Customer Reviews

Cranium Cariboo Island

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My 2.5 year old has a wonderful time playing this in beginner mode. I also got excited watching her demonstrate how well she knew her numbers, letters, shapes and colours. The concept of the game has just the right amount of complexity to keep her (and me) interested, but is simple enough that she knows exactly how it works and it doesn't require ongoing guidance or coaching every time. I like that it has a harder level - though I expect it will have to get put away for a while to make it interesting again once her interest wanes at the easy level.

We have both the original Cariboo game plus this Island version. It does teach letter, number, color and shape recognition. The doors come off easily (at least by my child), but is hard to get back on. The chest sometimes opens when bumped, which takes away the fun part of it opening at the end. The one good feature is that you can not accidentally see where the coins are hidden like you could with the original. All in all I still recommend the original game over this one.

I bought this for my 4 y.o. It is fun to use the key to open the bins and have the anticipation of maybe finding a coin. Other than that, not much to offer. The basic game was too easy for him, and the advanced game also felt limited. Very little replay value. The treasure chest pops open when bumped and fails to pop open as it's supposed to when all the coins are "buried" in the plastic "sand" slot. The packaging is cheap and tough to get the pieces of the game in and out of. The island moves easily when bumped but does not spin independently of the base. To turn it, you have to be careful not to open the chest, not to close open bins, and to stabilize it so it doesn't scoot across the floor or table.

This game arrived today. We played it twice and have had the same experiences as many other reviewers: The treasure chest does not open automatically at the end, as it should, but it is easy enough to open it manually. Opening the "doors" with the key takes more strength than my 3-year-old son has. In spite of these design flaws, the concept of finding treasures was really exciting for my son, and the beginner matching mode of the game is perfect for his abilities, so I think we'll be playing this a lot and I'm quite glad I bought it.

Got this for our 4 year old granddaughter. We had loved the original Cranium Caribou, which I was told was no longer made. We decided to try this one. Assembly was easy and the rules of the game understandable. When it came time to add the final chip and "get the treasure surprise", the chest would not open. I called Hasbro, they said they had no more to go back to Amazon. I called and you very nicely sent me a new game which was the same as the last. An adult could push the chips hard enough but not a child. Too bad, Cranium was a great company.

This is another "fun" and educational Cranium game. It's essentially the same as the original "Cariboo" that our grandchildren just love (ages 2-5). The action on the new island is too stiff for little hands, but it will probably loosen up with use. The advanced letters and numbers will increase the age span that will enjoy the game. Our less than two-year-old grandchild asks for the "ball key" (the original Cariboo) as soon as he gets to our house, sometimes he asks for it before he leaves his home! Why something so simple is so much fun eludes me--but all of our first five grandchildren have loved this game, and I'm pretty sure they'll feel the same about Cranium Cariboo Island.

I will try to fill in what I feel is missing from some of the other reviews.

This game is designed for kids who are just starting to learn their letters and numbers. Will it be fun for a 6 year old? Probably not. But my 2.5 year old loves playing it and it has motivated him to learn his letters, and to count carefully. For parents, it is more tolerable than some other board games for this age group. The game is simple and the pace is pretty quick.

Gameplay:
To set up, you first put some plastic 'treasure' coins into a treasure chest on the top of the 'board', and they slide down into a bunch of hidden compartments. Each compartment has a card on it with pictures and a word. For example, there may be 4 yellow helicopters and the word helicopter. There is an easy version and more challenging version, and to switch between the two you flip the picture/word cards over. There is also a separate deck of cards that you draw from each turn. You draw a card, then try to find a compartment that matches whatever is on your card (ie. the color yellow, the letter "i", or a square). When you find a match, you use the provided key to open the compartment and hope there is a coin inside. On the easy cards there is a letter (A, B, or C) or a number (1, 2, or 3) or a color. For the easy cards, the letter is always at the beginning of the word. For the more challenging deck, the cards include numbers up to 10 and the every letter in the alphabet (upper and lower case), while dropping the colors. You also have to look throughout the whole word to find the letter instead of just at the beginning.

Having the easy and difficult version is a nice way to get used to the rules and allows you to play it with younger kids. I will say that I was amazed at how well my son was able to identify letters after playing this a few times. At first I would rotate the 'island' until a correct answer was in front of him. He really loved playing it and got better every time. After a while he was able to find the letter before I got it around to him so I started letting him search by himself while I slowly rotated it.

The issues:
Yes, it is true that when you 'win,' the treasure chest doesn't open automatically like it should. Not a big deal to me as my son still loves it. He loves opening the compartments with the little key and checking for treasure. When he wins, I just opened the chest by hand for him, but honestly he felt like a winner every time he found the right letter or uncovered a piece of treasure. Other than the chest not opening, the game is built rather well I think. The compartments work like they should, and the treasure is randomly distributed amongst the compartments.

This game isn't the kind of thing that every kid will love. We won't be playing it for years and years or anything. But for the right age group this game is more educational than many other toys that claim to be, and fun to boot! Well done Cranium!

Played this game at a friends house and then bought it for my 3 year old daughter. Love this game! It's educational and fun. Not sure what other reviewers are talking about - it does spin just fine, the doors open OK, and the coins aren't hard to put in the treasure chest, and the chest doesn't just open up on its own. We have had no problems with this game at all -- played it about 10 already in the past week and it has been a lot of fun. Looking forward to playing the advanced cards when my daughter learns the beginning ones - which is also a cool grow-with-you feature, like 2 games in 1.

I have a 6 year old and a 3 year old,they got this as a gift and it was definitely the big hit on Christmas. They love that they can do it on their own. It looks very cute as well.

When it says for ages 3+, they really do mean 3. My son got this for his 4th birthday and, while the advanced cards don't present a challenge at all, he likes sticking the key in the hole so the door opens. I expect him to find that fun for another week or two. Same twelve doors every time we play. SOmeone else said "Very little replay value" and I agree. That other reviewer also said this, which is also my experience: The treasure chest pops open when bumped and fails to pop open as it's supposed to when all the coins are "buried" in the plastic "sand" slot. The packaging is cheap and tough to get the pieces of the game in and out of. This game is fine for a 3-year old, but I would say don't bother for a 4-yr old.