Montgolfiere is a very hard to find game, but the purchase power of this game is worth it. With a very clear objective of Being the first to get to the highest part of the elongated narrow gameboard, all ages can participate on each turn. Each player has a color-coordinated set of identical cards used to move your own ballon to the top. Your strategy to get ther first is somewhat delayed by other players with the same objective to their own balloon, and only one balloon can move at a turn.

It can easily be adapted for the younger kids to enjoy, as well as, being played with the close-knit appeal of all the rest.

I just love this simplistic, unique game!!!

After clearing up some rules questions (the English translation made it sound like you laid out all 7 cards of your initial draw on the table and played them all simultaneously), this game played like a champ! Very simple game to learn and quite a bit of luck and bluffing involved to become too dominant after a few plays under your belt. Recommended to families (and strangers) of all ages. Just remember, you get 7 cards to begin with, then everybody chooses a card from their (hidden) hands and lays them out on the table simultaneously. Resolve the cards (in order) then replenish your hand at the end of the resolution phase. Enjoy.

We loved this game because of the short time it takes to teach (2 minutes?) and to play (30 minutes +/-). Also, while there is an element of luck (but only in the order/timing in which players draw their cards, as all players have identical decks), this game is best appreciated by those who can truly imagine themselves flying one of these ballons and trying all the tricks in their bag to either climb higher at the expense of others or try to prevent others below from catching them. Of course, anticipating what other players are going to play each round really makes it exciting!

I have a 7 year old daughter and she picked up on the strategy right away. It's easy to learn the strategy and rules but difficult to always come out on top. There is a level of luck, in that you only hold part of your cards in your hand, but each player has the same deck of cards from which to choose.

Montgolfiere is definitely not for the gamer crowd. But it looks great, the rules are easy, playing time is short, and so it finds its niche in the children's game category. Montgolfiere is a balloon racing game in which each player is given their own deck of action cards. Each hand, players secretly choose a card to play and then reveal them simultaneously. Generally speaking, most cards have numbers on them (ballast cards), and the player with the highest number moves their balloon up a space. Problem is there are a variety of other factors that can hinder movement (sleeping gas cards, storms). In this regard, it's like a junior Adel Verpflichtet. If you're good at psychological games or at card counting, you can actually pull of some level of strategy as the game progresses. The game involves an extraordinary amount of luck, but there are players who seem to win all the time, so it's not 100% chaos. As a game for younger or less patient children, I would give it five stars.

The pretty artwork on the board and the colorful wooden bits are great, but the game itself is very, very simple. Very little strategy and fairly random, the more players you have. I can see where the game would appeal to families because of the 'level playing field' effect that a high luck factor brings. Basically, the game boils down to remembering which cards have been played and second-guessing your opponents on which card they will play on a given hand. Not very entertaining to me. I think Formula Motor Racing, Mamma Mia!, Zirkus Flohcati, and 6 Nimmt! are all much better, light, fun, filler-type games.