Piranha Panic

Recommended age, 5 and up, 2 to 4 players

Suggested retail price: $29.99

Rating: Good for younger kids.

Kids love the thrill of being chased and Piranha Panic incorporates that excitement into a table-top game.

With Piranha Panic, players race to escape the feeding frenzy of piranhas attacking fish.

To win, players must be the first to get all three of their fish marbles to the top of the stream, but they must be careful because the fish marbles could be attacked by piranha marbles.

Players take turns rolling the die which tells them to move their fish one, two or three spaces, or if the piranhas are going to attack.

We asked young Madison and Riley Fletcher, who live in Hamilton, to try out this game.

Piranha Panic is mostly entertainment since there's no strategy involved, says their mother Michelle Fletcher. "You roll (the die) and it's luck of the draw."

The game was easy to set up and the rules were simple to learn. It was ideal for Madison, 6, but too easy for Riley, 8.

Younger kids are encouraged to practise basic counting skills.

"We like to count these." says Madison, referring to the fish marbles.

The game also builds fine motor coordination since children pick up and move the marbles, says Michelle.

Riley prefers more challenging games. "He got bored of it pretty fast," said Michelle. Even so, the Fletcher family thought it was a good game for five and six-year-old children.

This game is sold at stores including Toys "R" Us and Zellers.