I bought this game after playing one of the other cranium games. My two boys have loved it!! It is a very simple format which is great for beginner learners and it has some hands on as well. It teaches colors, counting to four, shapes, recognizing groups of 1,2,3,4 and letter recognization, only the first 3 though, A,B,C.
I have yet to convince my kids though that it is about group effort and working together as a team.

While this looked like a really cool toddler game-I was at first intimidated by the small bouncy balls I knew my son would want to throw. While that did happen, the problem I had with the toy were the small insert cards that each treasure "spot" had. They fell out easily, and in the event that several came out, there weren't any extras to replace lost ones. It would have been easier to have labeled double sided doors that were more secure, than the slip in papers.

Next problem were the two separate stacks of small cards that the toddler draws and has to match up to the above treasure spots to open it to see if a ball is hidden there. My active son scrambled up the two separate types of cards within moments and, much to my dismay,there was nowhere to hold the cards within the game itself, and they were continuously strewn about until we gave up.

Finally, the last problem, after collecting all of these little pieces, was that the box had been destroyed in the process of opening the clear front cover of the game, and again, there was nowhere to store the pieces.

It was poorly designed for curious toddler play...

My son is 2 and loves this game. It holds his attention and he wants to play over and over. It is a great learning game and just plain fun!
I love to see how excited he gets when he gets a ball. He also is learning how to take turns which is the best part!

Surprising how much the kids like this one. Was not expecting it, but I am always looking for ways to 'reach' my boy who has autism. His therapists said it was a great motivator.

I bought and played this game with my 2.5 year old niece. She loves it and asks to play daily. It is great for teaching her colors, 1, 2, 3, A, B, C, and shapes. She does not understand the concept of numbers yet so she struggles with those. However, she is getting much better daily with matching the others letters, colors, and shapes. I look forward to trying the advanced card set (included) when she gets good enough.

A perfect first game for our 3 yo. My daughter is delighted with the magic key (which is a nice fine motor skills exercise), the rubber balls and with the chance to practice her numbers and letters. It's a collaborative game which is great since she doesn't "get" competition yet. She seems to recognize the campy fun in the treasure chest at the end -- it's not a big reward, but something fun to end on. I can see where this would be boring for a 4.5 yo, but if you have an advanced 2.5 (recognizes some letters, can count to four and no longer puts items in his mouth) or 3 yo on your shopping list, this game will offer a lot of fun and is a nice introduction to the concept of games. Highly recommended.

This is the best game our 21/2 year old loves it and we have fun playing together

To play this game you draw a card and match the card to a card on the board. The cards on the board flip over so you try to find the balls underneath. When you find a ball you put it in the slot on the side and when you find all of them you can pop the treasure chest open. It's very different and it's fun too. It's easy enough for my 3 y/o and it has 2 sets of cards one is easier than the other.

This is a great game for 2 to five years old. They have so much fun using the key searching for the balls and making up their own versions. The two year old is not quite into reading the cards yet, but with her big 5 year old brother, she attempts to do so and he reads the cards to her and helps her along. I highly recommend this game. It is a great beginning following the rules of the game or not.

We purchased this for my son's 4th birthday. I wish I'd gotten it when he was three. It has a beginner's and advanced level, and the advanced level is pretty easy for him as a four year old. HOWEVER--he loves this game, and it's terrific at teaching teamwork. With some games we play, he gets mad when I win (which is a great time to teach him about sportsmanship), but with this game, each player is a winner. I wish the company that makes this game would offer an additional set of cards and tile inserts that is an advanced-plus level.

We were first introduced to this game by our daughter's speech teacher when she was about 3. The teacher took it to the day care and played with all of the kids there. It was talked about for weeks that the kids all wanted to play the "ball/treasure game" again. It is a great game for a few kids or even a small group. You can also play with different age levels. I totally recommend all Cranium games, especially this one.

