The following article provides a review of the “Outfoxed” game for kids – parents with a child with Leukemia and homeschooling families looking for ways to entertain their kids in an educational way may find value here. We homeschool but I also had a child with Leukemia who spent a lot of time in and out of hospital during treatment and I had need of finding ways to entertain her in times when she felt well enough to play or do and activity. Even though she is well now, I like finding games that I can recommend to other parents of children with Leukemia who are searching for ways to entertain their sick child as well as giving homeschooling families information on board games we have used, like and recommend.

I bought this game on a whim while searching for some new educational games to use for our homeschooling resources, not really knowing what the game was all about, but we like mysteries, it looked nice, seemed to be of high quality from the pictures, and looked interesting. There wasn’t much of a write up about it on the website either. It wasn’t until we unpacked it and played it, I realised I had a winner on my hands with my 2 middle grandchildren aged at the time 4.5 and 6 years old. After playing it, we fell in love with it straight away and the children found it quite easy to learn how to play it too. There is often excited chatter between us as we start to uncover the clues and eliminate suspects, often making guesses as we went along. It also would have been a great fit for my daughter when she was sick because it is a quick game and designed for ages 5 an up. She was that age during her Leukemia and treatment.

What is the Game Outfoxed About?

The game is simple. You, as little detectives, need to find the fox thief before he or she escapes from your clutches down a fox hole with the stolen prize pie by eliminating suspects through clues. Play involves rolling dice, choosing whether to roll to uncover a suspect or clue, moving your player piece and deciding whether any clues you uncover match any of the suspects you find along the way. Every roll of the dice means the potential movement of the foxy thief closer to his escape route. Players cooperate, working together to find the correct clues and win or lose as a team.

There are 16 suspects, 16 potential thieves, and 12 clues, 3 of which you need to match before you can deduce the thief by the process of elimination. The fox moves 3 spaces forward each time a roll of the 3 dice doesn’t meet the criteria required to uncover a suspect or clue.

Game Title: – Outfoxed

Made By: Gamewright

Ratings: – 4.8 stars out of 5. 88% of people have given a 5 star rating and another 8% a 4 star rating at the time of writing this article.

Where To Buy: – Amazon

Price: $39.99 AUD RRP but on sale at $37.99 AUD at the time of writing this article.

Game Style: – Cooperative Whodunnit

Number of Players: 2 – 4

Playing Time: – 20 – 30 mins

Age: 5+ (Ideal age range approx. 4 – 8, older children can still enjoy if playing with younger siblings and a family will enjoy if playing together)

Recommended? – Yes, I highly recommend.

Assembly Required? – No

Batteries Required? – No

Easy Set-Up? Yes

Safety Information: – Choking hazards, small parts, not recommended for children under 3

Quality: – Excellent, strong box, pieces pack away well.

Delivery, Speed, and Condition of Package: Fast delivery, arrived in excellent condition, no damage to packaging or game box or pieces.

Aesthetics: – Colourful, bright, clear space markings, visually appealing places on the board to capture imagination of younger children. The dice are well made, the fox, player pieces, clues and cards are all nicely done.

Amazon’s Response to a Problem a Customer Had: – Provided a refund without the game having to be sent back first.

Company’s Response to a Problem a Customer Had; – apologised for the lapse in quality control and offered to send a free replacement.

PROS AND CONS:

PROS:

• The instructions are mostly clear and easy to understand
• Great family game, ideal for children 4 – 8 but older will enjoy
• Cooperative game that teaches children how to play strategically together
• Great starting point for children to learn the process of elimination
• Encourages good memory recall and tactical thinking
• As children work together and solve the crime together it avoids meltdowns over who won or lost
• Great talking point to discuss human values
• Supports children encouraging each other
• Although the recommendation is 2 – 4 players, a single player can play it as well
• Can introduce cheering for each other or chanting the desired roll of the dice, e.g.. “Clue, clue, clue” or “suspect, suspect, suspect”
• Can be modified to make it harder for older players, e.g., move fox closer to fox hole
• Promotes the learning of deductive reasoning
• The game doesn’t take very long so avoids boredom setting in for younger children
• Can be taken away on holiday or to the hospital for example those having a child with Leukemia and spending a lot of time in and out of hospital. Simply place the board, instructions if needed, and game pieces into a large Ziploc bag and pack in a hospital bag or luggage.
• Game has a large luck element which keeps play interesting and without the same outcomes.
• Great replay value.
• Supports the learning of problem solving skills, deduction, logic, observation and memory.
• Provides an entertaining stepping stone for more complex games such as Cluedo for example.
• You can change the game to accommodate a more challenging experience if desired. Perhaps try having 2 thieves, or moving the fox more spaces when the dice roll is lost.
• Helps support learning of prediction and inference.
• Not boring for adults to play with their kids as some other children’s games are.
• No winners or losers for children to feel sad for losing.
• I really enjoy watching my grandchildren’s faces when they roll what they were aiming for, when the fox moves closer to escaping, and when they start to see the Thief’s exposure getting closer and closer. I love their dramatic responses to when a game is a close one. My 8 year old granddaughter likes to try to guess who the thief is and remembers some of the suspects and what items they are wearing.
• Great game for homeschoolers who want to demonstrate the mathematical concepts of chance, probability and statistics and if there is a strategy that works better than another.
• Very giftable if looking for something for that purpose.

CONS:

• If you prefer environmentally friendly game pieces, this game contains some plastic parts
• If you plan to place the suspect cards all around the board, then the game takes up a bit of space, but there are ways you can minimise the space needed if you have a separate place for them, such as a chair, or the box. We usually tuck the cards under the board so only part of them is exposed but enough that you can see all items that make up the clues on the suspected foxes. We play on a small kiddy table and find it adequate for this.
• There are fun-looking places on the game board that children might want to visit during their move, but not many features that would send players to them. A disadvantage to this is that you could move back and forth between just 2 spaces, which makes the movements limited and a bit boring. Something for Gamewright to consider in future editions which could add an extra element of fun, would be adding in a need to go to these places, perhaps drawing of cards that send players to them.
• Need to use extreme care when placing the Thief card into the slot in the Clue Revealer device otherwise it may roughen the bottom of the card making it harder to get in next time, or make it more identifiable once kids start to remember the cards, and also shuffling of the cards will be more difficult.
• Most of the rules are clear but for any that aren’t you can improvise.

Final Words

I hope you find my review of the “Outfoxed” game for kids helpful for parents with a child with Leukemia and homeschooling families alike. It certainly is a game that I highly recommend for good, solid family fun and it’s educational value too. If you would like further information on this game I have written another article that can be found here. No matter whether you homeschool, have a sick child and just looking for entertainment for them, or a typical family wanting to add a new board game to your home, I have no doubts you will get a great deal of enjoyment from this game. Plus the kids will learn a thing or two.

Thank you for reading

Warm Wishes,

Ange