Description

??????? ?????? ("The Golden Key") is a simple draw-and-move race game for children in "senior preschool," based on the classic Russian children's novel of the same name by Alexei Tolstoy (itself an adaptation of the Italian novel "Pinocchio"). It is a variation on a more common roll-and-move game with the same theme, but this is the only version to feature art by A. Barsukov.

In the game, players are trying to get to the Lightning Theater. On their turn, each player draws a card to see how they will move. The cards are portraits of Buratino and other characters from the book, along with a colored circle and a number. If the card shows a blue circle, the player moves their counter that many spaces forward. If it shows a red circle, they move that many spaces back. If it shows a yellow circle, the players lose a turn.

Similarly, landing on a space with a blue star allows players to hop forward to the next blue-star space. A yellow-star space forces players to lose a turn.

The game includes a three-dimensional toy theater element. At the end of play, the winner is encouraged to set up the three included standees - Buratino, Pierrot, and Malvina - in a little scene in the Lightning Theater.

—user summary