This is the classic Chutes and Ladders you know and love from when you were a kid. Bought this for a 4 1/2 year old boy. It was a little frustrating for him at first when he realized that getting to a chute means going backwards, but now that he's used to it, he enjoys the game. Helps him practice counting.

I am not sure if there are different versions of this game, but my daughter got this for a gift, and while it is fun to play, it can be confusing at times. The board needs to have less pictures on, and more arrows pointing to which direction you are going. For little ones who like to play this, it is sometimes easy to forget which direction you are going and end up going the wrong way! (lol! I have done it myself). The board seems a bit too "busy", and the numbers are very small, with only a small arrow at the beginning of each line. The only other negative I have is that the game pieces are a cheap cardboard that must be put together before each play (otherwise if you don't take them apart they won't fit into the box ). This means that the cardboard will eventually become frayed at the bottom where you stick the pieces into the plastic bases. They really should be one solid plastic piece. So I give the game designers 0 stars, and the 3 stars are for game concept and overall fun factor.

I played this game as a child and with my own children and now I am playing it with my grandson. While some of the graphics have changed slightly it is still the game I remember. My Grandson enjoys it just as much as my sons did and we all have great fun together. In addtion it helps to teach them sharing and waiting in turn. My grandson really loves going down the "slides". I think the classic games of childhood are great ways of bringing the past into the present.

I bought this for my son as a first game, and I've played it with him, as well as his younger sister, who is now 4 years old. I cringe every time they want to play this game. The board is so busy looking, and the slides cover squares that you need to count as you land on or pass by. It's confusing to kids about which way they're to go on the board (first they go left, then they go up, then they go right, etc.) I constantly have to help them count squares that are covered over by the slides, et al, tell them which direction to go, etc. This is not one of the best counting games out there. Try Hi Ho Cherry-O. MUCH better game!

Reading the reviews, I see that one complaint of parents is that children have a hard time following the game board. New research is specifically naming board games like Chutes and Ladders... with the number line... to be especially helpful in helping young children to do better at math in school. So, parents, please don't give up if your kids are struggling with this. Doing this game with your child could be one of the best things you can do to prepare them for school.

I just played this game with my oldest son who is 6. I felt like we had fallen into in infinite time loop anomaly, and a boring one at that.

Where to start?

First, there's the cheesy cardboard gender specific pieces, and if you have a combination of genders not supported by the pieces, tough. Why not just do something colorful and abstract like other games. Add to that the cardboard stand-up pieces are too tall and continually falling over and getting in the way when opponents are continualy passing each other and landing on the same squares as they are continually reaching for that magic 100 and getting sent down a slide to oblivion only to begin the process again.

Then there's the infinite and tedious gameplay. Move in straight lines back and forth on a mostly featureless board counting up to 100 as you spin a spinner and hope against hope that you get to climb a ladder and avoide a "chute" (which is actually a slide).

I suppose it's great if you want to teach a child to count to 100 and keep playing at reaching a goal no matter how much bad luck befalls him or her, but Candyland can do that (well, not the 100 part but the goal part, and the kids don't need to know how to count to 100) and it's a lot more fun.

The other adults (my wife and a friend) that I mention this game to both remember playing it as a child and changing the rules just so the game will finally end. So, what's the point in this game?

Seriously, this game might have been great in its day, whenever that was, but you've got a lot more options now. Those kids don't stay little and cute forever, so why not buy a geniunely fun game to play with them?

The best thing about this game are the graphics. Unlike many other games out there the illustrations are really adorable and astheticlly pleasing. But, like many games out there, the age grading is incorrect. The box says clearly the game is for pre-schoolers, but my 4 year old son can't possibly follow the track by himself. My 1st grade daughter is really getting a lot out of it though. Following the track to 100 is much easier for her and slightly educational as well. It's fun to play together, but Mom has to be there with the kids to help. Since I purchased the game to have something fun to do as a family, I have no problem sitting there showing my son how to count and where to put his game piece. If you want something for your pre-school age child to do independantly, then look elsewhere.

Ah, chutes and ladders. A classic.

