We are delighted to be a part of the new Timberdoodle Review Team and this is our FIRST review. We received the game, Laser Maze Jr to review and I can’t tell you how excited we were to received it!
Timberdoodle has a been a long-time favorite homeschooling resource company for us, though we have not had the opportunity to try out TOO many of their products (maybe we are in for a change in that department :)) Anyway, as a new Timberdoodle Review Team member, we received our first product in the mail in February – Laser Maze Jr.
What is Laser Maze Jr.?
Laser Maze Jr is a single player game.
The game comes in a box with a game board that has a battery operated laser light, several pieces including rocks, rockets, and a splitter, instruction cards, and a booklet. What is great about the instruction card is that they are labels and color coded for difficult level – easy to extra hard. The fact that they are color coded too is great if you have a non-reader or beginning reader.
The instruction booklet that is included is very detailed and explains the games. It also has all the solutions in pictorial form in the back of the instruction booklet. This is important and I was very glad that it is there, especially at the more difficult levels.
You do need 2 AAA batteries to operate the laser and you MUST have the laser operating in order to play the game.
What is the Object of the Game?
Laser Mazer Jr is about critical thinking skill building and, well, in our house at least, FUN!
The game require you to determine what challenge you will take. This is done by choosing one of the many double sided instruction cards from the pile. These are separate, color coded as I mentioned, by difficultly. We started with EASY and got started. I explained to my 6 year old son that he would likely want to begin with the GREEN cards since they were easy and that way he can easily choose a challenge without grabbing one that is too difficult.
After you choose your challenge card you set up your board. The cards show you exactly how you want your board set up and then tells you at the bottom, in a legend of sorts, what kinds of pieces you will be adding, and the number, in order to “solve” the challenge. For instance, your challenge card may add one rocket and one space rock and will tell you that you will need to add 2 satellites in order to solve the puzzle.
The object of the game is to ignite the rocket ship with the laser beam. Your beam is stationary on the game board so you need to use the satellites (little mirrors) and sometimes the splitter to redirect the laser beam to ignite (light up) the rocket. There is only one solution for each challenge, which is good, and you use your critical thinking skills to figure out the placement of the satellites and splitter to get the rocket ignited.
What We Thought
My son LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Laser Maze Jr. And so did my 11 year old daughter. She went straight for the EXTRA HARD cards but soon found she needed to get the hang of it with the lower difficulty cards first. They have both really enjoyed playing the game and, though it is meant for single players, have actually worked together to solve the challenges which was a nice benefit to the game. Seeing my kids work together on something is always a nice thing to witness!
I am HOOKED on this game. I love it and so do my kids. I think this is an excellent addition to our homeschool day and my kids love being rewarded with a break or for completing their day but some time working on Laser Maze Jr.
Laser Maze Jr is available on the Timberdoodle website for $27.99 and you can read all about it here. The manufacturer suggested age for this game is 6+.
Timberdoodle includes this game in their 2nd grade curriculum kit.
Timberdoodle also has a Laser Maze, the original game, and it is available in the 7th grade curriculum kit. You can purchase this for $27.99 and the manufacturer suggested age for Laser Maze is age 8 to adult.
Be sure to check out Timberdoodle and all the AMAZING educational games and curriculum they have on their website. And visit them on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
DISCLAIMER: I received a free product through Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.
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