Colt Express has been in my collection since my early days in the board gaming hobby and I’ve enjoyed many plays of it over the years. My kids enjoy it as well, but it was slightly longer and more complex than what they tend to prefer, so when they heard about Kids Express they were immediately excited. I was curious to see how it would differ from—or imitate—its predecessor and, most importantly, if it would actually be fun for both the kids and adults.
In Kids Express 1-4 players take on the role of brave kids working together to stop the wily bandits from the original Colt Express. Playtime is about twenty minutes.
Gameplay Overview:
Kids Express features a 3D cardboard train with a locomotive and three train cars, as well as a stagecoach and horse. To prepare the game the locomotive and train cars are placed on the table and a stack of luggage tokens are placed on each railcar and on the stagecoach. The rearmost car is the bandits’ hideout, where you’ll place their four standees. Each player takes a player-aid board for their chosen character and places the matching standee in the stagecoach.
On their turn, a player may either move their kid standee to a location on the train, or attempt to shoot the bandits with a slingshot. Either way, if possible, they will rescue a piece of luggage from being stolen by the bandits by claiming it. Each luggage token has a symbol on the back which might cause the bandits to move and loot.
If players choose the shoot action, using their player aid as a distance marker they will place the slingshot token on the horse and attempt to flick it at one of the bandits in the train, hoping to knock them off and prevent them from stealing more loot. When one pile of luggage tokens runs out the game ends and all players compare their rescued luggage to what the bandits have stolen. If the kids saved more luggage tokens than the bandits stole, they win!
Gameplay Experience
Kids Express is a fresh design. It’s not a re-implementation of Colt Express, but rather is its own game with different mechanisms, yet it pays homage to the original in many ways, namely in the strong thematic connection. Colt Express was such a tactile experience and I’m glad to see this iteration lean into that through the use of 3D components and the addition of a dexterity element.
Flicking the slingshot at the bandits is, of course, the most fun part of the game. My kids’ eyes lit up when I explained that rule and, naturally, they chose that option as often as possible. The distance aids can be turned either horizontally or vertically, depending on how easy you prefer the shots to be. And if your kids are a bit older, or like a challenge, there are advanced rules to make the flicking part of the game even harder—this would also be a way to balance the game for children of different ages.
So is it fun? My kids and I think so! They have a great time playing it and, with such a short playtime, it doesn’t outstay its welcome. The rules are straightforward and there’s lots to keep players engaged. The game is not overly challenging; if anything, it’s a little too easy, but I think the point here is that everyone is having a good time. Learning to lose with grace is a valuable lesson for kids, but sometimes as parents, we also don’t want to deal with the disappointment of a loss. This is a feel-good game that goes easy on both the adults and the kids and, as a mom, I can respect and appreciate that.
Final Thoughts:
Lots of fun for adults and kids of varying ages. The 3D train and flicking mechanism add a tactile element that keeps children engaged and the gameplay is painlessly short and fun. Kids Express scales a bit on the easy side, but there are advanced rules to add slightly more challenge. The original design brings something fresh to the table while still honoring its parent game, though players by no means need to have played the original to enjoy this one.
Source: Board Game Quest
