Last Christmas my son received numerous lovely presents one of which was a 3-D version of snakes and ladders. As a child I can remember playing snakes and ladders and so was intrigued to play this new version with a modern twist.

The game is made by Chad Valley and is available from Argos for £5.99. It can also be purchased from Woolworth's web site.

Inside the brightly coloured box is a playing board and various plastic obstacles that fix onto the board. These are easy to fit together. Instead of counters there are small different coloured balls that act as playing pieces. There is also a die with bold black numbers. There is a simple to follow instruction leaflet.

Once the board has been set up you are ready to play. Like most board games the players can throw the die to see who goes first. We sometimes vary this letting the youngest player start. Unlike the traditional version of snakes and ladders, this one has several obstacles to negotiate that can either help or hinder your race to get to the finish first! There is a long snake to manoeuvre your ball along, a see saw ladder and a long cute type slide. If you fail to get your ball safety along the obstacle and fall off, then you will have to go back to the beginning. Some of the obstacles are easy to negotiate and some are quite difficult. The winner is the first player to get to the end.

We have had lots of fun playing this game and like all board games it is a great way to spent quality time together away from video games! The game is recommended for children from aged 4, although I think younger children may get very frustrated with this game as some of the obstacles are a bit tricky to negotiate. It is a good way to teach counting and number recognition as well as helping with dexterity. The game can last for quite a while depending on how many times you get sent back to the beginning!

Once the board has been set up it is difficult to dismantle, as the obstacles are fitted into the slots quite snugly. I have decided to leave the board set up as although the game does seem quite well made, the obstacles are made of plastic and therefore prone to snap. This means that storage could be a problem, as the board doesn't fit into the box once assembled.

Overall this is a good value simple game that my son has really enjoyed playing with.