It takes just minutes to learn but a lifetime to master the strategy.

And you never know from game to game exactly how the child you play with will attempt to cheat this time, so it is always exciting. By the way, remind me to tell you about my ingrown toenail. Actually, on second thought, I prefer that nobody know about it, it's a little embarrassing. So, never mind.

[...]. You know, for being a game I played as a kid that kids still play. But other reviewers have pointed out that young kids constantly get turned around going up the ladders and down the chutes. That's true, I'll dock a star for that, it does make it a hard game to play with any kid young enough to be interested in playing it. They could put little arrows across the bottoms of the rows to help people along, or a little trail of footprints or something cute like that. Still, kids do gravitate towards this game, they seem to like the little subplots around each chute and ladder, little stories of rewards and consequences.

This is an old standby. You have to have this one if you have kids. It's the same as it ever was. If it's been a number of years since you've had the pleasure of playing, let me remind you that a game of this can take an eternity. Not always. It just depends on if everyone keeps landing on the chutes. Sometimes, it takes long enough that one or more of the kids will actually just get sick of it and quit. Sometimes, you get lucky and it goes by really quickly.

Pretty good game for ages 2 or 3 and up.

I know this is a "classic" but in this version my almost 5 year old son (and myself actually) have trouble following the track. You move from left to right and then when you get to the end of the row you move up one space and then move right to left then on the next row you do the opposite again. The spaces are numbered but it is hard to read and my son obviously cannot follow the higher numbers. So you end up going one way and then you slide down and you have to go the other way. It is frustrating for us because we end up getting confused and having to redo the turn because we went the wrong way.

The "water color" pictures are nice but it is sometimes hard to tell where you are supposed to be.

Candyland is much clearer in this sense and my son has a lot of fun with that one.

I bought this toy for my granddaughter. She really enjoys it. I had the same game as a child and had hours of fun with it. I think it is a good game for little ones to learn to take turns, learn consequences and be a good sport.

This is a great family fun game. My son who is 5 can easily comprehend the game's rules. He started playing around 4 and every now and then we break Sorry out for a nice fun evening of games.

As a British child, one of the games I played frequently was Snakes and Ladders. It remains one of the most popular games in Britain for young children. Many years later, I discovered that American children play this game too, but with the snakes replaced by chutes. There are other differences too (at least as far as this particular product is concerned) - the die (a simple, solid cube) used in the British game is replaced by a less durable spinner, while the counters (simple circular pieces of plastic) used in Britain to move around the board are replaced by cardboard characters that fit into plastic stands - again, much less durable than their British equivalents. Perhaps these fancy pieces are designed to make the game seem more interesting. The British game is sufficiently appealing to children without them - the snakes are colourful and much more attractive than chutes can ever be.

Aside from these differences, the British and American games are the same although the layout of the board may vary from one individual product to another. I played the game on several different boards (from different manufacturers) and the positions of the snakes and ladders certainly affected the game. On this particular American version, I can see that having three chutes close together near the end would be particularly frustrating - if a game is too difficult to finish, enthusiasm wanes somewhat.

While it certainly helps if the children playing the game recognize the numbers 1 to 100, it is also true that if they play the game often enough, they should eventually understand which way they have to move their pieces, though parents or older children may need a lot of patience while this process happens.

The result of the game is pure luck with no element of skill so, no matter how often you play, you cannot improve your chances of winning by fair play, so everybody has an equal chance. This is an advantage in a children's game - they learn all about winning and losing and the emotions involved.

This is a fun game for young children of school age. Bright children of pre-school age might also enjoy it but these children will grow out of it at an earlier age than average children.

If you buy this particular product, I recommend replacing the spinner with a die and the cardboard pieces with more durable pieces. Do that and the children will have plenty of fun.

This is close to the classic snakes & ladders we played as children, but it is not very durable. The playing pieces are little folded cardboard characters that fit into plastic stands. The spinner does not work well. We replaced ours with a die. (I keep extra dice on hand for games like that). My son (age 4) can count to 100, but sometimes he still gets confused as to which way to go and occasionally wants to "climb" a ladder when his spot crosses halfway instead of at the bottom.
Classic? Yes.
Durable? No.
Fun? Not very.
Candy land is much better and if you've got the cash, Balloon Lagoon is a blast.

