Let's Jet is a geography class cleverly disguised as a board game. Aimed at ages eight and up, the game is for two to five players; it takes about 30 minutes to finish a round of the basic game, although the time seems to fly (no pun intended) when you're having fun.

The heavy-duty playing surface snaps together easily like a chunky two-piece puzzle. The picture on the board is a flat map with dots designating 90 cities in 62 countries. The game pieces are jets in a variety of colors, and the other components include color-coded scoring chips, rulers, three different types of cards, a country fact sheet, and the rules booklet.

There are two levels of play, basic and advanced. In the basic game, the object is to collect 10 points before anyone else. To earn a point, you must move your jet onto a city designated by a card in your hand or on one of the public cards lying on the map. Your jet is allowed two jumps, measurable by the handy dandy distance ruler. There is a certain amount of strategy that can be applied and lots of looking and figuring out where to find certain cities on the map. The travel cards also show a simplified map with a dot showing where to find the city.

The advanced game throws in additional facts and circumstances that can delay or hasten your ETA. For instance, you may draw a weather or event card that impacts your travel conditions. Conversely, you may find that you gather a point you weren't expecting just because you stopped in a city on another player's card. There is also a way to earn a bonus by collecting three cards of the same color. The player who reaches 12 points first is the winner.

This product can be used to complement or introduce a study of world geography. It can be used as an official part of the school day or as a special treat, depending on how you would like to use it. Let's Jet might also find its place in a history lesson or a Bible study or as a kickoff to a world literature class. It could also be used a review tool.

Pros: Our family loves to play games -- to which our family room shelves can attest! By using Let's Jet and the other geography games we've collected, our kids are getting a memorable world geography education just by sitting around the table with their siblings and parents. They have also pulled the game out on their own and played among themselves. It's great to hear them say something like, "Hey, there's Tripoli. We just learned about pirates in Tripoli in our history class." Ah . . . fun, multi-purpose, hands-on learning. What could be better?

Cons: The limit of five players is tough in our home of six. Either someone has to sit out a round or two of us have to pair up. It's not a huge obstacle, but that's the only drawback that we've encountered.

We are pleased to add Let's Jet to our list (and pile) of favorite board games. Whether it's just a few of us or the whole crew, playing this game is a wise investment in family time and school time . . . just don't tell the kids!