Family Pastimes / Max - A Co-operative Game

by Family Pastimes

• Players work together to get the creatures safely home before Max the cat gets them
• Children learn to use logic, consultation and cooperative decision making in an exciting way
• Awarded the Canadian Toy Testing Top Rating
• For 1 to 8 players ages 4 through 7 years
• Made in Canada using recycled boards and papers, soy-based inks, water based glues and safe paints

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 12 inches ; 13 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Origin: Imported (Canada)
• ASIN: B00000IUFD
• Item model number: MX
• Manufacturer recommended age: 4 - 7 years
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,746 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #47 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Basic & Life Skills Toys
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com

This board game doesn't pit players against each other in competition. Instead, all players work cooperatively to get a bird, a chipmunk, and a mouse (collectively known as Little Creatures) safely home before Max the Tomcat catches them and, presumably, eats them! The dice have single spots--either black or green--on each face. Black spots move Max, green spots move the Little Creatures. Players roll the dice and, in consultation with each other, decide which pieces to move in a game-long effort to foil Max. A refreshing twist on more traditional board games, this is a win/win situation for the players. They will undoubtedly always be able to save at least some of the Little Creatures from Max! Children might need help from an adult in separating the cardboard game pieces. The full-color game board is 12 inches square. --Wendy Slotboom

Product Description

We must help get the little creatures safely home before Max, the tomcat, catches them. In an exciting way, children learn logic, consultation and decision making. An important issue to discuss is also raised: we don't like Max catching those little ones, yet we recognize that he is a natural hunter. How do we resolve this in our minds and hearts? Let's talk it over. Includes: 12 x 12" board, special dice, 4 movers, 4 cat treats.

Our customers say: "Our kids play Max over and over again!" - Tennessee

Play as friends, not as enemies! Family Pastimes games foster the spirit of cooperation. Players help each other climb a mountain, make a community, complete a space exploration... They never play against each other. After all, the initial impulse to play a game is social; that is, we bring out a game because we want to do something together. How ironic then that in most games, we spend all our efforts trying to bankrupt someone, destroy their armies - in other words, to get rid of one another!

At Family Pastimes we believe that people of different ages and abilities should be able to play side by side, each making their best contribution. We are all there together when we finish the game to take joy in our successes and wonder how we might work together even better the next time we play. Thus, Family Pastimes games will prove to be a friendly form of fun. Socialization, entertainment, academic learning, character growth, etc. - whatever your objectives, we invite you to realize them by cooperative means. We hope you enjoy playing and learning together!

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars MAXimum family fun! December 7, 1999

By A Customer

Durability: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

We have been playing this game for 8 years (first with my daughter, now 13, and now with her two little brothers), and it never loses its appeal. There aren't many pieces, making it easier to keep track of them. My kids feel like they know the little creatures and hve a personal rrelationship with them. It is wonderful that there is no desire to cheat, no sore losing, no bragging winners. With two little boys 16 months apart, cooperative games are imperative. We love Max!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A friendly game for young children January 12, 2006

By M. Capra

Durability: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

Here's how the game works:

The three Little Creatures get a head start on Max. You roll the two dice, and you either get two green dots, two black dots, or one of each - green dots move the creatutes, black dots move Max. If you roll double green you can move one creature two spaces or two creatures one space. Each creature has its own shortcut to skip a corner, but it has to land on it exactly. Max can take all the shortcuts, and he doesn't have to land on them exactly, but he does miss them if you roll double black. You also have four treats. Giving Max a treat makes him go all the way back to his house, but once the four treats are used up they are gone. Max also goes back to his house if he catches a creature. My understanding of the game is that it's difficult to get all three creatures safely to the tree, but it's almost impossible for Max to catch all three creatures.

While the game is driven by rolling the dice to see whether you move the creatures or Max, the child has two decisions to make:

1. Which creature(s) to move

You have to learn how to balance movement among the three creatures, and how to arrange it so that a creature lands exactly on the entrance to its shortcut. Older children will realize that sometimes you have to let Max catch one of the creatures to make sure that the other two get home safely.

