Police Blockade

My son loves to play games. We love to play games as a family, but sometimes, there just isn't anyone to play a game with. When MamaBzz contacted me about doing a review of Police Blockade, I was very interested. Police Blockade is a solitaire game that helps develop logic skills.



The description from Timberdoodle.com:

Police Blockade
Sirens screaming and tires screeching, there is nothing like a little police action to liven up a road trip. Police Blockade lets you keep it legal but is just as exciting.

Your Job: Block Him
An elegant red sports car has been stolen and the police force is scrambling to jam every escape route. As police chief, your child will be asked to coordinate all available units in order to prevent a getaway. His career is on the line; can he block the perpetrator's escape and avoid unnecessary bloodshed?

60 Challenges!
With 60 fast-paced easy to expert challenges he will have plenty of chances for a "do over"! For 1 player. Includes game board, clear plastic lid, one red sports car, six police cars, and four sets of buildings, game booklet, and a nifty elastic band to hold it all together.

Logic, Thinking Skills, Visual Perception...
This one-player game develops logical reasoning, builds higher cognitive thinking, and strengthens visual and spatial perception. It is self-contained, includes solutions, and makes an ideal travel companion. Plus, it offers an amazing amount of fun for all ages!

Game includes:
· Game board
· 60 puzzles with four levels of difficulty
· One red sports car
· Six police cars
· Four sets of buildings
· Solution booklet

Publisher: Educational Insights
Ages: 7+
Time To Play: 5-20 minutes
Players: 1

UPS delivered the game on Friday night, as we were heading upstairs for bed (seems like a late delivery time to me!). When I came down, I couldn't wait to check the game out. There are 60 challenges for the kids (or adults) to solve. They start out with easier ones and progressively get harder. The puzzle book provides the location of the buildings and the bad guy. You have to position all of the police cars on the board so that there is no escape route for the bad guy and so they all fit. There are solutions at the back of the book, but don't be tempted to look at them.

Saturday morning when my son woke up, he couldn't wait to try out the game. As he solves each challenge, he moves onto the next page. Sometimes the first challenge he faces is making all of the pieces fit, but then even when they all fit, sometimes it's not the right solution. There is a lot of try and try again. But that is a good thing, it helps him develop problem solving skills as he tries to reorganize the pieces to block the bad guy. At first, he would say, I can't do it, help. And I did. After a few, I encouraged him to start over at the beginning and see if he could do it. He has worked through the first 10 of the 60 challenges provided already and pulls it out anytime he has some time.

I asked my son what he thought of the game - he simply said I like it. I then asked him what he liked about the game and he told me that he liked it because it was hard. I agree with him, puzzles that are too easy aren't fun.

Included in my shipment was a catalog from Timberdoodle. I have to say that they have a lot of really great toys, games and activities. Their focus is homeschooling, but the toys, games and activities are great even for everyone (even families like mine that don't homeschool). They offer flat rate shipping, which is great if you are looking to get lots of resources for your homeschool curriculum .

I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive a free copy of Police Blockade to review courtesy of MamaBzz and Timberdoodle.