This deceptively simple game was an immediate hit, from the seven-year-old on up, once Mama figured out the directions. It sounded a little complicated at first, but we quickly got into the swing of things and were off, breaking numbers down into factors and jumping and "warping" all over the board to be the first to collect a rainbow of colored rings. I was frankly amazed at the mathematical strategizing that went on, even on the part of the youngest!

Once she figured out that the goal was not to be the first to reach the "199" square, but rather to collect rings from the board, and from the other players, there was no stopping her. As a matter of fact, she won the first game.

As a bonus, the next time the math books came out, I noticed a marked improvement in factoring and in multiplication.

The game's creator has taken all the numbers from 1 to 199 and broken them down into their factors (all the numbers, broken down into their smallest pieces, that are multiplied together to make a composite number). For example, "14" has little "bubbles" protruding from the space with "2" and "7"; "8" has three bubbles, each with a "2", "64" has six "2" bubbles. You don't need to know what a "prime" or "composite" number is, to play the game, but you learn about them pretty quickly while playing! (You can jump short distances, from one composite number to another, but if you want to go a long way on the board you jump from a prime number to its multiple!)

The "Say-the-numbers" rule, in which the player has to say the number they land on, and all of its factors (or else lose the rest of a turn), is a very effective tool in reinforcing what factors make up each number. The game is an excellent visual and practical exercise in recognizing numbers with related factors.

Game materials are hand-constructed, and users are warned against letting small children play without adult supervision. The game parts are not designed to be safely swallowed. If you happen to lose your instructions for the game, they are available at the company's website.

So-soo-yoo is designed to take from 30-60 minutes to play, but don't be surprised if you end up spending half the afternoon if it catches on with your family the way it did with mine.