| User | Rating | Min. Age | Adults Too | Comment |
| boltongeordie | 9 | 5 | Yes | Younger kids love moving the balloons, popping them, sending them back. Somehow, they are more relaxed about this race game than most (is it because you are trying to get three balloons back so you have less invested in each one). The older kids (7 upwards) get the simple strategy and can give the parents a run for their money. And the younger ones are so busy enjoying moving the balloons that they dont notice that they havent won. Only slight gripe with the Parker version is that Red and Orange on the cards are very similar, not good when you turn over your card to show you have won, only to find out that you were moving the wrong balloon. |
| Spanky2001 | 9 | 5 | Yes | I really like this game. I have played it 40+ times. This game works very well with larger groups. I have used all of the cards that come with the game to have a mega sized game with eight players. There is strategy enough to keep people involved and that's pretty hard to come by in an eight player dice game. |
| Ed the Red | 8 | | | A fun game, with balloons pushing and shoving each other around. Has a few tricky concepts in it which are worth children learning about, particularly: 1) you can move any piece, not just your own, especially if this will hinder another balloon (or not hurt yours) 2) secret/hidden victory conditions and therefore 3) bluffing plus 4) having to get all 3 of your balloons home to win (not just one piece). The possibility of shared balloons (more than one person wanting them to win) is also interesting.
Younger children (4-5) like playing the game but are hopeless at strategy - it's obvious which they are on. (Actually, this isn't strictly true, one of my kids sometimes tries desperately to get particular balloons over the line first even when they are not on his secret card - not sure why he does this but he finds it entertaining!). Older children (6+) enjoy the game much more fully, and begin to use bluffing, tactical moving of balloons etc.
The nice pieces and colourful board make this an excellent game for playing with children, and adults tend to enjoy it too. My only criticism is that sometimes it can go on a bit longer than you would like (never more than half an hour, if that, but sometimes you want a game to last 10 or 15 mins!) |
| Friendless | 8 | | | Kids love to play but the game has enough in it that adults can play as well. |
| berserkley | 7 | 8 | Yes | The nice thing about this game is that it is easy enough for kids to play, but has enough depth and strategy that adults will be interested as well! |