I bring absolutely no knowledge of Sequence to the (game) table. I have heard of, but had never played, the standard edition of the well-known board game and until it was given to my daughter as a 3rd birthday present I had no idea there existed a Junior or “Kids” version. Despite the box entering our home nearly four months ago (my girl turned three in early March) we have just recently started to play Sequence for Kids.
I am already at the point where I am requesting that we play Sequence for Kids – I love this game that much. Sequence is a combination of Connect Four and tic-tac-toe, only with animals to heighten the enjoyment. Basically, the action consists of attempting to string together four of your colored chips in a row. The sequence of four can be assembled sideways, vertically or diagonally and is done by places chips down on the corresponding pictures of animals also appearing in your three-card hand. There is a good balance of playful simplicity and thought-provoking strategy in Sequence for Kids. For example a player must weigh the option of using their turn to block another player’s sequence or advance their own string of chips across the board. There exists only two of each animal so counting cards, if you will, is a rather easy task when you want to assess the viability of completing your sequence using a particular animal. A player must also look at their cards and decide not only which animal, but which of the two spaces featuring that animal, is the best place to place a chip.
Also employed in the game are wild card spaces on each of the four corners of the board along with unicorn and dragon cards – neither of whom appear as a spot on the game board. The unicorn is a wild card that can be used anywhere on the playing surface and the dragon card enables the lucky holder to remove another players chip from the board – useful when attempting to prevent a competitor from completing their sequence and winning the game.
Sequence for Kids can be played by up to four people at once and is advertised for kids age 4-7, but my daughter is just three and a third and has no problem understanding the concept and playing the game – so don’t let those ages keep you from playing with a younger (or older) kid. If you are looking for an affordable game to kick start your child’s decision making ability, Sequence for Kids may be perfect for you!