PlayMonster Puzzled Space Race Review

Reviewed by Deborah Banasko

I have an almost 4-year old who has a real love for board games, and his older brother and sister are always happy to join in with us when playing, even when the games are aimed at younger children. The Puzzled Space Race game by Play Monster arrived just in time for half term so we could all enjoy some family fun time at home.

The box is sturdy and gives an insight into the gist of the game on the front. When you open the box, you are greeted by a mass of colour; a bag containing the jigsaw pieces in a variety of colours, the pre-made space-themed spinner with gorgeous graphics, the cute character pieces (more on those later) and the winner medals in four colours. It really made my children say “wow” as the colours are so appealing and well thought out.

The instructions were perfect, as they showed you how to set up a 2 player and a 4-player game, as well as displaying how the game should look at the end with the jigsaw pieces organised correctly. I also love a game with a meaningful and rewarding end-goal, and this seemed to fit the bill.

To play the game you choose your character, and set up the outer circle of jigsaw pieces (if there are only two players then there is a little more set up required as you need to fill in some additional jigsaw pieces). Each player takes a turn to spin the spinner, and you move the number of spaces dictated forwards or backwards. The space that you land on will have a command; to pick up a puzzle piece to build your planet, spin again or remove a piece from another player. The latter option caused some sulking from my 7 year old, yet I am all about learning to be a “good loser” so I quite like these features and think they make the game more fun and competitive as we all promise to get revenge. If you were less keen, I am sure you could change your rules.

The winner builds their entire character and planet, then travels around the board and back to their home.
I loved that the jigsaw pieces are colour coded on the back to enable children to independently select their own pieces.

There is a bonus “Spin and Spot” game once the board is complete. The first player to find the picture on the board that matches one on the spinner collects a winner’s medal, and the first to 5 medals wins this part of the game.

Let’s be honest, you could just let your child build the jigsaw as another activity with this toy as that would be a real challenge.

I must write a few words of appreciation of the four little characters. As you would expect at this price-point they are sturdy cardboard structures on little stands, but the detail and colours are just gorgeous. Each character is in a themed spaceship with various accessories; you have the pink alien-cat, green crocodile-dinosaur alien, the yellow one-eyed fluffy alien and a blue 5-eyed character. There is a colour and character for everyone, and my kids just played with them for a few minutes before we even started.

I have a minor suggestion to make with regards the spinner as it isn’t totally accessible to a 3-year old, and a parent would need to advise them how to move their character. My almost 4-year old can read numbers now but not words, and at 3 he would not have recognised numbers. Perhaps as well as having the numeral (e.g. move 3), there could be three little pictures to count rather than two pictures in each segment. I only mention this as my son could count pictures before he could read the number, and this means he could practice his skills and also play more independently. The “miss a turn” and “move back” commands could have some other symbol or picture to assist a child’s understanding. This isn’t a huge issue, just a point to note.

The target age of 3+ is perfect; although there is a lot going on with a jigsaw, recognising numbers and being able to move around a board and show some tactical skills when choosing which players jigsaw pieces to move… it isn’t too much for this age group. It keeps children engaged and all three of mine wanted to play it again as it is just the right length of play. The jigsaw is just 7 pieces for each coloured segment but does present challenge as it isn’t too obvious where the pieces go, and there’s a real joy when your child completes their “planet”. I love the whole concept.
The setting up of the outer frame of the jigsaw pieces would need assistance from a parent or older child as it is slightly challenging. If I were to buy this game, I would gift it to someone between the ages of 3 and 5 ideally, possibly aged 6 as it does depend on the child. Bear in mind my 7 and 10 year olds loved playing too!

The £10.99 price-point is really good; it’s a fun family game and not too basic for older children so they can still enjoy it with younger siblings. I loved the attention to detail with the artwork, and the fact it’s different to most games that you find for this age bracket. A great box-size to take to Grandma’s house too. I would award this game 5/5 stars, we loved it.

Rating: 5/5 stars

RRP: £10.99

You can purchase Play Monster’s Puzzled Space Race here.