My son got this game for Christmas last year and we played it over and over! I expected him to be more stressed about sliding down the chutes but it was a really good experience for him to learn about "chance and luck". He learned that sometimes you get lucky and get to climb a ladder and sometimes you are unlucky and have to slide down the chute. I think it was a valuable lesson for him to learn and am glad we played it so much. He is a much better sport now when we play games!

I bought the game for my Grandaughter who is not yet 4 years old. The game was fun & easy to use. She really liked playing the game.

This is a great "first board game" for kids, who will probably enjoy it from ages 3-5 or so. Extremely simple to play, players take turns spinning the spinner and moving the number of squares indicated. Kids get excited by the unpredictable ups and downs. I award it 5 stars for educational value because it teaches counting, taking turns, and fair play (when these are reinforced by an adult playing along).

I think that the company could improve the quality when making the game. However, the game is fun for young children and very easy to learn how to play. It helps with counting and it's a nonviolent alternative to some of the games/toys out there.

I really like Chutes and Ladders for its educational value. It teaches children how to count to 100 and how to take turns. The pictures on the board also show the difference between cause and effect (ie: you break a dish you have to sweep it up). It is also no so very long although if you get caught up in some parts of the board it can drag on a bit. Still a very fun gave to play. Simple, no reading required.
A few problems though. It would be very nice if it was in a plastic case, that way I wouldn't have to keep taping the boxes which always seem to get broken. Also, the maekers used for keeping your place are in two pieces. It consists of a card with a boy/girl on it and a plastic piece to hold it up. I wish it were all one piece so that they wouldn't fall apart all the time when you go to move your marker. That's all though.
I still gave this game 5 stars because these problems that I have named are small compared to the fun that a family can have playing a game together!!!!

We ordered Chutes and Ladders for our four year old. He enjoys the game, but there are a few things that we don't like.

1.The child needs to be able to visually recognize the numbers 1-100, so that they know where to move. If your child, like ours, can't do this yet it becomes frustrating with having always to tell them where to move. It feels like you are playing for them. So, we play lots more Candy Land that Chutes and Ladders. So, this game probably isn't good for preschool children - unless you are willing to give them considerable help (which means no games played among just the children themselves).

2.The game pieces are made of cardboard that fits into little plastic stands. After several times of putting the cardboard into the stand the cardboad becomes compressed and will no longer stay in the stand. So, you will need to try to leave the stands on all the time, or you'll have to glue the pieces into the stands. Considering how classic a game this is and that families will play it for generations and hand it down, it would have been nice if they could have come up with better pieces (like the nice plastic pieces in Candy Land's anniversary edition).

3.In the last row of game play there are three chutes with only a couple of spaces separating them, which makes it VERY difficult for anyone to win and the game to be over. This gets annoying after a while and frustrating to little people.

So, we like this game, but it isn't our favorite. Be aware of your child's ability to recognize numbers and handle game frustration.

We ordered Chutes and Ladders for our four year old. He enjoys the game, but there are a few things that we don't like.

1.The child needs to be able to visually recognize the numbers 1-100, so that they know where to move. If your child, like ours, can't do this yet it becomes frustrating with having always to tell them where to move. It feels like you are playing for them. So, we play lots more Candy Land that Chutes and Ladders. So, this game probably isn't good for preschool children - unless you are willing to give them considerable help (which means no games played among just the children themselves).

2.The game pieces are made of cardboard that fits into little plastic stands. After several times of putting the cardboard into the stand the cardboad becomes compressed and will no longer stay in the stand. So, you will need to try to leave the stands on all the time, or you'll have to glue the pieces into the stands. Considering how classic a game this is and that families will play it for generations and hand it down, it would have been nice if they could have come up with better pieces (like the nice plastic pieces in Candy Land's anniversary edition).

