Dina 2008-01-26

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

My five and a half year-old son received Cadoo for the holidays and loves it. He is reading early and loves to read the cards. He can't answer all the questions but I see him playing by himself so I think he's learning all the answers. The game cards, see below, are our favorite part. The instructions are very clear and there is little chance involved. We've had trouble playing other games, like Chutes and Ladders, with my son because he wants something with a strategy. With Cadoo, he gets to participate and be rewarded.

Cadoo includes a game board, secret decoder mask, tup of Cranium Clay, two decks of cards (300 total), 40 game tokens, a six-sided Cadoo die, timer, and a drawing pad and pencil. The goal is to be the first to place four tokens in a row. Tokens are placed after completing an activity from one of the cards. A die is rolled to determine which deck of cards is used. The SOLO deck of cards includes questions for the player whose turn it is to answer. The answers to the questions are on the back and can be seen using the secret decoder mask. The COMBO cards require the other players to guess what you are doing (charades, drawing, or with clay) and the activity can be seen using the secret decoder mask. If someone guesses, you both place your token on a spot.

I'm particularly impressed with the game cards and how much thought must have gone into making this game fun for kids. Each card includes instructions.

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Here is an example of a SOLO Card:

1. I read the question OUT LOUD and make my guess.
2. You check my answer.
3. If I'm right, I place my token.

Question: Think of a word that means both things:
- things you touch when you play the piano
- things you need when you're locked out of the house

Here is an example from a COMBO card:
1. I use CLAY to make the secret word.
2. Everyone guesses.
3. If you shout it out first, we both place tokens in the same spot. I choose the spot.

Make this out of clay: pretzel
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B loves to read the instructions and they are so clear that we always know what to do. A Booster Box is also available with more cards and clay. Our three year-old son loves the game Caribou.

Janet Boyer 2006-11-08

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

After being disappointed with the Cranium game Whoonu, I thought I'd take a chance on this reputable company by buying two more games--one of which is Cadoo.

Here is the premise:

There is a colorful game board with 16 purple circles in the middle. These work as a grid for a Connect Four-like "win". Players roll a dice that has three printed options: Solo, Combo, or You Choose. All cards have a "secret" word or answer on the card, which can be read with the Decoder Glasses.

There is a green Combo box filled with cards and an orange Solo box filled with cards. The Solo cards feature solo-solved quizzes or activities. For example, the Ace Observer cards may have you guessing what's wrong with a particular picture, the Code Cracker may have solving a Rebus puzzle, Fast Find may have you racing to retrieve a particular object (such as something that sticks on your forehead when you press it on), or a Double Meanie, which has you thinking of a word that means both things (for example, something on a gift wrapped package and something you use to shoot an arrow.) If the person successfully solves the puzzle or accomplishes the objective, they put one of their colored tokens on the circle they choose.

However, the Combo cards require participation from other players. For example, a Cameo card has a player acting out the secret word while other players guess. Sculpturades has a player sculpting the secret word from the purple clay. Cloodle has a player draw the secret word (no letters or numbers allowed) while other players guess what it is--and so on. Whomever guesses correctly gets to COMBINE their colored token with the person who drew the card (but the person who drew the card and performed the action gets to PICK which circle for the "double" token.)

Whoever gets four tokens in a row wins. The catch is that the LAST token--the winning token--MUST be a Solo card done successfully (I guess this is to encourae non-competitive play).

Sounds like a great game for all ages, right? Well, in theory, it is. But in actual game play--it's a bit boring for adults and challenging for young kids. Why?

Well, the age recommendation (which influenced my purchase) was 7 years and up. However, my son has difficulty reading some of the questions and doesn't know what some of the secret words are. Also, some of the Solo quizzes feature multiple choice questions that a 7 year old may not even be familiar with, let alone difficult (for children) Rebus puzzles! For example, one Solo Minimax is "Pick the earliest holiday". While that *may* be a challenge for adults, it would likely be difficult for small children (especially since the choices are Labor Day, Independence Day, and Memorial Day!)

Because the answer must be read with a Decoder Mask, if a child can't read the word (or doesn't understand what is is), another player must help the child. This means that the person helping can't participate in the game (fairly) for a Combo Card.

The questions and activities aren't challenging enough for adults, and too difficult for young children. This has made for a frustrating, unenjoyable game for me, my 8 year old son, and my husband.

Cranium would have been better off making two sets of cards for both the Solo and Combo decks: one for small children, and another for adults (like Trivial Pursuit Disney Edition does).

Cadoo is a well-made, colorful, and sturdy game. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver fun for my family. (I just asked my 8 year old "Do you like this game?" He shook his head "NO".) In fact, I plan on listing it here on Amazon for re-sale if I can.

Lorel Shea 2005-10-10

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

This game is fun for kids who are fluent readers and for adults too! The playdough like material can dry out, but otherwise the game is very hardy and ours has seen a lot of use! The younger kids tend to choose the group activities when they have the option, just because it's more fun that way. The older kids do as many solo activites as possible, in order to gain strategic advantage on the board. We've worn out the original deck and have started on a booster pack (sold separately) as we've played this so many times! Cranium Cadoo is truly a fun game for the whole family, not just the little ones!

K. D. Shafer 2004-07-26

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

I bought this game for my son (now 11) two years ago on a Christmas shopping whim. Basically I was down to the end of my shopping, but it looked cool I was tired of shopping so I threw it in the cart. This past year we needed the booster box because we play it so often. It's fun for kids and grownups to play together. We include my younger son (5,a non reader) by playing with teams. Although there is an element of chance, you don't know what kind of task you will be given to perform all the time, I like this game because it incorporates different learning skills and learning styles so there is more then one way to be successful. You are working againest the timer so you need to think quickly and creatively using a variety of materials: clay, charades, and drawing in addition to answering questions and of course the special glasses are part of the fun.

jessica 2004-04-08

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

This game is the best game i ever played! Me and my friend played it for hours! I really recomend this game because you will have a blast acting sculpting and drawing! Get CADOO!