HABA Critter Cruise Cooperative Noah's Ark Memory Game (Made in Germany)

This is a great game for little ones (and big ones)! It's a fast game to play and my little one wanted to play it again and again. Our first couple plays we lost more than we won, but you can adjust the complexity by taking out the water suitcases. It's easy to learn. Glad to have a cooperative game for little ones in mind. The box says 2-4 players, but I think you could play it as a solo game or with a couple more friends, too. Good cardboard pieces and great wooden animals pieces.

First of all this would make a great ‘first game’ experience for a preschooler. The whole team wins or the whole team looses. Perfect way to teach good game etiquette by not throwing a tantrum if you lose. This is always difficult for a little person. Or celebrate together when everyone wins!Second, this is a well made and sturdy game. The bottom of the box becomes the ark along with some punched out pieces of very heavy duty cardboard to make the base of the ark and a partial roof. Then add the ramp. Next, punch out the animals suitcases and the stepping stones. Each animal and Noah are made from nicely sanded and painted wood.When it is your turn you move Noah forward or back one space and then turn over a suitcase to see if the picture of the animal is the same animal that Noah is standing next to. If not, then turn the suitcase back over. This makes it a memory matching game. Or if you got the right suitcase then take the animal along with its suitcase up the ramp and onto the ark! The catch is that there are a few suitcases with raindrops on them, which makes for a ‘soggy suitcase’ if you choose that one. Then you have to turn the stepping stone over to show the water underneath. If you can get all the animals on board before the stepping stones all get wet, then the whole team wins! But if the stepping stones all get turned over before all the animals get on board then the whole team looses! You can opt to remove the raindrop suitcases for an easier play if you wish.We are going to play this with our 4 1/2 year old grandson, starting with a story time of Noah’s Ark and ending with animal cut out sugar cookies for a snack. This will be a great time to introduce him to his first board game.This is well made with strong cardboard pieces ( think of the same grade parts as an expensive puzzle). Everything about it is quality. This is meant for 2-4 players age 3-99. I think that is accurate. A big YES from me. 5 stars!

I really like the theme of this memory game especially along with teaching the kids about Noah in the Bible. Memory games can be fun even as an adult, but I did purchase this for a 5 year old. A good value!

My 7 year old and I love this game but I will warn we've only won it once. The box easily constructs into a boat and there are little tiles that you place out for each of the animals to stand on it waiting to board the boat. The setup is very easy and the rules are also simple to learn; all of the pieces are sturdy though I could see future wear and tear on the boat if your children are on the younger side. The goal is to get the animals and their luggage on the boat before the land tiles are all flipped over due to the flood. Each animal figurine has a matching luggage tile. You want to get the luggage for the animal that the person character is standing by but watch out for the water tiles! It is a very fun collaborative play on memory games and I like the team work aspect of it! I would highly recommend this game for parents with littles!

This is an easy, cooperative game that even our three year old can play. Instructions are clear-cut, and the game board is unique in that the box transforms into a cute little ark that includes an animal ramp. The object of the game is to correctly match all animals with their respective suitcase. Doing so allows them to walk aboard the ark via the ramp, and this is the most fun part of the game. Our kids delight in creating imaginary scenes as they march aboard, and animals begin to pile up on the boat.Noah can only move in one step increments—either forward, backward or stationary. With each turn, players get a chance to flip over one suitcase to see if its animal picture matches with the animal Noah is standing next to. Some suitcases are soggy; they have water spots on them which means dry path tiles must be flipped over into watery ones, and they must match how many water spots are on the suitcase card. Players try to get all matched animals/suitcases into the boat before all the path cards get flooded. If they do so, all players win. If all path tiles flood before that happens, all players lose.This is an elementary match-up game—great for beginners, and the soggy path element adds to the fun. The little wooden animals also enhance the game, as does the unique ark/box set-up. All pieces store nicely back into the box when game time is over. It’s refreshing to see our kids play as a team—this game helps them work together getting all the animals to safety.

I got this game to play with my son and I think it's a great game for preschoolers! It was pretty easy to learn and easier to put together. The bottom of the box was the ark and all of the places were very sturdy and made of cardboard (other than the wooden animals), so I wasn't worried about them being broken by the young players. We easily got an hour out of this game and I really liked being able to have a game to add to our family game night that was one our youngest could play.

This game is fun and definitely a challenging memory game! I'd say it's actually best for ages 4 and up as my son will be 4 in a month and he was able to play but I had to keep reminding him about all of the rules. He didn't really seem to get too into the game but I think he will as he gets older. The animals and ark are super cute and I love how the box has dividers to store everything and how the base of the box turns into the base of the ark. The game has definitely been play tested well as on our last turn we could have either won or lost. I also appreciate how there is a way to make the game easier or more challenging through using more or fewer water tiles. It's a very well designed game and I'm excited to play it more as my son gets older.

I have played this with our grandchildren, aged almost 3, nearly 5, and 6 - both boys and girls. The little ones need some help with remembering which cards are where of course, but they love "walking" the animals up into the ark and turning the flooded pathway stones over.This is really quite different from most games I have played with the grandchildren, and, though not an uproarious top favourite, it has definitely earned its place for something quieter, enjoyable and educational.