Bought it. Played it. Liked it.

This latest venture into the Ravensburger [page scan/se=0011/sf=category/fi=stockall.asc/ml=20]Labyrinth universe is a simple card/tile placement game that should appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike.

The game begins with each player receiving their hand of 2 cards (this is as big as your hand will get during the game) and 4 cards being placed in a square on the table. Based upon the cards in hand, players may suggest that the first four cards be oriented in any way they mutually agree upon.

After that, the game is: place a card, claim a card (or more) if possible, and draw a card.

What you are trying to do is place cards so that symbols on the card you are placing are connected (via the tunnels) to matching symbols elsewhere in the labyrinth. If you do this (and can show the other players that the connection/s do/does exist) you may take the card/s with the matching symbol/s and put them in front of you.

The major rule for removing matching symbols card/s is that any cards left must still remain attached to the other labyrinth cards. No cards can be isolated or connected only by corners.

The first 2-person game I played resulted in a score of 16 to 17 and the 3-person game resulted in one player with only 6 or 7 cards and the other two tied.

Nice, small, portable game that is actually a lot of fun (and definitely worth the money!)

This is a tile-laying game where you try to match pictures on one of your two tiles to something already on the board by following the labyrinth.

I've only played this game with my children, starting when they were about 6. (They were late readers and this game requires no reading.) After 3 years, it's still enjoyable and the tiles (thick cardboard) are holding up well.

There's a lot of luck in the tile draw, of course, but, you know what?, who cares? When we first started playing, I helped them a lot until they understood the simple rules. That spirit of cooperation has survived, and we still play a very cooperative game. Making a "good play" is more important than who actually wins.

Don't expect this game to challenge your analytical skills or to test your strategic prowess. But I give it 3.5 stars because it's good at what it is: a simple, light game that allows you to spend some pleasant quality-time with your child (it plays fine with 2 or more). I also like it because there is a "right" answer, or answers. While there is luck in the drawing of tiles, there is no luck in the placement of tiles: your child will have to use spatial skills to sort through the different variations that are possible during their turn.

It's also portable: all of the tiles will fit into a small ziploc bag.

This game, along with the tile-laying game Snap, have provided our family with many years of pleasant, quiet fun. I highly recommend them both for families with young children.