Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My 6.5 year old loves this game and has for about 6 months. It is easy to play, doesn't take any special equipment beyond what it comes with, and is fun. The goal is to use addition and subtraction to sum up the numbers on 5 colored dice to get to a target number, and you get to move your game piece one space for every die you successfully use in a round, so it's advantageous to use as many as possible. The trick is that you have to do the math in your head quickly and then yell "math dice" first--only that person gets to show the combo they came up with. The first player to move their game piece around the given board wins. (The board is very tiny--we usually end up going around 2-3 times per game.) When we play with our son, though, my husband and I have to basically hold back to give my son a chance, because obviously a grownup can add a lot faster than a 6 year old. Still, we are able to jump in just enough to push him and get him thinking faster and in a more complex way, which is the best part of this game. For instance, in the months we've had this, he's figured out how to do more complex strings using both addition and subtraction to maximize the number of dice used (e.g., 3+4+2-1=8 to use 4 dice instead of 3+4+1=8 to only use 3 dice). You don't have to do things that complicated (you could start out with only addition, for instance), but that's part of the strategy and what makes it a game more than just math drills. I think what ages this is for really depends on the child. My son is pretty fast at adding and subtracting, and he can do much of it in his head. I know he's played with other 6 year old friends and they struggled quite a bit. So you kind of have to know your kid. Can your kid add and subtract numbers totaling up to 12? Can they add/subtract more than one number in a row (e.g., 2+2+3)? And can they do it in their head? They don't necessarily have to do those thing super well yet, but they do need to be able to do them a little. Also think about who the child will play with--it's best if they can play with kids at a similar math skill level so one person doesn't dominate. I do like that Math Dice Jr encourages my son to think about math, but apart from that it's just a fun, simple game that doesn't take too long to play. It's a winner for us!