Game: Max

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kevintlee — 2008-09-28T20:26:03+00:00

box cover close up

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kevintlee — 2008-09-28T20:25:25+00:00

the bird's chortcut is last, (Max can jump any shortcut if there's a critter on the other end)

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kevintlee — 2008-09-28T20:24:08+00:00

the chipmunk's shortcut is 2nd (Max can jump any shortcut if there's a critter on the other end)

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kevintlee — 2008-09-28T20:21:59+00:00

the mouse's shortcut is first, (Max can jump any shortcut if there's a critter on the other end)

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kevintlee — 2008-09-28T20:20:38+00:00

game start setup, max on porch, three critters on stoop - black spot on die moves max, green spot on die moves anyone of the critters

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kevintlee — 2008-09-28T20:17:13+00:00

game bits

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kevintlee — 2008-09-28T20:16:42+00:00

box contents

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aPilgrim — 2008-06-20T02:47:14+00:00

The Dice

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aPilgrim — 2008-06-20T02:40:13+00:00

The Game in Play - Escaping Max the Cat

Thread: Fun Lord of the Rings Max variant...yeah, I said Lord of the Rings

mrwolf710 — 2008-05-28T05:29:33+00:00

I used a Black Rider as Max and 3 pewter Fellowship figures - all from the Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit game ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/266640?size=original ). In our case the fellowship people were Frodo, Gandalf (or Roundoff as one of my daughters called him) and Aragorn. I played with my 3 year old son (he's almost 4) and his two older 8 year old sisters and my wife.

I don't own Max so I made a duplicate of the board in Photoshop and printed it on regular typing paper - it was about 25% too small . I also didn't have the right die so we used regular die and just said the Black Rider moves on Odd numbers and the good guys move on Even. So two Even rolls means the Fellowship can move 1 guy 2 spaces or 2 guys can each move 1 space. Two Odd rolls means the black rider can move 2 spaces. An Odd and an Even number means the Fellowship can move 1 person 1 space and the Black Rider can move one space.

Aragorn took the yellow shortcut. Gandalf took the blue. Frodo took the red. The Black Rider took all the shortcuts as soon as he landed on them. I'm sure we could add another rule about as long as Frodo makes it to the end then you win but I'll leave that for another day.

That was fun but then we started adding more rules.

Whenever the Black Rider would land on a fellowship member we'd roll dice for battle. Two even numbers means that the Black Rider would win and that character was out. Two odd numbers means the Fellowship character won and the Black Rider would have to go back to the beginning. We'd take turns rolling for battle until either 2 odd or 2 even numbers would come up.

We also added a rule where if the Black Rider made it to the end of the board then he'd go backwards the same way he went forward. This kind of simulated him hunting for the Ring.

The corners had a special rule if you landed on them. You'd have to roll 2 odd or 2 even numbers. If you got 2 even numbers as a Fellowship member then you got to move one space forward for free. If you got 2 odd numbers you had to move back one space. The opposite happened to the Black Rider if he landed on a corner. This would simulate various locations like Moria, etc. and the problems or advantages of going though those places.

It's simplistic for sure but all I know is that we played for 2 hours and probably played 10-15 games. My wife played for most of those as well. It was awesome. I'm thinking of making a new board with Middle Earth artwork with more special spaces like the corners (and making it bigger of course).

Now I feel like I should order Max just as a way of saying thank you to Family Pastimes for making such a fun game for me to mess with.

Oooh, almost forgot. I need to thank yekrats for the inspiration. He has a thread ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/98673 )where he talks about using this game (Max) to get kids ready for meatier games like Knizia's Lord of the Rings. That gave me the idea for this. Thanks

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Surya — 2008-04-24T09:19:50+00:00

The Zonnespel edition

Thread: Re: They're learning and they ask for this one

1Wif — 2008-03-12T02:51:21+00:00

What is it with that freaking mouse? We've played Max with my daughter and all her friends (ages 4,5&6) on various occasions and they ALL, ALWAYS, sacrifice the other animals to get the mouse to the tree first. We actually get real mice in our home every spring and fall and it drives me mental, so to have Max go after the mouse is no problem for me (I'm partial to Chippy the chipmunk of the three animals in the game.) Anyway, if she's trying her hardest and the mouse still bites it, I swap out the chipmunk's life for the mouse. Is it cheating? Yes, I suppose so, but in growing a gamer I try to outweigh educational experiences with the fun so that she'll keep coming back for more. We can work on good sportsmanship in the less emotional years, somewhere between 9 and 12.

