My daughter received Dora the Explorer Play Park Adventure for her 4th birthday. This has quickly become one of her favorite games, I think because it is easy to play and she doesn't get frustrated. The times we have played, the game time lasts about 8-10 minutes with 3 players. Perfect for young children who lose interest quickly.
The game is very similar to Candy Land. There is a path you need to follow with different colors and puzzles to solve along the way. There are shortcuts you can take if your spin stops you on the space with the arrow. These shortcuts are: slippery rock, the bridge, and a ramp up a pyramid. They only advance you and there are no spots that make you go back. I find this to be a blessing since my daughter would get very upset when playing Candy Land and have to move back, especially if she was in first place at the time. The winner is the first one to make it to the Play Park. There are 4 characters to choose from, made from thick cardboard: Dora, Boots, Tiko, and Isa. The plastic base colors are: red, orange, purple, and green.
The board is colorful and there are sections labeled with signs that are written in English and Spanish. There are familiar scenes from the TV show like, The Sandy Dunes and Crocodile Lake. The board is about 24 inches long and about 8 inches high and folds up into a square to fit back in the box. The game includes the board, a double sided spinner, a plastic backpack, 6 double sided puzzle cards, 15 backpack solution cards, 4 plastic mover bases, and 4 characters.
The board has three permanent puzzles and six double sided puzzle cards. You can either use the permanent puzzles or mix it up with the cards to create many different journeys. The puzzles are solved by landing on the rainbow space with map on it. Each puzzle has a solution to it (which is shown in the corner of the puzzle piece). The player looks in the backpack that holds the cards with the solutions and finds the right one. They then put it back for the next player to solve the puzzle.
The puzzles and their solutions are:
Blue Gate (permanent puzzle)...key
Chocolate Lake...Boat
Colorful Rainbow...Hot air balloon
Rapid River...Raft
Little Blue Tree...Nest
Stone wall (permanent puzzle)...Ladder
Big Rock with Tree...Rope
Snowy Mountain...Snow suit
Green Mountain...Train
Turtle River...Bridge
Dark Tunnel (permanent puzzle)...Flashlight
Prickly Forest...Vine
Piano Bridge...Piano Keys
Rain Forest...Umbrella
Big Net...Scissors
Only the solutions to the puzzle pieces you choose are put into the backpack, all the others are set aside. Of course you don't have to solve the puzzles at all and just play the game by following the path to the end.
The spinner is made of thick card board with a big white arrow and has two sides. One side is for the easiest game play. It consists of 5 colors with Map placed on one of the colors. The player spins and moves to the next spot on the board that corresponds to the color spun. If a player lands on Map, then they move their marker to the next spot that has Map on it.
The other side of the spinner is supposed to make the game a little more challenging. It has the 5 colors and Map but it also has Swiper. If a player spins and it stops on Swiper, then their turn is lost.
This game is easy and is recommended for ages 3 and up. It is good for learning basic colors, taking turns, following directions, and problem solving. The one complaint I have with this game, and all board games for that matter, is the cards. The solution cards are small, approx. 1 1/2 inches by 1 inch and can be lost easily. If one of the solution cards is lost, then the puzzle piece that goes with that solution card cannot be used.
I highly recommend this game to any young Dora fan or any child who is just starting to play board games.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): Approx. $13
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years