Home > Categories > Games & Puzzles > Board Games > Cranium - Cadoo review
Recommended for ages 7 and up, for two or more players.
Cranium ® Cadoo ™ is the all-new outrageously fun game designed especially for kids. With a variety of hilarious activities, Cranium Cadoo gets kids thinking, creating, giggling, grinning, and laughing like crazy as they try to get four in a row to win. With so many different activities, there is something in Cranium Cadoo that will make every kid hoot and high-five. They might even discover a talent they never knew they had!
And kids just love the cool Cranium Clay ®, funky tokens, and especially the Secret Decoder Mask. Whether kids love to act, puzzle, sketch, sculpt, or even crack secret codes, Cranium Cadoo has something for everyone-including you!
Games comes with:
• Cranium Cadoo game board
• Secret Decoder Mask
• Tub of Cranium Clay
• 300 outrageously fun game cards
• 40 colorful tokens
• Six-sided Cranium Cadoo die
• Timer
• Game rules
• Cadoo custom pads and pencils
• Grab-and-go box with a handle on top
Product reviews...
I once had Cranium Dice and I still own Ziggity (a dice game by the same company) and have heard plenty of good things about the Cranium game range so figured why not give this game a chance, especially when offered it at an excellent price. Your aim is to place down your tokens and hope to make four in a row, if this ends up not being achievable then you want to have placed the most tokens on the board - the added bonus to this is that when a player does a combo task, both the person whos turn it is and the person to guess correctly, both place down a token. This comes with its own little strategy as the guesser must place their toke ontop of yours and can use that in their line of four.
I have children with quite a difference in capabilities and this game managed to suit them all well enough that they had fun. There are a mix of solo games and combo games (where you want someone to guess before the time runs out). We did end up using some playdoh as the clay wasn't useable but had no issues with that. We went flexible with some of the cards, such as the item hunt (we allowed a book with the letter I on it, rather than an item with an I in the name) and rebus puzzles (where so long as the pronunciation wasn't too far from the actual word, it would count). The answers require a special decoder to see the answer, and I found this really well done as often I can still read the hidden word but without the glasses I could only read a couple of letters.
The kids ended up really enjoying this (ages 12-16) and even wanted to play a second game, so I think we'll be holding onto this one for a wee while.
Very much a childs game, kinda like connect four in a way. Very fun and quick to play. It's also a hands on type of game combining basic charades, pictionary, sculpting, and others.
Proved very usefull as a warm up game to the adult version, Cranium.
Being a big kid at heart, I am always looking for ways to entertain kids. This game is perfect. The game rules are relatively easy to pick up and understand. Average game-play duration is good too, at only about a half-hour per game. REALLY good for people with short attention spans. (innocent grin)
The only small problem I could see was with the scavenger hunt cards, but as already described, that was dealt with by a slight rule alteration.
Needless to say, I had an absolute BLAST playing this game, and am thinking seriously of buying a copy for myself.
OK, it's aimed at kids aged 7 and up... but I think it's a wonderful game for players of any age! With elements of Pictionary, Charades, Connect 4, Go, Scavenger Hunt, Trivial Pursuits, Eye Spy, plus lots more... this has to be the most spectacular game I have played in years.
It caters to both sides of your brain, as well as your fun gland. With the main 'connect 4' element controlling the gameplay, you end up with short games that will hold the kids attention, but long enough to keep them from getting bored with any repetition.
I simply must comment on the Cranium Putty. This purple putty dough feels subtly different from most other putty you may have encountered. It also has a delightful tangy orange/citrus scent. The smell doesn't linger, but it will be attractive to kids.
I was a little worried when it came to the 'Quick Find' as my opponent was mobility challenged. The 'Quick Find' cards are like miniature scavenger hunts, and with a wheelchair to try an get through doorways, within a tight time limit, it was a logistical nightmare. But after some thought on the matter, a modification to the rules was proposed that worked wonderfully.
The player can name an item, and if it within reach for someone without the disability, it can be considered 'collected'. If they are at someone else's residence, the host would be honest and admit if the item is within reasonable distance.
Overall, I really enjoyed playing this game, and look forward to playing it with greater numbers. I also plan to donate a copy to my son's class when he turns 7... so I still have a bit of time to buy an extra set. :)
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