Kanoodle Extreme

Editor's rating:
10.0
Reviewed by Bobby Brower
User's rating:
4.5
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We like

  • Exercises reasoning skills
  • Three different types of puzzles included in one set
  • Extremely portable; can be taken anywhere
  • The instruction booklet is easy to follow
  • Builds confidence in problem-solving skills
  • Comes with its own carrying case
We don’t like
  • Can cause frustration when puzzles seem impossible
  • Younger kids may lose interest due to difficulty

How it works

Kanoodle Extreme is the latest game in the Kanoodle game series. This game set contains three Kanoodle games in one. There are sliding 2D puzzles, regular 2D puzzles, and 3D puzzle building that allows kids to exercise a new critical thinking area of the brain: spacial awareness. Kanoodle Extreme comes with a manual that contains 303 different puzzles for kids to figure out in three very different ways. The game also comes in its own carrying case that keeps all the pieces together and allows for the game to be taken anywhere kids may want to play with it whether it’s the car, school, the beach, or anywhere they want to be entertained and learn.

Design

Design

Kanoodle Extreme comes with 12 different puzzle pieces. Each piece is a set of balls fused together in one color. There are 12 pieces in 12 different colors. Each piece is shaped differently. Along with the 12 pieces comes a Kanoodle booklet that contains the 303 different puzzles that kids can try and solve. Each puzzle is laid out for the person to figure out in a variety of levels of difficulty from easy to hard. What makes Kanoodle Extreme so unique is that there are three different kinds of puzzles in the set that works a different part of the brain depending on what type of puzzle you are choosing to solve.

There are sliding 2D puzzles that help with problem-solving a bit at a time by only using certain portions of the puzzle board. For regular 2D puzzles, you can use all the pieces and the entire puzzle board as you would with a regular Kanoodle game. For 3D puzzles, there is a variety of pyramid puzzles to be solved by trying to piece together the pieces according to what is found in the puzzle book.
Age Range

Age Range

Kanoodle Extreme is recommended for children 8-years-old and up. The main reason for this is that there needs to be a certain level of understanding and awareness to play this game. Children under the age of three, run the risk of trying to put the puzzle pieces in their mouths, which can cause a serious choking hazard. Children between the ages of four and seven wouldn’t have the reasoning skills necessary to understand the directions and how to put the puzzles together.

Most parents have found that Kanoodle Extreme is better enjoyed by kids between the ages of 9 and 12 who are looking for an alternative to video games or smartphones or tablets. The development of the reasoning skills that Kanoodle Extreme provides is best suited for this age range. Teens and adults seem to not have as much of an interest in the game as the pre-teen age group.
2D Sliding Puzzles

2D Sliding Puzzles

Kanoodle Extreme comes with three different ways to solve puzzles. One way is the 2D sliding puzzle. When you open the booklet for the Kanoodle Extreme game, you will see, in the 2D puzzle section, pages that have a gray bar along the top of the page. In that gray bar is a series of pictures of various puzzle pieces. Those pieces are indicative of what pieces are needed to solve that particular puzzle. Slide the book into the puzzle tray until only the gray bar is poking through the slot at the top of the puzzle board.

Slide the cover over the puzzle board so that only the first section of the bar is shown. The indicated pieces are to be assembled to solve the puzzle in the uncovered space of the puzzle board. Once you solve that puzzle, slide the cover over to reveal more of the board and another puzzle piece in the gray bar. That new piece can now be added to the puzzle board. Each time you solve the new puzzle keep sliding until the entire gray bar has been exposed and all of the pieces of the set have been used to cover the entire puzzle board.
Regular 2D Puzzles

Regular 2D Puzzles

Kanoodle Extreme can also be used to solve puzzles the old fashioned way like in the original Kanoodle game. Simply flip the booklet to regular 2D puzzles, and solve the puzzles according to the puzzle indicated. Use all 12 of your Kanoodle piece to cover the puzzle board and solve all the puzzles found in the book. These puzzles although they may seem easy stump many who try to solve them. They are classic puzzles that exercise reasoning skills and will help your child as they learn to use clues and deduction to solve the puzzles.
3D Puzzles

3D Puzzles

Kanoodle Extreme’s newest feature is a 3D pyramid puzzle building. The 3D puzzles are to be built on the board and instead of building out, you build up. These become the hardest and most fun puzzles to accomplish as they use an entirely new set of reasoning skills because now you have to add in spatial awareness and spatial reasoning into solving the puzzle. This not only adds another level of difficulty and fun to the puzzle, but it also adds to the amount of time your child will use figuring out how to come up with the answer as to how the puzzle should be pieced together. All three of these puzzles types round out your child’s ability to reason, learn, and solve problems effectively.
Reasoning Skills

Reasoning Skills

The biggest asset to using Kanoodle Extreme is that the problem-solving skills your child will learn. The game itself is quite simple in that all you have are twelve pieces and a puzzle board to solve puzzles. Each puzzle will challenge your child to use the colored pieces in a certain arrangement that helps them fit all the pieces onto the board successfully. Although this may seem like an easy task, there are hundreds of different ways the puzzle pieces can fit together. With three different ways to build puzzles in this set, the game can teach and entertain kids for months if not years.

