Matter Group, LLC has taken the idea of concern with Ecology and given it an entirely new perspective with Xeko Mission: Costa Rica. Since ancient times, a secret order called Xeko has protected the planet from those who would do it harm. In this game you can join "Xeko Masters" on their latest mission to protect Costa Rica, a land where amazing animals live between the fiery volcanoes and tropical beaches. The land's future is in each player's hands and the power to save is in the cards!

To add to the game, it's creators have designed "Booster Packs". Each booster pack comes with 9 cards from a random selection of 150 cards. One of the best features of this is that all Xeko collections are playable with one another, and players can mix and match to create custom decks of their own design. When you consider the factor of the price of the game combined with a creative concept of ecology education and fun combined, you discover one of the most innovative ideas of games around.

Xeko Mission: Costa Rica is one segment of multiple choices that Matter Group, LLC provides in an educational game form to help children as well as adults, gain a greater understanding/appreciation of the environment we exist in. Xeko was inspired by Conservation International (CI), an organization with a simple yet vital mission to preserve the diversity of life on Earth and show that humans can live harmoniously with nature.

It is important to realize that Amy Tucker, Xeko’s creator, noted that CI approaches these tasks by targeting the most species-rich places and raising the level of awareness about each hotspot’s plight. As Amy Tucker expressed, “Kids are more likely to pay attention to and care about the fates of places and animals they’ve heard about, and a collectible card game was a natural choice for presenting interesting data about creatures and their habitats in a compelling and memorable way.”

The creators of Xeko Mission: Costa Rica have proved a very important fact; they have combined fun and education in the same product. To add to that fact, Xeko Mission: Costa Rica still delivers an innovative game that will be a sure sell! It is quite an accomplishment to create a game that is so well-researched in the information used, delivers a well-rounded educational approach, and at the same time captures the attention of the players sufficiently so that one game simply is NOT enough!

Xeko Mission: Costa Rica is fabulous in how it stimulates kids’ interest in math, science, and nature by combining two items of primary interest to children: trading card games and animals. The creators of this game were not short in wisdom in the design of this game. Just as major favorites such as Yu-Gi-Oh and the latest popular game, Chaotic, Xeko involves collecting trading cards to create a custom library—or in this case, what is referred to as “Xeko-system”—and using the cards to match wits against opponents in exciting game play.

A key point here is that instead of using monsters and fantasy, Xeko takes advantage of casting actual animal species as the heroes and basing game play on ecosystem relationships. When you consider the concerns in society today of being politically correct, not offending the religious community, or being acceptable in content level for schools, this game has created branding that it unique unto itself!

As always, it is easy to see each rating we have calculated for this game. In the best interest of our readers, it is an added comfort to see more specific definition of what details helped us arrive at the ratings assigned to this game. That information is provided below.

Design Quality: Rating Level 5 - Our evaluation of Xeko Mission: Costa Rica was quite a treat. The box design is such that it takes on the look of a treasure chest, but not just by print. The box design is ingenious with a metal latch, just a treasure chest would have. The entire box and contents remain consistent in theme, while at the same time yet remain sturdy and will withstand extended long term usage in a consumer or educational industry environment. The "5" rating is easily established as being consistent with the product evaluation standards.

Educational Value: Rating Level 5 - The educational value of this game is a slam dunk with no second thoughts. In our compilation of rating scores from both offices, the rating average was at the highest level possible. When you consider the powerful wealth of productive information which the players can gain from playing this game, it is easy to see why it scored so high. The entire game structure was well thought out while at the same time remaining simplistic.

FunFactor™: Rating Level 5 - When it comes to the level of FunFactor™ associated with this game, the results in our evaluation were quite surprising. We tend to assume when an educational game is focusing on Ecology, that it simply cannot be a real entertaining game, but don't be fooled! At the local youth activity center in Las Vegas where we tested the game, and at the church in Queens, NY where our NY office tested the game, the results were literally a mirror copy of each other! In all of the survey sheets and from what we personally witnessed, the level of FunFactor™ was so high that kids were reluctant to stop playing when their game was done in order for other kids to play. When I asked one of the kids here in Las Vegas what he thought of the game, he replied, "Fun? That was the ultimate of coooool!". What more can we say?

Innovation: Rating Level 5 - Innovation is a tough one to measure on many products but not so with this game. It has been quite some time since we have seen a game that was so innovative in conceptual design and functionality. A true winner in this regard.

Marketing Value: Rating Level 4 - Determination of marketing value for this game was a tough one, but thats why we have the evaluation guidelines to assist in a rating being made based on facts, not personal opinion. The one thing that stole the single point needed to have an average score of "5", was a the association with Ecology. While that is an excellent topic to associate a game with, when it comes to marketing value, that topic can actually cause buyers to question not see the full value of the product. For that reason, the game scored a rating average of "4".

Visual Appeal: Rating Level 5 - As stated earlier in the review, the visual appeal of the packaging itself was outstanding; simple, visually appealing, and the metal latch on the box provided the added effect that it needed to provide an outstanding level of visual appeal.

EVALUATION RESULTS - From evaluation for induction into "The Toy Man® Product Guide"
Overall Rating: 5	Seal of Approval: Approved	eco-Recognition Seal: Not Eligible	Award of Excellence: Approved	eChoice Award: Selected

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