I am a little concerned though, before we got Max I placed an order for Viva Topo in which some of the mice will inevitably die. Oh that pesky circle of life.

Thread: Re: Knizia's Lord of the Rings for preschoolers!

Sprydle — 2008-01-09T18:51:17+00:00

You know, even though it is less complex and has fewer decisions to make, I think it's actually a more tension filled game--partly because it is so short and you are limited in your ability to react, you never ever ever want to waste a "treat!"

Thread: Re: They're learning and they ask for this one

gattling — 2008-01-03T01:05:01+00:00

Brad:

I don't have any experience with this particular game, but I do have a two-year-old at home, and I'm looking forward to introducing him (slowly) to playing games and lessons that go along with them.

Anyway, I've been wondering recently how to properly describe a gaming "session" with a young child, and I think your report here provided an excellent example.

- Greg

Thread: They're learning and they ask for this one

bnordeng — 2008-01-02T17:10:56+00:00

My two daughters (2 yo and 4 yo) played Max for the third time. The first time was at Christmas and I didn't get to really read through the rules (which are just a few paragraphs) so we played incorrectly. Max is supposed to take the short cuts when he lands on one and we didn't have him do that... so we won easily. The second time we saved 2 of the 3 animals and my 4 year old was disappointed that Max caught the chipmunk.

In our third game, everything was moving along well. My 2 year old is learning about rolling the dice and how to move the pieces properly along the board and very simple game mechanics. That's good. My 4 year old is making decisions about which pieces to move and when to give Max a treat so he heads back home. I'm still providing a fair amount of advice to both of them, but we always follow their decision in the end.

In this game, it was clear that my 4 year old was intent on making sure the mouse made it to safety. She was moving the mouse almost every chance she had. Unfortunately, all of us were rolling double black dots quite a bit and Max was cruising. We had used up all of the treats and all three animals were close to the tree (their safe haven). In fact, the bird and the mouse were one space away from safety and Max was closing in with the chipmunk trailing behind (after Max took a shortcut).

My 2 year old rolled one green dot and one black dot and went to move the mouse to safety, but my 4 year old didn't want that and asked her to move the bird instead. So, the 2 year old moved the bird. Then, on the 4 year old's turn, she rolled two black dots and wasn't able to move the mouse to safety... instead, Max moved onto the mouse and caught it.

My 4 year old was so excited about getting the mouse to safety that she didn't handle the mouse being caught so well. She was distraught. I explained that was how it worked and sometimes games don't work out the way you planned. But, next time we play we get to start over and we can work really hard to save the mouse.

What happened next was very interesting... she started trying to flip the dice from black dots to green dots so she could move the mouse. I explained how that was "cheating" and it is not okay. She grabbed the mouse and held it up high because "I don't want Max to get the mouse!" Eventually, calm came about and we cleaned up the game and talked about how we would try again later. All was well and a very simple lesson was being learned.

This game isn't much, but for little kids 4 and up I think it is great for some simple decision making and planning. I expect that once we have this game figured out, it won't get played much more AND I see that there is definitely a lot of learning going on during the games so it is definitely worth it.

Thread: Re: Why is this game currently # 5 on Funagain hot games list?

alkaiser — 2007-04-07T15:52:22+00:00

It's actually a pretty good game for young kids. Someone probably just found out about it and bought a bunch of copies for presents or prizes.

Thread: Why is this game currently # 5 on Funagain hot games list?

Moon Knight — 2007-04-06T23:16:39+00:00

This is a great game, which my family has enjoyed a lot. But I'm surprised to see it on Funagain's top 10 hot sellers. Did it recently receive some press somewhere? It's been around for decades, why is it hot now?

Not complaining, just curious.

Thread: Re: Knizia's Lord of the Rings for preschoolers!

matthewjhoskins — 2007-03-19T00:32:18+00:00

That was a great review Scott. Big thumbs up!

Thread: Re: Dice - how many max, how many animal?

game--player — 2006-08-31T00:36:35+00:00

Yep, 3 black and 3 green - and the two dice are identical.