This is not the kind of game that you can use once and never go back to because it provides over 300 different puzzles. Not only will reasoning skills be built by following the puzzle directions and using the pieces effectively, but with the 3D puzzles kids will also be exercising special skills as they will need to also be able to think in three dimensions to properly figure out the structure of the puzzle as well as the necessary pieces to complete it. Your child’s brain will get a full workout developing all the thought process skills they will need not only in problem-solving on an academic level but also on a real-world level.
Travel

Travel

The biggest plus to the Kanoodle Extreme game is it’s portable. Kanoodle Extreme can be taken and used anywhere you want to go. The game comes with its own carrying case where you can store all of the puzzle pieces and the booklet. At any moment the case can be opened and the game played. Many who have purchased the game have found that it is best utilized during car trips. Many cars these days come equipped with WiFi and televisions so that kids who are in the backseat can watch movies and play games via smartphones and tablets.

Many parents want to give their children breaks from screens in order for them to use their brains instead of just being entertained. Kanoodle Extreme is a great way to fulfill that parental need. The game is secure so it can be played in the car, and it can keep your child entertained for hours as they solve the puzzles. Another great place to use Kanoodle Extreme is at the beach. During the long hours on the beach when kids are resting or relaxing Kanoodle Extreme can be taken out and played. It’s a great way for kids to come together and work together to solve problems.
One Player

One Player

Kanoodle Extreme, although two or more people can work together to solve a puzzle, was designed for one player. It was created for a child to sit undistracted and reason out the solutions to puzzles. Time away from not only the distraction of electronics but also of other people is necessary to learn and build reasoning skills. Because kids will sit by themselves and reason out the puzzles, kids also get the opportunity to build confidence in themselves and their intelligence. A sense of accomplishment will be built every time a child solves one of the puzzles.

That confidence will enable them to take on bigger challenges and challenge themselves as they go through school and the workforce. Many games on the market try to promote working together, but Kanoodle takes the opposite approach, which may turn out to be a good thing because once a child can be confident enough in their own skills they will then be able to work well with others in a more effective and productive way than if they never built upon their own skills first.
Confidence Building

Confidence Building

One of the major benefits to problem-solving is the development of confidence in the person doing the solving. Leaders are put in place because of their ability to get work done and problem solve effectively. When a child, in their formative years, learns how to see a problem and then take the necessary steps to solve it, what they gain is the ability to take on other tasks. Kanoodle Extreme does that within the game itself.

Because it has three different ways to play, once a child feels comfortable with one easy level, they can move up to the other levels that get more intricate. The simple 2D puzzles are easy for the first-timer, then the 2D puzzle slide adds the challenge of solving the puzzle bit by bit until you reach the 3D puzzles that take all of your child’s reasoning skills and call upon them to make actual pyramid-shaped structures.

By using their reading comprehension skills to figure out what is required to start the puzzle to their reasoning skills at looking at pieces and knowing what to do with them, Kanoodle Extreme rounds out your child’s ability to work with themselves and develop the skills they are best at utilizing to see a task through to the end.
Price

Price

For what you gain from purchasing Kanoodle Extreme for your child and what it actually costs seems like robbery. Kanoodle Extreme is priced at a super reasonable price. Moreover, the price seems low for a game that not only builds on your child’s skills at reasoning, being confident, and building spacial-awareness but also entertains them for months. With 303 puzzles included in the booklet that comes down to almost a few cents per puzzle. What your child will gain from using such a toy is priceless.

Conclusion

The Kanoodle Extreme puzzle set is a must-have for kids ages eight to thirteen. With over 300 puzzles to solve, the educational benefits are unmatched. Your child will be able to effectively problem solve and reason out answers to difficult problems. These skills are skills that are necessary as they grow into adults and need to use problem-solving on a daily basis. Alongside with reasoning, the 3D puzzles included also help kids learn to problem solve from the ground up and build on their solution until it hits completion.

Very few games on the market have this all-in-one capability. What’s more, is that kids who have been given the game become enthralled in it and play it every chance they get. The game can be brought anywhere and because it is designed for one player, the confidence kids gain from solving the puzzle is useful. With so many positive attributes and benefits to the game, Kanoodle Extreme should be on the top of your gift-giving list or toy buying list.
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