As regular readers may know, my students and I are big fans of ThinkFun games in our classroom. The logic and problem-solving skills embedded into each one equal the entertainment value, which makes teachers and learners happy.
ThinkFun recently sent us one of their new games to review – Rush Hour Shift. This name may sound familiar to you. Rush Hour has been one of the most popular games in my classroom for years. It’s meant to be a single-player game, though my students usually work in pairs or small groups to solve the increasingly difficult challenges of sliding a car through lanes of traffic to the exit. The new version, Rush Hour Shift, is a 2-player game – and I predict it will be the new favorite in my classes.
In Rush Hour Shift, there are 3 interlocking plates that make up the traffic grid. Each player is trying to slide their car to the opposite end. Different challenges direct you on how to set up the “traffic” on the grid before starting. Each player is dealt a set of cards, and can only make the moves that are on the cards. These moves include sliding the other cars around or shifting one of the interlocking plates.
My daughter (12) and I tried the game first. She beat me two out of three times. (Spatial reasoning has always been one of my weaknesses.) I was addicted – but I think my daughter was getting frustrated with playing against someone so obviously beneath her level.
Yesterday, three of my 5th grade girls tried the game out. They had earned the privilege of “testing” a game and went into the empty classroom next door to play. The rest of us were trying to solve some wicked sudoku-like math puzzles, and were soon finding ourselves distracted by the uproarious laughter coming from the game-testers.
I peeked in on the girls, and they were having a great time. They had easily figured out the instructions, and were taking turns playing each other. When I asked them if they would recommend the game to others, they vigorously agreed. Jokingly, one of them commented, “But not if you want to keep your friends!” Apparently Rush Hour Shift has the ability to spark some friendly competition.
One thing that we all agreed on was the potential for many hours of fun with this game. For each of the 10 game set-ups given, there are endless ways the game can be played based on the cards that are dealt and the choices each player makes for using them.
We did receive Rush Hour Shift free to review, but I would definitely choose to purchase one for a birthday gift in the future.
If you find this game interesting and would like to see some other products that I have recommended in the past, check out this Pinterest Board.