3.In the last row of game play there are three chutes with only a couple of spaces separating them, which makes it VERY difficult for anyone to win and the game to be over. This gets annoying after a while and frustrating to little people.

So, we like this game, but it isn't our favorite. Be aware of your child's ability to recognize numbers and handle game frustration.

I had this as a child, so I naturally bought it for my own kids. While they did enjoy playing it -- and still enjoy playing it, and playing it, and playing it -- I couldn't help but think that the board really needed to be updated for the practices and standards in today's schools. Still, it was as enjoyable as it was years ago.

My 3 and 4 year old nephews love this game. It is helping them learn to count and they have lots of fun with the different pictures on the board. This is a classic game that every child should have.

We love this game, I had it when I was little and so I bought it for my kids. It's great because it doesn't matter who you play against, it is a matter of chance not skill. It teaches kids to count, take turns, and even to learn to face failure (sliding down a chute). We all play it and I've got 4 kids of different ages.

I remember this toy from when I was younger, so I bought it for my daughter. We play with the toy often. The durability of the box it came in isn't as good as the old version, but the new version has a hand held spinner instead of one built into the box (which is much better). My daughter loves going up the tallest ladder and saving the kitten.

this is a neat game, the kids enjoy playing it, also it was at a great price.

This "old" game is just hard to beat for teaching counting and following instructions...my daughter loves it!

I was interested in which games were popular in a particular decade, but of course "Chutes & Ladders" has remained popular for so long because it relates to young children, not the children of a particular decade. I would certainly go along with the consensus that "Candy Land" is the first board game you buy your kids and "Chutes & Ladders" is the second.

This game has three strong qualities which recommend it to small children. The first is simplicity, so that the child can easily understand it and start playing immediately. The second is luck, so that the child has a fair chance against older siblings, babysitters, parents, grandparents and the family cat. The third is repetition, so that the child can grasp the basic structure of such games and be prepared for those board games that are rites of passage down the road as they mature. As an added bonus, "Chutes & Ladders" certainly helps young children learn their numbers.

My 2 1/2 and 4 year old nephews love this game. It is helping them learn to count and they have lots of fun with the different pictures on the board. This is a classic game that every child should have.

This is a classic game all kid's should own and play with. I have kid's a little different in age and they both can still play this simple to understand game.

My 4 year old girl learned this game about a month ago and just LOVES it. She wakes up and plays first thing in the morning. When my husband or I are busy, she's more than content to play by herself, literally for an hour at a time.
It's very educational. She no longer counts 1-2-3-4 after spinning, but can eye where a "4" spin will put her. She drew an exact replica of the board, carefully writing all the numbers out, and correctly drawing in all the slides and ladders. (Prior to Chutes and Ladders, she could only count to 20.)
She also makes up variations where you go from 100 to 1, or go down the ladders, and up the slides.
My daughter's obsession may just be weird, because her 4 yr old friends do not seem nearly as crazy about it. I assume in a few months her fascination will have exhausted itself. Meanwhile, we have more than gotten our money's worth out of this inexpensive game.

The board is so decorated, that it's hard to tell sometimes which direction the piece is supposed to move in. All my kids had problems at the end of a row knowing which direction to go next. The figures that come with it are difficult to handle -- they do not want to stand up. A shorter, one-piece, figure made of plastic, or, dare I say it, wood or metal, that's not so top-heavy would be less frustrating. I also wish the spinner was sturdier. Ours warped after drink got spilled on it, & it catches on one side now unless held down firmly -- difficult for little hands to do without interfering with the spin. This is not a toy the kids get out themselves to play. They only play it if an adult suggests it, & is willing to play also.

As a kid my younger brother and I loved to play this game! It was a game we could play even though my little brother couldn't read, and it taught us values that we try to live up to to this day! HEE HEE!

I really don't think this game is for 3 yr olds. Mine has a hard time with the idea of counting and has a hard time with the rules. We just let him play the way he wants. This is a game for kids a little bit older or ones that can count.

I love the simple fact that the game is timeless. We can play the games we did as a kid, with our kids and still enjoy it as much as they do.