Nate

Thread: User Review: Fantastic Game

Skadar — 2006-06-05T16:34:17+00:00

Max is a simple, cooperative boardgame where the players take on the role of three little animals (mouse, chipmunk, bird) attempting to get to their homes in a tree as Max (the cat) tries to catch them. No reading is required.

After introducing myself to BGG, I ended up making a purchase from Funagain.com of three games to play with my children. I was tired of Chutes & Ladders and Guess Who, so I ended up buying:

1) Max (cooperative boardgame)
2) The Secret Door (cooperative boardgame)
3) Rat-a-Tat Cat (card game)

My children are aged 2 and 4. Of these three games, Max has turned out to be the big hit. It's also my favorite of the bunch. After playing the game about 10 times since we bought it, I am amazed at how balanced it is. With each playing, it seems that we have an equal chance of winning or losing. Either way, it's great fun!

The cooperative nature of Max (and The Secret Door) puts my kids at ease when we play. We REALLY enjoy working together to win the game. Though, I must point out that my 4-year old cried significantly when "his bird" was eaten by Max the first time. In order to alleviate this problem I turned the game around for him and let him "be Max". So now when Max appears to be winning, he pretends that he's playing Max, which helps him always feel like he's succeeding.

To me, the great thing about Max is the amazing balance of the game. Sometimes it will seem like we (the critters) are waaaaay out ahead and there is no way that Max can catch up, and then suddenly, within 3 or 4 rolls of the dice, Max is right behind us. Each animal is given one specific shortcut that they can use. However, Max, being a cat, can track the animals and is allowed to use all of the shortcuts if he lands on them. This is a fantastic bit of game engineering.

The players have to opportunity to call Max back to his starting position 4 times during the game. The mechanics of doing this by using "cat treats" is a huge hit. The kids absolutely LOVE calling him back by giving him a treat.

As other reviewers have expressed, the contents of the game box is somewhat underwhelming. While the board itself is attractive, the game pieces are cheap cardboard punchouts, which are functional, but slightly disappointing. Little plastic figures would have been a bit nicer.

I must also report that the game in general is MUCH smaller than I was expecting. I was anticipating a box about the same size as a "standard" Milton-Bradley boardgame, but both Max and The Secret Door come in boxes that are about 1/4 that size. After my initial surprise, I quickly viewed this as a good thing! The small games are equally as playable as larger games, but much easier to store.

Overall I can't recommend this game enough to families with young children. See my review of The Secret Door for a different take on family cooperative gaming.

Thread: Dice - how many max, how many animal?

wmshub — 2006-06-05T06:18:59+00:00

I've wondered about getting Max, thought playing on a hand-drawn board with some toy animals would be a nice way to try it out.

But my question is, does each die have 3 "max moves" dots and 3 "animal moves" dots? Or is the ratio different?

Thanks.

Thread: Re: Knizia's Lord of the Rings for preschoolers!

Koldfoot — 2006-02-09T12:52:32+00:00

If only Knizia's LotR were this good.

Thread: Re: Knizia's Lord of the Rings for preschoolers!

herman_the_german — 2006-02-09T00:25:04+00:00

Talk about tension!

My four year old can handle one game. If he gets the creatures safely home, he'll quit while he is ahead. If he loses one or two he may cry.

Thread: Knizia's Lord of the Rings for preschoolers!

Yekrats — 2006-02-08T12:06:19+00:00

Max is a 20-year-old game by "Family Pastimes" which still holds up today, and is available at several retailers. If you are about to tear your hair out over another game of Hi-Ho Cherry-O or CandyLand, then I suggest you pick up Max instead. It's usually a short game (about 15 minutes), accommodates 1-8, the rules are simple, and it's a cooperative game - leading as a natural stepping stone for young gamers into more complicated games such as "Lord of the Rings." Also, older gamers don't seem to mind the game, and it holds up nicely for my 8-year-old daughter. It's even fun to watch. The only downfall I can see, is (if you analyze the game, like I do) it is essentially a solitaire game where people take turns and make decisions on their turn. But for such a simple game, it sure does breed tension, and reminds me of the feeling of doom when Sauron marches in Knizia's Lord of the Rings.

