Nintendo The Super Mario Route ‘n Go! Board Game Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Rebecca Stafford
The game arrived promptly and well packaged. The box to the game is bright and appealing to children and my two couldn’t wait to have a go at playing. Upon opening the game was fairly easy to set up, although the instructions for setting up are pretty much useless. I mainly figured out the stickers etc. by using the pictures on the box. The instructions on playing the game were also pretty poor in the end I looked up a quick video on my phone of how to play it. Although this was simple to do for me I did find it a bit inconvenient.
The concept of the game is fun and ties in well with the latest release of the ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’. Super Mario Route ‘n Go! Is essentially a puzzle game but it requires fast thinking from the players. To play the game the players take it in turns to slide and connect coloured panels to create a route across the board. The aim of the game is to make the route before the Mario van falls off the ’road’ and get him to the end destination. To get the Mario van to move you press a button on its roof. My two children got very giddy trying to plan and move the route tiles before the van got there. The first few goes they made lots of mistakes, either moving the wrong tiles into position or not forward think more than one tile and getting themselves in a pickle. This however made them more determined to be able to complete the route. It also made them think more strategically.
What I liked about it is there are two speeds. Basically a beginners and a more advanced level. This I think adds more longevity to the use of the game and means it doesn’t become boring too quickly. There are also three different modes to play including – a Single Player mode, a two Player mode and a two Player Head-to Head Competition. Again by adding in these different modes it gives the game more playability and longevity. There are also 3 million different tile combinations so there are endless ways to build the track and its unlikely you will build the same track combination over and over.
The game is aimed at 5 plus and I would say this is right, my two children are 6 and 9 and they both equally enjoyed playing it together and trying it alone.
In conclusion we did find this game entertaining, there were several different ways to play making it adaptable for different ages and stopping it becoming easy to quickly. The game is currently on offer at £21.99 making it a similar price to other games on the market and an affordable gift. The main thing I found frustrating on the game was poor assembly and playing instructions and that’s the reason it lost one star. If you have a Mario fanatic like I do or you just want your children to start thinking more strategically when working out puzzles then this is a nice little game for you.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £24.99 currently on sale for £21.99
This product can be purchased from Smyths Toys here.