Cooperative Game of Consultation Decision Making and Natural Selection, Max

We LOVE our Max game! The game is a simple one--keep old Max the cat from eating the bird, chipmunk, and mouse by getting them to the tree. The critters start out a few spaces ahead of Max--and each animal has a shortcut. Plus, you are allowed call Max back home four times during the game.We love this game for several reasons. First, it does not require any reading. The dice are color coded with green and black dots to tell you which animal gets to move (Max or the forest animals). This means that my youngest can play the game and be completely aware of what is going on--which keeps him very engaged. Don't get me wrong though--my oldest is very into saving those little critters too! Secondly, it is a cooperative game. Don't get me wrong, I like competitive games! But it is nice to talk out the strategy with the kids and to work together to solve a problem. It is exciting--but you never end up with a fight or a pouty kid! And finally, it is a pretty short game. At most, it takes about 10-15 minutes. The game has the same rules each time, but since it is based on chance (i.e the roll of the dice), each game is different.Overall, I love playing this game with the kids when we need some positive bonding time! It is an entertaining game--and we all really do enjoy it!

I bought this game to play with my grandson. It is a cooperative game where everyone is trying to keep small animals safe from the cat. All the pieces are made of flat cardboard squares. It would be nice if the animals were 3-d objects like monoply pieces. The animals need to get home to the tree before Max the cat catches up with them. As you play the game, sometimes you must move the cat forward on the board.We enjoyed playing the game. It was short and easy to play, perfect for younger children.

Max has to be one of my favorite kids board games. It's been excellent for my kids starting at around 3 years old and my oldest (5.5) continues to enjoy it.There aren't a lot of co-op games for kids that are able to keep adults interested as well, but this one succeeds. There is a lot of luck involved, but enough strategy that you always have a chance to win. And win or lose, the kids always seem to love it...heck sometimes losing is more fun.The co-op nature really shines, though it can be difficult to teach the younger ones how this works...but that's okay. I found that the younger kids tend to latch onto a specific animal as if that's the animal they are playing. Yet, such a strategy does not often yield a victory and they soon learn the teamwork needed to keep all the animals safe from Max.I highly recommend this as it is one of the best introductions to board games I have found.

So many co-op games for kids have weak mechanics. "Oh no we're racing a puzzle." Not this one. This game has great mechanics and good stakes: try not to let the fuzzy little creatures get eaten by the cat! Plus, you can have as many kids play as you like. Excellent game. I loaned it to my son's kindergarten for a week and the kids couldn't get enough of it.

DescriptionMax is a classic cooperative game from the 1980’s. Everything about this games oozes nostalgia. Some nostalgia is good (the silly homemade artwork and self-aggrandizing advertisement on the box). Some nostalgia is bad (components of this poor quality are totally unacceptable in today’s games). In the game, players roll 2 dice and either help the woodland animals to escape or move Max the Cat (the antagonist). Players win when all 3 creatures reach their tree. To keep the critters safe, players occupy Max by feeding him treats at the farmhouse porch.ComponentsThe box is printed on corrugated cardboard. Nostalgic but cheap. This box won’t survive through your average childhood use. My board, like other reviewers’, arrived warped. This is completely unacceptable and made the game barely playable. Many times my daughter bumped the board (due to edges that floated off the table) and pieces scattered everywhere. The tokens are made from thin cardboard and the punchouts were poor (off center and ragged edges). The dice were all white and came with green and black paper stickers - also unacceptable. The stickers will come off and I expect to need to paint and epoxy seal the dice. Why no real dice? Why no plastic animal pieces? Why not a decent board?GameplayThere are two main choices that a player makes each turn. First, the players may feed Max 1 of 4 treats. If they do so Max moves back to his starting space. Second, a player rolls the dice and based on the result moves either two animals 1 space (or one animal 2 spaces), one animal 1 space and Max 1 space, or Max 2 spaces. These two mechanisms set the main tension in the game: when to give Max a treat vs. when to make a risky roll. For a small child this is a very difficult decision - if you are too risk averse early you may run out of treats later. Drama!Reactions of playersMy 3-year old daughter loves the creatures and Max. She is most excited to try to move the critters through their “sneaky shortcuts.” She also likes when Max gets close to the animals so she can give the kitty a treat. Because of this, there is much fun at the start of the game. However, she gets midly upset if an animal gets eaten. Later in the game, as it takes longer for max to catch the animals her attention starts to drift. She also is too young to understand the strategy and is completely risk-averse at the start of the game.Spectrum of playersThis child’s game is billed for 1-8 players and ages 4+. It is less fun with only 1 player as there is no negotiation about whom to move. More than 4 players result in a, "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation (quiet and young kids will stop contributing). My 3-year old daughter understands the rules but not the strategy. She can play with an adult supervising but not with only children.For adults playing with children, there are a couple advanced strategies that can make the game interesting. For example, to share roll between fewer critters, you can leave an animal(s) between a shortcut so that Max moves in front. You can adjust difficulty by reducing the number of treats or by changing the square Max resets to.Should you buy it?If you have young children, Yes, absolutely. This is one of a handful of games that is canon for kids aged 3-8 years. A must own. At an MSRP of $15, it is unfortunate that the component quality is so cheap. If you can find it for less than $10 snatch it up immediately. If the poor components are a deal breaker, you can try to find the European version "Max the Tomcat" made by Sunny Games (retail ~$30).

I sent this game as a gift and when I saw it I was so disappointed. The paper board game pieces and poorly made game board doesn’t warrant the price I paid. It looks like it was put together as a home project. The concept is a bit simplistic even for my 3 and 5 year old grandchildren. Definitely don’t waste your $$.