I've recommended this game to everyone I know with a toddler.... Helps with learning numbers, counting, colors, and shapes. My 3 year old twins got this game for their 3rd birthday and have to take it every where we go. It's also a great gift... we give it to all our friends.

Bought for my 3 yr old Birthday. LOVED IT. Finding the "magic balls" that are hidden underneath each letter/picture and then putting them in a separate shoot and waiting until all 6 balls are found...the magic chest opens up! He played with this game by the hours and plays it by himself.
Simple concept that little kids love to accomplish themselves.

good game....kids enjoy it...they love finding the hidden balls....and opening the treasure....it has two levels so it's great for all ages

Our kids (4&2) love to play this game, and it's simple enough that they can play on their own. It's a quick game, so it avoids the boredom factor.

Normally, I would have given the game a hit on durability, however, since it includes 6 brightly colored rubber balls which the kids like to play with apart from the game. Because of this, we ended up losing 2 of the balls, which left the game without the ability to open the treasure chest (the ultimate goal which the kids love). However, I sent the company an e-mail 2 days ago asking to purchase replacement balls, and I received a full replacement set of balls in the mail today - free of charge.

In today's environment, it's very rare to find a company producing such high quality and effective products with such a great level of support to back them up. Well done to the folks at Cranium - now could you please teach the other manufacturers....?

I bought this for my 2 1/2 year-old to play and was amazed that right away she understood the concept of taking turns (whoever holds the key, takes the turn). She also easily grasped the concepts of matching the colors, shapes, letters and numbers after only playing once. To mix it up a bit sometimes I hide something else in the treasure box so it's not the same purple jewel every time at the end (sometimes a toy ring, raisins, etc.).

Even though this game has two levels, I wish that that there were more sets of cards we could buy so my daughter is just not stuck with learning 3 letters of the alphabet and just a few colors. The game comes with two sets of cards... the "beginner" cards only allow young children the chance to recognize the letters A-C as well as red, yellow, blue, green. Then it's on to the "advanced" pack for A-Z (and no more colors). I wish other packs were available to cover other groups of letters as well as other colors (Cranium, are you listening?).

My Granddaughters age 5 and 3 absolutely love to play and stay focused on the game. When something keeps the attention of children this age it's well worth the money. They also are learning about counting and colors by playing.

My kids like this game, but usually tire of it after three or four rounds. The concept is very simple and each round has very little variation and as a result, my 4 & 6 year old sons don't stick with it for too long. It's a great game for younger children working on ABCs, colors, shapes, and taking turns. A couple of notes... The cards that slide in to each opening aren't too durable so watch out if you have a younger one who likes to tear things. Also, my kids quickly figured out that they could spot where the balls were by looking in to the open doors and quickly started cheating! It would be nice if the balls were a little less visable once the doors were open. Overall, this is a fun game and a good value for the price.

Fabulous game for little ones! My daughters loved it when they were 2 and 3 and still ask to play it even now that they know their ABC's and 123's quite well. It's a great game even when you can't play it the "real way"...very few games are like that without running the risk of losing all the pieces! I'd highly recommend it for young ones!

This is a great first game for 2 1/2 to three year olds! Both my sons LOVED it at that age and ask to play it again and again. It is a fun way to reinforce ABCs, 123s and basic shapes. It is fun enough that my oldest (now almost 6) will still put up with it to play with his brother. Highly recommend it for any young child.

My 2 1/2 year old autistic son loves this game. We started with the concept of taking turns and are building up to matching colors. This toy was suggusted to us by his ABA therapist and it has definately been a hit.

I believe this game's good reviews and awards are a result of the Cranium namebrand rather than on the merits of this particular game. Our 4 1/2- and 3-year-olds played this for about three rounds before they lost interest in the "concept" of the game, and basically just wanted to play with the "treasure balls." Even the "advanced" play was easy for the children, and, really, how exciting is opening the same treasure chest with the same chintzy purple jewel over and over and over again anyway? The one good thing that I do have to say about the game is that it is not competitive but rather team work-oriented, but overall it was a waste of money. Cranium could have done better for its preschool gamers.

