When I was a child, the card game of choice for camping was Uno. After playing Hike, I think I might take Hike instead! There are seven suits, and you have to play certain cards based on suits. There are also several wild cards throughout the deck which affect the game play. This game is a rather simple, and the picture icons make it accessible for non-readers, yet it engages adults too. Every suit and wild card is based on the theme of hiking; some of the wild cards include sun, earthquake, lost, avalanche, litter, and (my son's favorite) poop.

The game arrived in a sturdy cardboard game box with instructions. All the pictures have bright, detailed illustrations that are quite pleasing (although my children had a good laugh at the illustrations of the bugs, and the litter was not my favorite drawing). At first the instructions seemed a little complicated, so we just jumped in playing. I did have to refer to the instructions a few times as we played the first few hands, and there were a few points where I had to read the instructions carefully several times to understand how the scoring was meant to be. The game cards, however, are extremely easy to understand. Each has a picture of the suit as well as a list of what can be played next. The wild cards include a brief explanation of their effects. As long as a non-reader knows how the wild cards work, he will be able to play.

In terms of educational uses, I suppose it could be played along with some unit studies, and it could definitely be enjoyed by Cub Scouts who are learning about Leave No Trace. But ultimately, this game is just fun. Every child who played, from age 5 to adult, enjoyed it. Hike will definitely keep its place on my shelf of games!

Product review by Marisa Corless, MH, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2011