ThinkFun Rush Hour

ThinkFun Rush Hour is a 1999 Parents' Choice recommended toy.

Honk! Honk! It's gridlock and the little red car can't move. The player is a traffic cop in the Rush Hour Traffic Jam Puzzle where the objective is to get the red car off the road. To play, pick one of 40 challenge cards; solutions are printed on the back of each card. Then set up the cars and buses in a specified pattern on the 6-inch-square road grid. Move the vehicles one by one (obey those traffic laws!) until the red car can escape the traffic jam.

• Four levels of play, beginner to expert
• Forty mind challenge cards with solutions
• Sixteen cars and trucks, one red escape car
• One traffic grid game board and game-go storage bag
• We recommended for ages 8 years and above

There are four levels of difficulty. Kids can alternate turns with another player or just "play in traffic" alone. The game from Binary Arts received a national award from Mensa and is used in elementary school math classes.

ThinkFun Rush Hour's design includes clear instructions printed on the sturdy box, which can be used both as a playing tray and for storage. The game cards stow away in a drawer in the road grid.