In Max, the eponymous cat is trying to chase down the helpless woodland creatures - a mouse, bird, and squirrel - around the yard. If the creatures get to their home, the tree, they are safe. But if Max gets to a creature first, it is out of the game.

In the box you'll find a game board, a pair of dice with a green or black spot on each face, three creature tokens, a Max token, four treat tokens, and a rules sheet. The board is a little on the flimsy side (as one might expect from 1986 production). The board shows a linear track of 28 spaces. Max starts on the porch (space 1) and the creatures start with a head start on the Stump space (space 7). The four treat tokens are the resources of the players and are kept off the board until they are used.

On a player's turn (we usually start with the youngest) he or she rolls both dice, which each have an even number of green and black spots. For each black dot, the player moves Max. For each green dot, the player chooses a creature to move. Now, it would seem like moving 3 creatures ahead of Max would put the creatures at a severe disadvantage. Fortunately, the creatures have a few tricks up their sleeves. In addition to the dice moves, each creature has one "short-cut" on the board, which allows them to jump ahead four spaces. Secondly, the players have four treat tokens, which may be used before any dice roll to send Max back to the porch. However, this is a limited resource, as the players collectively only have four.

But Max is a sneaky beast himself. He has access to all of the shortcuts that the creatures have access to. However, as a predator intent on his prey, he may accidentally overshoot the shortcut if two black spots are rolled when he is in the space before the shortcut. This can be a valuable point for strategy. I've found that makes the corners between the shortcuts to be a bit of a safe haven for the two creatures who cannot use the shortcut, and a good place to hide creatures temporarily. (Max either will use the shortcut and be ahead of the two, or not use it, which slows down his overall progress. If Max ever gets to the last square ahead of the creatures (which has happened to us once) the players are not allowed to use any more treats, and can only get past Max to the tree with a double-green to scootch past him.

As Max gets close, it becomes stressful when Max gets close, and how and when to best use the dwindling cat treats. When Max is two squares away, do you risk just one more roll and hope Max won't catch you? Or do you play it safe, and send Max home? That's a REAL DECISION for young kids to make, which makes the game satisfying for them, and for me as a gaming parent. The only downside (which could be said about LotR as well) is that it is essentially multiplayer solitaire. But regardless, it is a fun and quick game, so that is even less of an issue with this game as it is with LotR.

So, I would highly recommend this game to any parent of 4-8 year-old future gamers, when you're sick of Chutes and Ladders, and want a game in which players make decisions, even if they are small ones.

Thread: User Review

cokasaki — 2005-08-09T04:25:02+00:00

Max is one of the many cooperative games from the folks at Family Pastimes, and quite possibly the best. Certainly it is the one that has kept my 4-year old's attention the longest.

The goal is to get three Little Creatures (a mouse, a bird, and a chipmunk) to their homes before they are eaten by Max, a hungry cat. Players take turns rolling two special dice, that each show either a green dot or a black dot, so possible results are green-green, green-black, or black-black. For each green dot, the player advances any one of the Little Creatures one space. For each black dot, the player advances Max one space. If Max ends on the same space as a Little Creature, that creature is eaten ("captured" in the less bloody terminology of the game). More than one creature can be on the same space, so more than one creature can be eaten per turn. Although there are no explicit scoring rules in this game, intuitively, the "score" is based on how many creatures make it to their homes at the end of the board. But because the game is cooperative, there is no individual winner or loser. Either everybody wins or everybody loses.

The creatures start out six spaces ahead of Max, so it does not take him long to catch up. When he gets too close, a player can play a "cat treat" that sends Max back to the beginning of the board. However, the players only have four cat treats, so if they use up the treats too soon, some of the creatures will probably be eaten.

There are three different "shortcuts" on the board, one specific to each creature. When the corresponding creature lands on the start space of a shortcut, the player may, but does not have to, take the shortcut, which advances the creature by four spaces. Note that one creature cannot take another creature's shortcut, except that Max can use all of the shortcuts. In fact, the player does not have a choice about whether Max takes a shortcut--if he lands on the shortcut space, he will take the shortcut.

Clever management of the shortcuts is one of the keys to saving the creatures. If the creatures do not take a shortcut, then Max will sometimes pass them when he takes the shortcut. You can then conserve cat treats by letting him advance freely until he almost reaches the end of the board (if he lands on the last space before the creatures' homes, he will wait for them there and cannot be recalled by cat treats).