This toy is great for toddlers. My 3 year old loves the game and the fact that he is re-inforcing his colors, shapes and counting makes it even better. And the second level difficulty just carries it even further. He loves that he can do the whole game from set-up to playing all by himself.

My Daughter is 4years old and has been playing with this game for 6 months now. We love it.

This is a great toy. My daughter has figured out all the letters and pictures, colors, and shapes. She loves it. It's great fun.

We originally got this game as a present on my daughter's third birthday. We loved it so much, we have given many away to our little friends when they turned three. It's a great, fun game that is educational, too. Kids just can't resist giggling with joy everytime the treasure chest opens. This a no-brainer great toy.

My son loves all things pirate like, treasure hunts, etc. So this game's idea of unlocking a treasure box is fun for him. It is simple enough for him to play with an adult (we got it a few months before he turned 4), but I'm not sure if he's able to do it alone or with another child yet. You basically draw a card and open a secret compartment that corresponds to your card (for example the card says "A" or "2" or has a circle or color on it; Door have things such as 2 red airplanes in the shape of triangles, so they can be chosen for their shape or color or number or letter....) It has a more advanced version for when he is ready for more variety than the basic ABC/123's. Inside the compartments one will sometimes find a rubber ball, and if so, that ball is placed in a track on the side of the board. When all balls are in the track the treasure chest opens up and reveals gold sparkles and a purple plastic gem. We've had a lot of fun playing this game, so I'd highly recommend it!

Another terrific game for children with autism. It was fun for the rest of the kids too. My grandson is 6 yrs. old & had a great time playing the game from the start. It reinforces what his classroom aides are teaching.

This game was so much fun for all the kids in the house, my 3 year old, and my five year old too who has special needs. It really held his attention and tought them both how to take turns, and how to wait, and how to pass the key to the next player. Unfortunetly I kept hiding the cards up high so they would not play without me and the cards would get lost, and I think I hid them from myself because I can't find them. Ahhhh!

My 4-year old and 2 1/2 year old love this game. There are two levels of play which is great for two different aged children. They love using the key to open the doors in the hopes of finding a ball on the other side. And they are learning colors, shapes, and letters at the same time. Great game.

My 2 and a half year old loves this game. It is quick to play and easy to understand. It can be played almost immediately out of the box. It helps if your child knows colors and basic shapes and the letters ABC and numbers 1-4 somewhat, but can reinforce that as well. My son has learned to bend down to spot the balls, but since you still have to get a matching card to open that door, it's not really much of an issue.

I bought this game because it was requested by my childs speech teacher. The game is a must have for little ones. I have changed the pictures to make the game more difficult. getting the chest to open at the end is the greatest thing.

We gave this to our granddaughter who just turned 3, for Christmas. After setting it up and playing it for the first time she said, "This is a fun game!" which impressed her mom. She loves using the key to open the doors. If she doesn't find a ball, she sighs. She even enjoys playing the game by herself. She can say her numbers and the alphabet, but this is a great game to put the spoken word with a picture of the letters and numbers. She enjoys setting up a new game and saying, "Let's play it again, Grammy!"

I bought one for my cousin's kids for Christmas, and they bought one for us (unbeknownst to either of us). Great minds think alike! My 4 year old is having a blast opening the doors looking for the ball, and opening the treasure. He doesn't get the whole taking turns concept yet for sit-still games, but he is learning with it just the same.

Louise

Although I didn't keep the game myself, the children whom I gave it to thought it was an awsome game. In fact, their mom wrote me an e-mail saying that they absolutely loved the game. The children are the ages of 1, 2 and 4 so even the 1 year old will get some use out of it soon. The game is very educational and is on a level small children can understand and enjoy. I love Cranium games in general and this one is definately a good gift.