We play a lot of board games in our house and at times it can get quite competitive. Whilst we love playing board games and tabletop games as a family, sometimes you just want to relax, wind down and do something on my own. My go to pastime is reading, I love a good book and my library is getting bigger and bigger and that is without anything I have on my Kindle. But there are times when I need a break from reading and like something to challenge me, where I have to stop and think and get the grey matter working.
I was delighted when I received the ThinkFun Rush Hour single player logic game, and surprisingly so were the kids.
Rush Hour is a single player traffic jam logic puzzle game that requires the player to manoeuvre their car through the traffic and out of the exit. It is a sliding block game that comes with 40 challenges and really does get your brain working. It is aimed at ages 8 to adult and is excellent for beginners and experts. If, like me, you remember the tile puzzle games from your childhood, Rush Hour is a 3D version similar to them.
In the box is:
- Plastic playing grid with pull out tray for challenge cards
- 40 challenge cards with solutions
- 1 red car
- 11 blocking cars (various colours)
- 4 blocking trucks (various colours)
- Set of instructions
- Game Go bag for taking Rush Hour out and about
The playing board has a 6×6 piece traffic grid that cars are trucks are laid out on according to the challenge cards. The challenge cards are in four levels; beginner (green), intermediate (orange), advanced (blue) and expert (red).
To start, you select a challenge card and stand it in the slot on the playing grid. Then lay the vehicles out on the traffic grid as the card illustrates. The idea is to get your car (the red one) out of the exit by sliding the other vehicles forwards and backwards out of the way. The vehicles cannot be moved by lifting them up out of the way or going sideways. Whilst it sounds easy, and the beginner levels are, it quite quickly grows in difficulty and requires a lot of logical and critical thinking to free your car. So whilst manoeuvring vehicles around, to solve the puzzle you may need to go a few steps back to make a one step gain. If you do get stuck and want to cheat, the answers are on the back on each card (but that defeats the object of the game).
The board and the pieces are very sturdy and feel like they will last for years to come. The cards are stored within a tray under the traffic grid. The whole game can be stored in the supplied drawstring bag, which also makes it a very portable game.
I love having the game on the desk. There is no limit on play so can be played at any time so playtime can be minutes or days. It is perfect from taking a break from work and getting the mind active.
ThinkFun’s Rush Hour is excellent. As a family, we have all loved it (the adults probably more so than the kids). You really do have to be methodical in your thinking to solve the puzzles and not get frustrated easily. It is excellent for critical thinking, logical thinking, patience, concentration, forward thinking and seeing the bigger picture.
If you want something to challenge and play in your own time frame, then I can highly recommend ThinkFun’s Rush Hour.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £18.99
For more information, visit www.thinkfun.co.uk. Available to buy from Amazon here.
Disclosure: I received this item for free for the purposes of writing an honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.
