Post originally by Chris F at 2004-08-11 14:14:09
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Obviously you've put more thought into it than me (and I wasn't criticing your review BTW which was quite clear on this point). I guess I mention it because playing Sunken City was somehow an "a ha" moment for me personally, that it was a game that worked well for a mix of kids and adults, something which as you mention doesn't happen a lot.

While I agree some games are clearly mislabelled (I'm surprised Alhambra is 8+), I would disagree that they are uninformative. 8+, 10+, and 12+ seem to me to be generally shorthand for some of the categories you mention, and generally it seems the companies get it about right. I do play with 8-10 year olds occasionally, and some stuff they can handle (Memoir '44) and some stuff (Settlers of Catan), while they can certainly push the pieces around, is significantly more troublesome. All this is, of course, speaking in very general terms.

Getting good stuff kids can play with adults is tricky, it seems, and Sunken City seemed to me like a good one.