Learning Resources Kanoodle Extreme Game Review

Reviewed by Jenny Bray

If you love a mental challenge game then you’ll love this. I write this review with an equal mix of enjoyment and frustration with this game…

This is a brain training game which states it; ‘sharpens spatial awareness and exercises critical thinking skills’. It is quite compact and made from plastic, with 12 plastic ‘noodles’ aka playing pieces stored inside, each in a different layout consisting of 4 or 5 balls (not strictly balls as they have lots of small straight edges like a football, but I’m not sure how to better describe them. Please just take a look at the pictures to see what I mean!) The inside has the 2D starting board and the outside has the 3D starting board. The instruction manual is designed to slide inside the case for safe keeping, which is very handy if you wanted to travel with this. It’s very easy to clean, which is an increasing need if wanting to travel with it in these covid times. It also felt well made and robust.

The 3D puzzles start by building up the majority of the pyramid and just needing to work out the last few, although it works up to needing to work out more and more for yourself. The 3D version helps build spatial awareness in a less linear way than the 2D version. As you become more familiar with the ‘noodles’ it becomes easier to imagine placing them.

The game is only designed to be a one player game so therefore comes with a warning that if you have more than one child then this may cause arguments if they try to complete it together but disagree with the placement of the pieces!

The concept of the game is to start with some of the pieces in place on the board and then use the remaining pieces to complete the board. This sounds very easy, however I can assure you that it is not!

I suspect this game will be like marmite in that people will either love it or hate it. I love it, but that didn’t stop me getting very frustrated with it during the multiple times that I got to having just one piece left to fit and then the space to put it in being just one ball out.

The instruction manual could be a little clearer as it’s quite hard to understand the concept initially. However, if you’re moving on to this from a different (dare I say it, the others definitely look easier!) version then I’d guess that the set up would be easy. The manual starts with easy (I’d say ‘easier’ as none of these beyond the first couple are easy!) and moves on to much harder options, for both the 2D and 3D versions of the puzzle. In total it has 303 puzzle options.

This game is made by Learning Resources. If you check out their website; Learning Resources.co.uk, they offer a wide choice of games and toys designed to be both fun and educational.

The age range for this game is 8 to adult. It was my 10 year old who was the most interested of my children. He quite happily sat down and worked his way through setting it up and then trying to complete the puzzles. I tried it out with my 7 year old but he didn’t have the patience to keep trying and got very frustrated when he couldn’t work out the correct way to do it (moral of the story – sometimes age ranges are there for a reason!).

As a solo game this is a great brain teaser to build independent play but I’m not sure of the longevity of its play over a sustained period of time. However, as it seems well made, it feels like it should last through handing it to others to give it a go too and then pass it on. Children and adults alike can share the joy and frustration of this game and I think it would make a great gift for someone who likes something a little different and enjoys a challenge, child or adult.

Rating: I give it 4/5

RRP: £15.

This game can be purchased from Learning Resources here.