Ultra Dash Review: A Fast Paced Racing Game of Skill & Precision

Ultra Dash is designed with a tagger and five different colored bases. The colors are yellow, red, green, blue, and purple. The object of the game is to match the light on the tagger with the corresponding colored base. The game comes in a hard plastic package that is difficult to open and may require scissors to cut it. Once opened, the packaging will need to be recycled, so storing the toy in its original packaging is not an option. The colored bases do not stack on top of each other, so it may be a good idea to find some kind of container or bag to keep the tagger and its bases stored inside. There are also two modes on the tagger. One is the demo mode, which will be switched on when you purchase the game, and the other mode is play mode. The button may be hard to find on the tagger. It is located just above the base and it is a small black switch. It has been reported that the instruction manual does not offer any information on this mode or how to turn it off.

The top of the tagger has three different buttons. When pressed the buttons will start the game. The center button acts as a shuffle that will change the order of colors for the next person playing. The center button selects the mode and the side arrows allow you to switch in between modes.

Ultra Dash can be played in three different modes. The first mode is Beat the Clock. In this mode, you press the middle button to start the game and when the tagger lights up with its corresponding color you dash to hit the target. The person who hits the most targets in this mode before time runs out wins. The purpose of this mode is to create an obstacle course.
Take all five colored bases and place them anywhere in the room, house, yard, or anywhere you want. You can put bases in hard to reach places, under tables, or out in the open. Once the button is pressed starting the game, the tagger will light up a specific color, and you will have to dash to that base and insert the tagger in order to change the color on the tagger indicating your next target. By making the course a bit difficult adds to the suspense of the game. You can either have each player play the same sequence of colors so everyone has to complete the same course, or you can hit the shuffle, and each player gets a brand new course to run. Whichever way you choose, the person with the most targets wins.

The second mode is Target Tally. In this mode, the player chooses the amount of time on the tagger. Once selected, the clock will start to count down and in that allotted amount of time, the player will have to hit as many targets as they possibly can. You can either play alone and improve upon your time and accuracy, or you can compete against another player and see who is the fastest. The screen on the tagger will keep track of how many targets you hit and the person with the most hit targets wins.

The third and final mode of play is the Relay Race. On this mode, each team has a certain amount of time to hit their targets. Since there is only one tagger in play, the tagger has to be passed from team member to team member and each target must be hit depending on the corresponding color. As with all modes of play, the team with the most hits wins.

It is recommended that parents supervise Ultra Dash especially with younger children. Ultra Dash is designed for children six-years-old and up. Younger children run the risk of falling and getting hurt, so if you put your Beat the Clock course together and your team or opponents are younger children, it will be wise to provide an easier course for the younger players. Teens and adults can compete on courses that are far more difficult and intricate making the game more competitive. Younger children have been found to like the running around and playing with the various colored lights more than competing. Ultra Dash should be played in a clutter free space that is easy to move around in order to avoid injury, breaking household furniture, or being restricted as to how fast you can move and find the targets.

Ultra Dash operates on three AAA batteries, which are included with the toy. In the event that you have to change the batteries, they are locked into the device. To unlock the tagger to get to the batteries you will need a small Phillips Head screwdriver (the one that looks like a star). On the back of the tagger you will see where the battery compartment is and where the screws are, and after you unscrew the back of tagger and open the compartment, you will be able to change the batteries as they need to be changed. It should be remembered that when buying a toy with the batteries already in the device, the chances that the batteries are low or will die quickly are high. It is always a good idea to have extra batteries on hand just in case, or some buyers change the batteries regardless in order to ensure that the tagger will be fully operational upon first time use.

Most of the reviews for Ultra Dash have been positive especially in the realm of physical fitness. Ultra Dash provides a lot of cardio workout for whomever plays the game. The object of Ultra Dash is to be the fastest and the most accurate throughout the game. In order to be either one of those things, you will have to move and you will have to move a lot. Parents have taken it upon themselves to put the targets far apart from each other in order to cause children to exert themselves physically to get from one target to the other. With the added pressure of the clock counting down as they try and hit all of the targets, kids get even more physical as they attempt to beat the clock. The heightened stakes and the energy involved causes kids to become hyperactive and enjoy themselves as they “workout.” Ultra Dash is great for any parent or grandparent who is looking for a new way to get their kids or grandkids moving and active. Ultra Dash also helps develop a child’s motor skills and their ability to maintain stamina physically and mentally as they try and slam the tagger into the target. When played in Relay Race mode, Ultra Dash also promotes teamwork and introduces younger kids to playing with others and being a team player. The design of the lights only changing colors when the tagger is placed into the target, which helps prevent cheating and endorses rule following.

Ultra Dash not only promotes the physical fitness of a child, but it also promotes the mental fitness of a child or an adult. Ultra Dash can easily be enjoyed by anyone ages six and up and the important skills that Ultra Dash promotes is teamwork, problem solving, and memory. By working in teams to run the relay, players get to work with others and use their best skills to help their team win. When running a course solo to see how many targets can be hit in a certain amount of time, players need to use their calculation skills to navigate around the space to quickly hit the target. Once the targets have all been hit, memory skills are used to remember where the targets are and the fastest route to those targets. By combining the physical skills with the mental skills, players are subjected to a well rounded skill building game that also provides entertainment over a long period of time.

Several Ultra Dashes can be played simultaneously creating tournament play and the development of team play. While in team play, each member of the team has to do their best while competing against other teams. For younger children this is pivotal in developing the social skills necessary to work well with others as a solid unit instead of a solo player. These same skills get to be sharpened with adults. The working towards a common goal is great for building professional and personal relationships with co-workers, friends, and family.

Many purchasers were dissatisfied with Ultra Dash after buying the product. Several people have the same issues in common. Some have found that instructions can be unclear or leave out certain pertinent information. Others have found that the battery life does not last long after starting the game for the first time, and after a short period of time, the base of the tagger ceased to function and would no longer recognize that the tagger was placed into the target. Another buyer found that the switch on the back of the tagger that restarts the game and helps in changing modes stopped functioning all together. What made these grievances relevant is that they all happened relatively soon after purchasing. The current Ultra Dash that is on the market is currently the only edition of this toy, so there may be some kinks that still need to be worked out. Be on the lookout for these if and when you purchase Ultra Dash.

Ultra Dash is priced quite low for the amount of entertainment it provides. It is a low-cost toy that not only promotes physical fitness and dexterity along with stamina and teamwork, but also provides hours of entertainment. With a price that is extremely cost-effective, many buyers have purchased two Ultra Dashes in the spirit of having multiple teams competing at the same time with two different taggers. The targets are not synced in any particular way to any particular tagger; therefore, if there are ten or fifteen different targets and two or three taggers, vast courses can be created for multiple players to run the course at the same time creating even more hours of fun and teamwork for a low price.

Ultra Dash has so many positive qualities that help kids grow and develop. From the physical side of promoting exercise, enhancing stamina, keeping kids heart rates up to a healthy level, and keeping kids moving for long periods of time, Ultra Dash also helps kids and adults develop mental skills like navigating the course quickly to find the targets, quickly matching colors to their corresponding bases, figuring out the best route possible to a target, sharpening memory skills by remembering where the targets are located, and using their social skills to work well with others, be a team player, and promote fair play. For the low, affordable price that Ultra Dash sells for, this is a must-have toy for anyone who wants their child or grandchild to stay healthy while having fun.