Gaming with a 5 Year-Old:
Stone Age
(a.k.a. "The Stone Game")



Mfg Suggested Ages: 10+

This is the 5th installment of Gaming with a 5 Year-Old - a series of ten-point hybrid reviews/session reports from CLS Games that focus on reviewing games from the perspective of a father who plays games with his 5 year-old son. Other reviews in this series are available here:

Gaming with a 5 Year-Old: AGRICOLA

Gaming with a 5 Year-Old: DRAKON 3RD EDITION

Gaming with a 5 Year-Old: QUORIDOR

Gaming with a 5 Year-Old: FORMULA DE

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I. Theme:

Cavemen are certainly not the first thing most folks would think of when picking a game theme to appeal to a 5 year-old boy. That said, the lack of plastic race cars and cutesy animals did not seem to keep my son from wanting to play it. In fact, after showing Junior the Stone Age game box and then putting it back on the shelf of favor of what daddy thought he would find to be a much cooler "dragon and flying carpet racing game" (i.e., Elfenland), he announced, No thank you daddy...I want to play "The Stone Game!"


II. Components:


Stunning colors + wooden bits and sturdy cardboard counters are a winning combination.



The 36 Civilization cards are a little delicate, but no more so than cards found in any other new game. Since the cards are handled so infrequently, it was really a non-issue for us.


III. Playing Time:

With 2 players, you will have no worries. But, with 3 players the game can border on being a little too long, particularly if you are having the rug rat hone is math skills by adding his own dice. With four players, expect a 90+ minute game with too much downtime between turns for Junior to stay focused.


IV. Reading Requirement:

No text of any kind required for play -- all the information on cards, tiles, and the game board can be discerned from symbols. When I asked by son what he liked best about "The Stone Game," he told me that he liked the cards because they did not have any "complicated words" [in fact, no words at all] unlike daddy's farming game.


V. Complexity:


There are only a limited number of plays available each turn and the gold halos on the game board, cards, and tiles are very helpful in identifying choices. Having Junior add his own dice helps make the game both fun and educational. But, unless your five year-old descends from Leonardo Fibonacci, you probably do not want to have him do his own divisions.


VI. Modifications:



None required, but pulling an extra set of dice from another game and having them on the table for Junior will help speed the game along.


VII. Handicapping:

Based upon a very limited number of plays with my son, I am not sure that any handicapping is necessary. That said, should one want to give his young offspring an increased chance at victory without softplay from the adults, there are numerous ways one could handicap the game:

(1) Give him 1-3 random Civilization Cards at the start of the game. This is my least favorite method because it seem so artificial, but it does work.

(2) Give him 1-2 additional Cavemen at the start of the game

(3) Give him additional sources and/or food at the start of the game.

(4) Start him at a farming level other than 0 (try level 2).

(5) Give him 1-3 additional tools at the start of the game.


Options (4) and (5) are my favorites, but if I had to go with just one choice from the list above, I would go with the tool option.


VIII. Memorable Moments:

My most memorable Stone Age moment occurred towards the end of my son's first game (a 3-way game with myself, Junior, and his grandmother). Earlier in the game, I had asked my son why he had not chosen the "Whoopee Hut," despite several opportunities to do so. His response was, No Hunt, No Hunt, No Hunt! While I was quite impressed that he fully understood the connection between increased population and the need to hunt, I desperately wanted to explain to him how flawed his strategy was. I knew it was impossible for him to win a game with only his initial 5 cavemen, but I managed to hold my tongue. I was well on my way to having 10 cavemen and figured that crushing him under the heal of my boot would most effectively show him the error of his ways. Thus, I dismissed any chance of my son winning and began focusing exclusively on beating his grandmother.

Fast fwd a couple dozen turns and you can guess how this story ends. With only enough building tiles in play to support 2-3 more turns, I realized that my Population + Civilization Card strategy was going to fall short and that I would finish a distant second behind Junior. So much for me teaching my five year-old the finer points of Stone Age strategy!


IX. Fun Factor:
..... for Jr.
..... for Daddy


X: OVERALL GRADE:



The first (and only) time I had played Stone Age was three months ago at Game Fest South (a 4 player game with adults). Ever since then, I had been looking for an opportunity to play it again and finally decided to try it with my 5 year-old son. I was not sure he would take to the theme, but we gave Stone Age a try and it was a huge success. With over 100 plays of Carcassonne and Drakon 3rd edition under his belt, I should have known that my son would be right at home digesting symbolic information off cardboard tiles. He loved rolling the dice and showing me and his grandmother how he could add the numbers. And, best of all, when we finished our first game, he immediately asked if we could play it again!