Max

About this board game

Max is a cooperative animal-escape game for 1–8 players, with play taking about 20 minutes. Together, players guide a bird, mouse, and chipmunk along a path toward the safety of a tree while trying to stay ahead of the hunting tomcat, Max.

Movement is controlled by two dice, each showing three black pips and three green pips. Every black pip moves Max one space, while green pips are distributed by player consensus among the three other animals. Because Max can move more often and farther than the animals sharing the green results, the group must discuss its choices carefully.

Players may move the animals before or after Max, creating important timing decisions. The group also has four cat treats that can send Max back to the starting position, helping the animals escape a dangerous situation or extend their lead. However, once Max reaches the base of the tree, he camps there and can no longer be returned with a cat treat.

• Cooperative play: Everyone works together, and the whole group wins or loses.
• Shared decisions: Players agree how to distribute green movement among the bird, mouse, and chipmunk.
• Shortcuts: Each animal has a special shortcut that can speed its journey or help it evade Max.
• Cat treats: Four treats can call Max back to the start before he camps at the tree.

Shortcuts reward precise movement. If an animal ends its turn on its shortcut’s entrance, it immediately moves to the other end; overshooting the entrance means missing it. Max can also use a shortcut when he ends a turn on its entrance, though he does not eat an animal waiting on the shortcut start.

As the animals advance, Max may end up between them or even ahead of them. Near the tree, the animals face a final risk: they may need to leap on and off Max’s back to reach safety. In Max, careful planning, consultation, and a little luck determine whether all three animals escape.