The uKloo Riddle Edition Treasure Hunt Game is for readers ages 7 and up and is available for $18.95 CDN directly from Ukloo.com. I also located it at an online retailer for $17.95 USD.  

There are three decks of cards containing riddles in increasing difficulty from levels 1-3. You could merely sit and read the clues to your children and have them race to blurt out the answer, or you could play it with a special twist that turns this unique game into a treasure hunt! The step that transforms this game into a treasure hunt is by your placing the next riddle at the location of the answer to the previous one. For example, if the answer to the first riddle is cereal, then you would place the second riddle card next to the cereal in your house. So when your children go to the cereal when they’ve figured out the answer, they’ll find the next riddle card at that location. If the third answer is the shower, then you place the fourth riddle card at the shower so the game play can continue in that manner with each answer leading you to the next riddle. What fun!

The first time we played, I wanted to use the riddles more for educational purposes with my 8-year old son, so we did, in fact, just sit and read the clues and try to come up with the answers. He has attention issues, so I knew it would take a lot of effort for him to focus on the clues long enough to solve the riddles. And as I expected, I sometimes had to read the clues multiple times before he could pay attention and really hear what I was saying. I think it was a really good exercise in getting him to try to concentrate better, as well as to think out of the box a bit in getting to the solutions. 

The game includes a booklet that provides an extra clue for each riddle in case your children need more help in thinking down the right road, and it also includes the answers in case you get stuck, as well. He had to use the extra clues a few times. I thought this game was an excellent tool for getting him to think of alternate meanings in the words rather than just seeing everything in black and white. He loved the challenge! We started at the beginning of the deck with level 1 and gradually worked our way to the end of level 3. There are a total of 75 riddle cards altogether, and he enjoyed it so much that we made it through all of them in one sitting!

I’m going to allow some time to pass before we play again so we can play it as the intended treasure hunt game next time. That way, the answers won’t be fresh in his mind, and he can enjoy it more as a treasure hunt that he can play with his siblings and friends rather than the thinking that was involved in using it as an educational tool the first time. I know he’ll have a blast racing around the house to find the next riddle, and that’s really an ingenious use of this game!

This game also includes a deck of blank cards so your children can write their own riddles. There are tips in the booklet that give you ideas on how to come up with your own riddles, as well. My son and his 12-year old sister each came up with a riddle of their own as we finished the game the first time. My son’s riddle was “I take you places, but you don’t drive me.” The answer was legs!  I thought that was pretty good for an 8-year old. My daughter’s riddle was “I have legs, and if you stand on me, I make you taller.” The answer was a stool!

Making up their own riddles was also an excellent way to get their brains working in a new and different way, and it also gave them an opportunity to get creative. I think what I liked so much about this game was the many different ways it could be used to stretch their thinking, but also to provide old-fashioned fun!

The game also comes with a tear-pad of cards that say “Surprise!” on them. The purpose of these is to allow the parent to write down end-of-game prizes for the kids as they finish a treasure hunt. You can put down a snack, a candy, or an activity that your children can have as a reward for finishing the hunt. That’s another neat idea, since you can change up the reward each time they play! That becomes the final card they find at the end of the game. Brilliant!

This will continue to be a fun game to play indoors on a rainy day or when it’s too hot or too cold to play outside. I could even see using it as a party game when the kids have a birthday party. What fun! This game would also make an excellent gift for your children’s friends. Give it a try!

-Product review by Kelly Burgess, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September, 2016