are small and a bit flimsy. After reading the reviews, I decided to laminate the cards after gluing them onto construction paper so that they can be used by all the kids multiple times. Hopefully that will help increase its durability.

I also bought the Memory and Mystery game, but have not yet played it.

We bought this game (and others from the same designer) because we wanted cooperative games represented for our 3 year old girl. She enjoys the typical games for her age (Candyland, etc), but we wanted something cooperative and something that encouraged some strategic thinking.

Roundup fit the bill admirably. She loves the idea of rescuing horses, and over time I've seen her start to make decisions based on thinking ahead to what's best for the game (moving a horse a head in case a rock comes down to block it, for example).

It's also possible for a particular game setup to be unwinnable, so that you don't rescue all the horses. For me, helping her to realize that you don't need to win the game to have fun is an important part of a non-competitive game.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this game for anyone looking for something different for their toddlers.

Idea of Game is good. The kids (age 6) wanted to be a particular horse rather than "find the horse." the game board was much smaller than I expected and the "tear-out" game pieces are not very durable.

We got this game a few days ago and we've played it many, many times. It is a quick, fun game and I love that it is cooperative. We work out our strategy together. I can't wait to try out some of their other games.