As a British child, one of the games I played frequently was Snakes and Ladders. It remains one of the most popular games in Britain for young children. Many years later, I discovered that American children play this game too, but with the snakes replaced by chutes. There are other differences too (at least as far as this particular product is concerned) - the die (a simple, solid cube) used in the British game is replaced by a less durable spinner, while the counters (simple circular pieces of plastic) used in Britain to move around the board are replaced by cardboard characters that fit into plastic stands - again, much less durable than their British equivalents. Perhaps these fancy pieces are designed to make the game seem more interesting. The British game is sufficiently appealing to children without them - the snakes are colourful and much more attractive than chutes can ever be.

Aside from these differences, the British and American games are the same although the layout of the board may vary from one individual product to another. I played the game on several different boards (from different manufacturers) and the positions of the snakes and ladders certainly affected the game. On this particular American version, I can see that having three chutes close together near the end would be particularly frustrating - if a game is too difficult to finish, enthusiasm wanes somewhat.

While it certainly helps if the children playing the game recognize the numbers 1 to 100, it is also true that if they play the game often enough, they should eventually understand which way they have to move their pieces, though parents or older children may need a lot of patience while this process happens.

The result of the game is pure luck with no element of skill so, no matter how often you play, you cannot improve your chances of winning by fair play, so everybody has an equal chance. This is an advantage in a children's game - they learn all about winning and losing and the emotions involved.

This is a fun game for young children of school age. Bright children of pre-school age might also enjoy it but these children will grow out of it at an earlier age than average children.

If you buy this particular product, I recommend replacing the spinner with a die and the cardboard pieces with more durable pieces. Do that and the children will have plenty of fun.

I mean, I got an education, but those numbers are just plain tough! I usually just cheat, my nephew cant tell if I'm movin three or five squares, and I get to beat him most times when his mom, now my girlfriend, aint lookin. I give it a two because I think this gives the kid a not-realistic view of life, I mean, when was the last time you was walkin along and fell down a chute? Not very durable, either, one time when I lost i tore it in half no sweat. Save your money and get the kid a gun; THAT will teach em about real life!!!

This is close to the classic snakes & ladders we played as children, but it is not very durable. The playing pieces are little folded cardboard characters that fit into plastic stands. The spinner does not work well. We replaced ours with a die. (I keep extra dice on hand for games like that). My son (age 4) can count to 100, but sometimes he still gets confused as to which way to go and occasionally wants to "climb" a ladder when his spot crosses halfway instead of at the bottom.
Classic? Yes.
Durable? No.
Fun? Not very.
Candy land is much better and if you've got the cash, Balloon Lagoon is a blast.

I also played this game as a child in the early nineties and, while it was not the most educational or challenging, the game that the previous reviewer seems to be describing is similar to the current format of Head of the Class, or at least how it was when I was little. As it is, this game is fun, but if you want your child to be a rocket scientist at the age of four, I guess it doesn't quite measure up.

My son got this game for Christmas last year and we played it over and over! I expected him to be more stressed about sliding down the chutes but it was a really good experience for him to learn about "chance and luck". He learned that sometimes you get lucky and get to climb a ladder and sometimes you are unlucky and have to slide down the chute. I think it was a valuable lesson for him to learn and am glad we played it so much. He is a much better sport now when we play games!