2. When to give Max a treat

To do this properly you have to be able to predict the furthest Max could move on the next dice roll, and whether that puts any of the creatures in danger. If you give Max treats too often you'll run out, not often enough and he'll catch the other creatures.

I bought this game for my youngest nephew because I'm an avid gamer but, at 4 years, he was a little young for most games.... He really likes this game because he gets to participate in every turn. He got a little upset at the thought of the small animals getting eaten by Max, so his mom changed it so that Max just sends them back to his house at the beginning of the path and they stay there, instead of going to the tree at the end (more like "catching" them than actually "eating" them).

I like that the game is cooperative, with all players moving all the creatures - little chance for hurt feelings at the end of the game. There can still be turn-taking in the form of who gets to roll the dice, and who gets priority over movement decisions. I also like that there is some strategy to the game, unlike Candy Land which is purely chance-driven. This is also a game that a child can play by herself. Read more ›

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Without Fighting! July 12, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

Durability: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I bought this game for my then 5 year old son to play with his friends who came over to play because more traditional competitive games were causing too much conflict. What I hadn't counted on was how much fun this game is for parents to play with kids too! Gone is the frustration of my little boy when he feels he never whens because "he's the littlest". This game puts all players on the same team. The rules of the game are just structured enough to give you a starting point, but we change how we play depending on our mood. Sometimes we each take turns rolling the dice and making decisions and other times we decide that each of us must agree on the decision to be made. My son even pulls the game out and plays several rounds by himself! My family is looking for more games simliar to good ol' Max.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Max is good but not 'all that' June 14, 2011

By H. Scott

Amazon Verified Purchase

Durability: 2.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

I really appreciate all that this game strives to be in terms of 'co-operative' game playing, but in terms of how the physical game is manufactured, it's a bit lacking.
1. The board itself is tiny. When you put young children around a standard table to play it, their arms aren't long enough to reach the board at all (with a bigger board everyone could at least reach the side closest to them) and if you put it on a very small table, adults are knocking knees and getting a backache.
2. There are times when the critters have to share a board space, but the spaces aren't big enough to fit two, let alone all three critters. If two or three game pieces can end up on one space, the space should have room for them.
3. Max's cat treats have no 'holding' area. We are instructed to put them 'off the board'. Why wasn't a holding area created on the board? Again, the board should be bigger.
4. The game pieces - Max, critters, and treats - are all just pieces of simple cardboard. Flimsy and cheap.
5. The board bends in half (to fit in the box), but they put the fold vertically on the board and the lumpy bumpy seam affects game play in three(!) places. If the seam was horizontal, it would only affect game play in one place. Arg.
The story and flow of the game is fairly smart but the design and manufacture of it is not so much. Especially for the price.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Game of strategy December 22, 2008

By Grandma Jeanne

Durability: 3.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

My 5 year old grandson absolutely loved this game and didn't want to stop playing. I thought it was great because we worked as a team to beat the cat. It wasn't about winning as an individual, but winning for the critters so the cat wouldn't catch and eat them. It was great fun to watch my grandson think through what he should do next in order for the critters to get home safely. I would highly recommend it for children ages 4 to 10.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars SO MUCH MORE FUN than other preschool board games March 13, 2011

By L. Liu

Durability: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

My preschool age daughter loves board games, but I can only take so much of Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, or Hi Ho Cherry-O. Max is so much better than the "regular" board games you find at stores like Target. The objective of this game is to get the squirrel, mouse, and bird to safety before the cat Max gets to them. You roll the dice to determine if Max moves or the little creatures move. When Max gets too close, you can call him back to the starting point for a treat. Kids and adults can work together to try to get the little creatures to safety. My preschool age daughter has no trouble figuring out the rules and she enjoys calling Max back for a treat. Like I mentioned before, some preschool games get old real quick for adults, but Max is entertaining for all ages. The only complaint that I have is that the pieces are made of cardboard paper. I think it would be more appealing and durable if they have little plastic figures for the animals.