Snail Sprint. If there’s a more apt way to describe our life right now I’m not aware of it. With a brand new baby added to our clan, we feel like we are rushing everywhere, trying to do all the things, but getting no where fast. 

While we’ve been enjoying a lot of extra time at home cuddling our baby and falling behind on laundry (is it ever possible to get caught up?) we’ve also been having a lot of fun playing games with our four big kids and Snail Sprint has been on repeat for our boys. 

What is Snail Sprint? 

Snail Sprint is a cute racing game for 2-4 players ages 5 and up. Players will each draw a race card that shows them which three snails they want to finish the race. Then, taking turns, players will each roll the dice and move snails according to their color and symbol on the magnetic race track and over other snails to the finish line.  

How do you play?

Snail Sprint comes in a magnetic tin rather than a standard box. This is because the tin itself is part of the game board. 

To start the game, players will assemble the three piece puzzle board and then place the bottom of the tin in the open slot to complete the race track. 

Players will then place all six snails at the starting space and each draw one race card. On these cards are three snails. These are the snails that each player is trying to get to finish the race. The faster the snail finishes the race, the more points will be awarded. Three points for first, two for second, and one for third.  You’ll want to keep these cards secret so no one else knows which snails you want to win the race. 

Hand the two dice to the first player and you’re ready to play!

On your turn, you’ll roll the dice which will tell you which snail to move and where. 

The dice have colored shapes on them which relate to both the snails and the spaces on the race track. After you roll dice, you’ll choose which dice you want to use to move a snail and which dice is for where the snail races off to. 

When a snail lands on a space, it covers up that spot’s shape and the snail itself becomes a place other snails can land on based on the colored shape on the side of the snail. If another player lands a snail on top of another snail, that snail is frozen and cannot be moved until the snail above it has been removed. (You can only have a maximum of two snails on one space)

Players will move snails up and over the game board, crawling over other snails, and defying gravity along the sides of the tin as they race to the end. The game ends after three snails have claimed first, second and third place on the winners podium. The player with the highest points wins!

What do we think?

There are a few things I look for in a kids game, It has to be easy to teach, quick to play, and fun enough to hold attention spans. It’s an added bonus if it’s fun for adults to play as well. Snail Sprint checks all of those boxes. 

I love that this game is both incredibly simple, yet offers young kids a way to start thinking strategically as well.

This easily could have been a game where you were in charge of one snail and you just had to get that snail to the finish line. But by giving players cards with three snails, their thinking has to expand a bit. With all six snails in play, regardless of the number of players, they’ll have to manage their three snails amidst the pack.

Another thing I look for in a game is choice and I like that in Snail Sprint players will have to make a choice each turn. When they roll the dice, they have to choose from the colors rolled, which snail is better for them to move. Sometimes you’ll roll the same color and symbol on the dice and your choice will be made for you. But often, you’ll roll different symbols and will need to choose if it’s better to move say, the yellow snail to the green space, or the green snail to the yellow space. 

It’s the right amount of choice for kids. Not too much to stress them out. Just enough to get them thinking strategically about their options. 

The components are all fantastic and exactly as you’d expect from HABA. The snails are great, chunky wooden pieces that are easy to grasp, stack and look so cute sticking to the sides of the tin. The game comes with little magnetic stickers to place underneath them for this purpose. Our kids love the way the snails stick to the side of the tin. It’s just that right amount of whimsy that gets kids excited. (Tip: you may want to have a little glue nearby as some of our magnet stickers have fallen off after all of our plays. Just glue them on if that happens and you’ll be set.)

Due to the fact that the box tin is part of the board, it can be a bit difficult for little kids to reach around to the other side to move their snail when it is on the tin. While the shapes on the path are on the outside of the tin, they are also printed along the inside as well. This allows players to know where their snail can go when it is on the other side of the tin from them. We just simply help each other out and move the snail where the player would like and it hasn’t been an issue.

Age wise, Snail Sprint is a great fit for you preschoolers in that 3-5 age range. It’s fun to see how these games fit for our kids’ ages. With a 2, 3, 5, and 7 year old all playing games, Snail Sprint is too much for the 2 year old, too little for the 7 year old, and just right for our 3 and 5 year old boys.

If you are familiar with HABA games, you might find Snail Sprint similar to their car racing game Monza. At first glance the two games do look very similar, but honestly, I prefer Snail Sprint to Monza, at least as far as mechanics go.

Because there is more choice in Snail Sprint and players aren’t responsible for moving just one snail as they are for moving just one car in Monza, the game itself is less frustrating and less based on luck. While there is luck in what symbols are rolled, players get to choose how they want to use them.

Summary

Snail Sprint is a fun choice for your preschool, kindergarten aged children. It’s a great way to practice shapes and colors for the younger preschooler, and is easy enough for the 5+ child to play with minimal adult help. The game is far from a completely luck driven racing game, offering light strategy for players to enjoy. Each turn kids have to choose which move is most advantageous for them and the three snails they need to finish in order to have a chance at earning the most points. With each game clocking in around 10-15 minutes, Snail Sprint doesn’t outstay its welcome and keeps those little attention spans focused and having fun the whole time. 

If you’d like to purchase your own copy of Snail Sprint click here!

Game Info:
Title: Snail Sprint
Ages: 5+
Designer: Wilfried and Marie Fort
Artist: Gabriela Silveira
Publisher: HABA
Published: 2018

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