Think Fun Spiderweb: A Bug-Catching Logic Game for Ages 8+

This is the second game I have got from the creator Thinkfun and I like it just as much as the first one. Spiderweb is a single player game, that can occupy you for a while without needing to turn on a screen.At first, I was irritated, because I thought that the lines on the transparency card were off, and did not line up with the challenge cards. Then I realized, I needed to adjust things a little bit in the plastic brown holder.As I have played this game, it has gotten more interesting. However, in the beginning, I was frustrated because I had gone through the bug, but not the red target on the bug. I figured that my cards had been printed wrong. As I continued to adjust the rubber bands around the board, I realized that the cards were not wrong, my alignment of the rubber bands was incorrect. This game does cause you to think. You can be very close to being correct, and still be wrong.This game comes with a nice storage box, and an easy way to store the items inside of it. It will be great to travel with older children, who can keep the pieces together without losing them. I was going to put this in my camper, so that when kids needed some downtime, they would have something that they could play individually. But, I think I will probably keep it in the house instead, that way, if I’m playing a group game with the younger kids, the older kids can have something to do to keep themselves occupied.The only downside to this game is that I wish it came with a lot of extra rubber bands. I do have a child who likes to take the rubber bands and flick them across the room, never to be seen again. it is important to have three different sizes of rubber bands, because the blue rubber bands are smaller and only touch two pegs. The red rubber bands are medium and they need to touch three pegs. The yellow rubber bands are the largest, They need to go around four pegs.I’m very appreciative for the included instruction/solution book. They did a very nice job in making the pictures easy to understand, as well as the whole function of the game.It really is best for ages 8 and up, although younger kids would enjoy it too. They probably would be able to just catch the bugs, without getting the elastics through the target on the bugs, and be happy playing that way. As long as you didn’t show them the solution book, they wouldn’t know that they were wrong, and they would still have a good time.

I ordered this for my 8 year old son who loves games and challenging brain teaser type puzzles. He was really interested in this game but it did not hold his attention for very long. I'm not sure if it was too easy for him or perhaps he was more interested in the other gifts he got for Christmas. Hopefully he will come back to it and give it another try. I think my 4 year old might enjoy playing with it, even if he can't play it the way it is intended. Making webs with rubber bands can still be fun.I will say that the quality of this game is a little lacking; it feels cheaply made and may not be very durable however that has not been an issue for us yet.

This is a great puzzle game for the right kid. It is very similar to a certain category of phone or computer game where you have to match up lines and have them add up to a certain value. Definitely makes you think. The downside is that rubber bands do have a lifespan and will harden and crack with time. I don't know if these will be easy to replace when that happens. But for now, lots of fun.

This is a fun individual or group collaborative game. Probably more the former than the latter, I've only played this individually and could see how playing with a few strongly opinionated people might get a little... stabby.The box comes with everything you need to play and makes a great storage container as well. The instructions manual explains the game and also lists out the different puzzle answers.There are a few introductory puzzles that are made to just teach you the rules without being challenging. The manual walks you through solving the puzzles.Basically: you have four different colored rubber bands to capture bugs. There are two different types of bugs to capture (large and small) which also ups the challenge.One very smart thing is they have a way to crank down the difficulty on all the challenges - there is a translucent mat you can put over the puzzle that will show you what lines can be made with rubber bands. You can sort of look at the bug you want to zap, see what lines go through it, and figure it out from there. I am not great at spatial puzzles so I appreciate this for the harder puzzles!That's unfortunately where my main criticism comes from: the rubber band types each have their own rules as do the types of bugs. Some bugs have to be captured by going through the red bug dot, others you surround the dot. It's not super complicated but means I am a little more dependent on the manual for the rule caveats.

Out of my three kids, my puzzle loving child was the one who really took to the game. It didn't take long for him to understand the concept. It seems simple enough right? Just "catch" the bugs by using the bands to span the board and hook them onto the pegs. Well some of the more challenging puzzles I had to help him with and even I had to sit and think. I love how this engages spatial awareness.