Jake and the Never Land Pirates Shipwreck Beach Treasure Hunt Game review

As the dad to a 4 year old we know Jake and the Never Land Pirates.  And by know I mean love, he loves the characters and we don’t even have cable.  He gets all of his Never Land knowledge from friends and his one trip to Walt Disney World.  Jake and the Never Land Pirates Shipwreck Beach Treasure Hunt game is a game that combines matching, a little bit of sleuthing and physical activity.

The game has 5 large picture pieces that you hide in plain view around the house.  Those pieces correspond to coins that have the image on one side of them.  There are also some coins that have ‘hidden’ images on them that show a picture of each piece when you look through a special spy glass.  Turn all of the coins face down and each player takes a turn trying to find two coins that match.

When you find two coins that match you turn the sand timer over.  If you can find the large picture piece that represents what you just found on the coin then you get to keep your treasure.

There is a lot to like about this game.  Kids love Jake and the Never Land Pirates.  The game incorporates movement with memorization.  It’s also silly and has lots of interactive play.

The frustrating part about Jake and the Never Land Pirates Shipwreck Beach Treasure Hunt is using the spyglass decoder.  The spyglass is what you look through when you pick up one of the coins that has a hidden image.  Prior to the kids seeing the game I tried it in my office and I was unable to see anything from the spyglass.

I tried it again in the morning and still couldn’t see anything.  I tried it again in the afternoon, when there was more light and finally saw a hidden image!  However, even then the coin has to be at exactly the precise distance from the spyglass.  If you move it ¼ inch either way you’ll see nothing.

Once you accept this and know that you need to put the coin with the hidden image in direct light, you’ll be fine.  It’s a game that kids can use without direct supervision, once you show them how to properly use the spyglass to see the image.

This sounds like a lot of fiddle for a children’s game and for some it won’t be worth it.  If your child is really into Jake and the Never Land pirates and has a little patience then they’ll enjoy it.   If your child is merely curious about Jake or the pirate booty this game might be too frustrating for them.