Eureka has that rare quality of offering children loads of fun without them even realising it is educational and for this reason I think it is a game children and parents will flock to. The game pits two to four players in a mad scramble through an underground mine. Their aim is to find four different gold nugget deposits of varying size ranging from 1 nugget to 4 nuggets. The game board uses 64 different mine tiles that are laid out (face down) in an 8 x 8 grid for the start of play. As each tile is individual the mine will be different for every play, adding much to this games re-playability. The tiles themselves have a common rock design on top but they hide things underneath just waiting to be discovered. Each player starts in a different corner of the mine and on their turn they roll a D6 (6 sided dice) and can move in any direction except diagonal. When a player ends their turn on a tile they reveal it to all players and respond accordingly. Nuggets are the key and if found the player records it as their find by placing a token for their character. Bears and bats can be discovered forcing players to flee or miss a turn and rockslides can force a player back to their starting position. Discovering a lantern is great as it means the player can secretly look at all tiles surrounding the lantern and this can reveal up to 9 tiles that may contain one of the highly prized gold deposits. Thr trick to this game is that a player can only claim a gold deposit of a given size (1-4) once. If they discover and reveal a gold deposit of the same size as one they have already claimed, they must leave it to their competitors and the race is then truly on!

Eureka really is a fun game and at our school it has appealed to a wide range of age groups. Children love the suspense element of the game as they nervously reveal what lies beneath the next section of mine. Luck certainly plays a part too and this helps to keep the game interesting for all, especially when children of varying ability levels are playing together. The use of the dice requires counting which can aid the development of children at an early stage of their mathematical awareness. An aspect that may not be so obvious is the concept of the 8 x 8 grid. Grids and arrays are tools often used when first introducing the concept of multiplication. It helps students to make links between the theory of multiplication and the 'real world' and offers them a visual\spatial reinforcement. Older children could be asked to play Eureka! by expressing their move in terms of rows and columns for example. Naturally Eureka! also requires the players to utilise their memory to avoid those nasty surprises and reach unclaimed nuggets before the next mine rat gets there. The components of Eureka! are excellent with the tiles being made from a thick cardboard stock, which will stand up to many plays and the artwork and colour are vibrant. All this gaming goodness comes in a square box 17 x 17 cms, making it easy to store. Consider that it is an award winner and the price offers great value for money and Eureka is almost too good to be true.