Another trick that is highly non-obvious to youngsters is to refrain from playing a cat treat when Max is one space behind a creature. Children usually think that the creature is in great danger, but it is actually quite safe. If you roll black-black, Max will pass the creature without eating it, and if you roll green-black, then both the creature and Max can advance simultaneously, leaving Max again one space behind the creature.

This game is far more interesting to adults than the usual fare for this age group because there are actual decisions to be made: which creature to move, whether or not to take shortcuts, when to play a cat treat. The first of these may be a little confusing to a child who has played other games. My daughter initially thought that each player controlled one of the creatures, and it took a while to convince her that any player can move any creature. It is also more interesting to the children. My daughter starts to get tense when Max gets close to the creatures, and she loves playing the cat treat to send him back to the beginning.

The game itself is rather cheaply made, with a folding cardboard board, and somewhat chintzy cardboard tokens for the creatures, the cat treats, and Max. The box is made of somewhat sturdier than normal cardboard, to better withstand abuse from small children.

Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone with children of about 3-4.

Thread: Session Report

rjburns3 — 2005-02-04T19:43:08+00:00

Max is a clever little co-operative game by Family Pastimes, a company that specializes in family-friendly co-operative games. I very much appreciate the whole concept of co-operative games; we probably teach competitiveness at too early a stage in our contemporary American society (dodgeball, anyone?).

I'd poked around a long time ago, trying to find a good co-operative game for when our kids were old enough. I'd pegged Max early on, even carrying it in my Amazon.com wishlist for a long time, but just ordered it recently. It came today and my son (3.5 years) and I gave it a spin.

He's still new to the game concept, but by playing, he started to understand the goal and mechanics. Max is a cat that starts on the porch, Little Creatures (a bird, a chipmunk, and a mouse) start on the stump several spaces ahead. The goal is to get all three home before Max can catch them. Special dice indicate whether the creatures move, or Max moves. Each Little Creature can use its own shortcut, but Max can use them all -- however, there are cat treats on the porch, and if you so elect, you can 'spend' a Cat Treat and bring Max back to the porch. That's about it, really.

I tried to give my son the decision-making ability (with lots of guidance). Sadly, the chipmunk got eaten fairly early on, but hey, it was a first play. I think Johnny was still getting used to the Cat Treat idea. The other animals made it home quite handily as a result. It's probably a bit more challenging when you're trying to shepherd all three back to their home in the tree.

Fun game; great for kids. Highly recommended.

Thread: Why I like Max

arjet — 2004-12-21T22:27:45+00:00

Max was the most played game in our house for quite a while. I really like the cooperative aspect, and the way it bonds the kids together as Max bears inexorably down on those helpless little animals.

It teaches strategic thinking, in the the kids have to make a lot of difficult choices: advance one animal quickly, or all three at a slower pace? Use the catnip now, or save it for when danger is imminent? Risk the chipmunk to save the mouse? etc.

The cooperative aspect also encourages the older/smarter kids to teach the younger ones. Everybody's allowed to give advice, but only the person whose turn it is may move the markers. Strong incentive to explain to your little brother, yet again, why that particular move is a bad idea.

What I find really interesting, though is the fact that the game allows for a "partial win," as it were. It's not uncommon to have Max eat one of the creatures, even though you get the other two safely home. It's kind of an antidote to the "winner take all" mechanism of 99% of other games. In most games, even if you win by 1 point, you win completely. In Max, you are often faced (as in real life) with the fact that while you technically won, you still didn't get everything you wanted.

Thread: Quick Comments

David D — 2002-11-29T20:09:35+00:00

For young children this game is a real winner and thus the high rating. Box says 4yrs-7yrs for age range but 3yr olds can really get into it! Being a cooperative game just about any number can play, but the idea of 7 young children squealing during play is sure to be an earful.

The online pricing is about $12-$15. The bits are cardboard but acceptable and the board is OK. The game is very compact and comes in a sturdy box. I find the size convenient to store, carry and transport. Artwork is simple but cheerful.

I feel the aspect of teaching the game and playing along as a family to win or lose as a whole is a big plus for the age group targeted. Most importantly this game is not nearly as brain numbing as games like Candyland. That in itself is worth the price.