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58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Creative and versatile fun!, 19 Sep 2009
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Aimed at the 7+ age group, you start by building the game board. The building was enjoyable - particularly for those children who already enjoy playing with lego. The instructions are clear, and easy to follow. My 6 year was able to follow the instructions with minimal prompting. With two children doing it - it's also a good exercise in cooperative play. It's surprising how others quickly wanted to join in as soon as the building began! The white card guide for where to put the "hedges" was really useful, and made the building of the labyrinth very straightforward. On an educational front the children practice fine motor movement, number and shape skills, and symmetry.
The Minotaur was a bit harder to build, and some strength was required to get the lego rod inside the Minotaur. But that was a minor niggle - once built, the Minotaur never needs to be dismantled, and is such a central piece, that it's probably an advantage that it's unlikely to break up.
The game took my kids half an hour to build. I typed up some of the comments they made while building: "It says put these flat bits on top of the stones", "It says we've got to build the hedges in the gaps", and, "This board game really is clever".
As you would expect from a lego game, there is room for plenty of creativity. You can design your own labyrinths, rather than relying on the suggested layout. You can alter the rules - or mix and match the entire set with other lego. If you have any other baseplates and some general lego to raise the second base plate above the first, then it would be relatively easy to make a two or even three level version. The only limit would be the imagination. The other aspect I really like - is that it wouldn't be a disaster if some of the parts got lost. The game would still be playable. Besides - you can always cannabalise other lego as replacements.
The rules of the game are simple, and easy to pick up. And yet the game is remarkably fun. It's a bit like Ludo, but far more fun to play. The object is to get at least one of your pieces to the centre. Players shake a dice, for a number 3,4,5,6 or a grey square to be able to move a wall to block an opponent's route, or a black square to be able to move the Minotaur 8 squares. The Minotaur can land on player's pieces, sending them back to the start. Different strategies start to come out, do you block an opponent - or block the Minotaur? Do you try to persuade other players to help you? A simple game can take 5 to 10 minutes. If your aim is to get 3 pieces into the centre, it can take longer.
I would strongly recommend this. It's a great board game, particularly for creative children. It's so versatile, that it's probably one of the best board game options around for 7-11 year olds. Not only can they play the game as it is, but the possibilities to mix with other lego could lead to endless ideas. My three spent a good couple of hours with it as soon as it came out of the box, rating it 10/10 - and are nagging at me to play again as I type!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Lego with a board game twist - fun!, 27 Sep 2009
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
It's Lego right? You build it, you play with it, you knock it down and make it into something different.
The special feature in Minotaurus is that the model you build is actually a board game. It's quite fun too - a bit like snakes and ladders, except that there is only one snake (the Minotaur) and your opponents get to control it, provided that the special die comes up with the "Move Minotaur" side.
There's another special roll that lets you move blocking pieces to make it harder for the opposition to thread its way through the maze.
The game is mostly luck I guess, though good strategy will win out over numerous games. Until you lose there is always hope, since a Minotaur bite sends one of your opponent's pieces back to the start.
This being Lego, you can adapt the board and make up your own rules - the enclosed booklet has some suggestions.
Here's what a ten year old had to say:
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Build
This product has a relatively simple build which makes it ideal for younger builders but older builders may find it very fun to build as well. The product comes with a grid which you put onto the baseplate to build around when you get to the stage at which you are building the actual labyrinth. The Minotaur is a slightly more complex
build which would add to the fun for older enthusiasts, whilst still staying easy enough for a five year old to build. The Minotaur also comes with some rare elements.
Build rating: 4/5
Play Value
I enjoyed the creative aspect of the game because if the die landed on grey you had to move a wall. The game was very unpredictable-the Minotaur can turn the whole game around! All in all a very fun board game experience.
Play value: 5/5
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I'd just add that while it has good play value, you don't get that many bricks for your money. You do however get a standard green base plate which will come in handy long after the game is forgotten.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lego as a board game...genius, 14 Oct 2009
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Me, like most fun loving people out there....really like lego.
You can build whatever you want with it...so why not a board game.
This game called minotaurs is exactly that. You play as 2 to 4 teams, and the aim is to get 1-4 of your men through the maze, avoiding the minotaur and into the centre. The moves of the characters and minotaur are controlled by a funky looking die.
There are many fun extras in the game such as moveable walls, which can either block you, opponents or even the minotaur. The game is really simple, and quite a lot of fun. The more people playing the funner it is, and many strategies can be formed.
The game itself took about 20mins to assemble, with simple instructions. Once assembled it can be keep in the box without the need to disassemble and reassemble every time.
There are different types of rules to the game, if you decide to spice things up a little bit. These different rules are found at the back of the instruction booklet.
Overall a really enjoyable game, for ages 7+ I reckon, and good for the whole family with hours of fun.
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