I would've never paid $150 list price for this, so was pleased to see the $99 special price! It's a little buggy (one car supplied with the set seems to have a slightly shorter battery life), but kids have enjoyed playing with it. (Also purchased a Katal car in addition to the starter set so the 2 kids could play against a computer and each other.) The Anki website isn't particularly clear and there are limited instructions provided with the set, which irks my Type A personality. The kids don't seem to mind, though. They enjoy upgrading their cars with "weapons" as they play and earn points. A Rho car purchased later (and gifted outside of Amazon's 30 day return window) did not operate at all and am waiting to see if Anki will back their one year warranty. The kids like to use different cars when playing, and the cars have various "abilities".

My son got a lot of presents and I was excited mostly for the Anki Drive. We set it up in our living room and downloaded the apps, we did have a problem in that we charged it for an hour beforehand then when setting it up it insisted the cars needed chargin, oh well not a big deal we plugged them in and then synched up. We tried to play but kept having to retrieve the cars that would start spinning and drive off the track, then we would have to put it back on the track push it forward and then continue, this was happening so often that my son finally lost interest and said I could play if I wanted and he was going to go play one of his new video games.

Ill keep trying to get it going but at this point I would say overpriced for not quite perfected technology but a fantastic idea if they can just fix it.

if something changes Ill update my review but for now I'll rate it 2 stars and might return it if I cant get it to keep the cars on the track enough to have an actual race.

Later......

I ordered this for my kids on a whim and they just loved it. Turned out to be their favorite gift next to their new Samsung Galaxy 4, 7" tablets which also work fantastic with this set up.

The manufacturer is very specific and clear on what IOS and Android models this works with.

Setup was easy and the software was easy to use anb set up. Even my 5 year old with his very limited reading is able to operate the software and host or join games unaided just fine.

The only CON - Amazon Pricing is about 40% to 60% higher than buying directly from the manufacturer. I pointed this out to them a few weeks ago and they matched the price. Now they have jacked it up to the ridiculous level.

This is a great item. I ordered it for my husband for Christmas. Of course my 8 year old wants it more and to play repeatedly. It is pretty cool if you get extra cars like Corax who you must beat to actually use him to play. The cars charge very quickly so that is a plus if you do not have extra cars yet.
The only down side is who can not use multi platforms devices together. So basically to put it in a nutshell you must play Ipod/Phone against one another or Android against android. Not every model is compatible so I would check before ordering. We have the Fire HD 7 and that is not compatible with Anki. The multi platform issue does not affect us too much with having Galaxy S4 and L3 but it would be nice to add another car as you can battle 4 cars, 3 of your own and 1 computer controlled.
Overall this is great. Videos do no justice. You need to own it to see the technology behind it. The sound effects are super cool, loud. Every car has a distinct personality that just gets more well known as you level up.
The best thing they did was introduce Anki to Android, as when this first was advertised about 2 years ago it was only for I- devices. Awesome product for family and for anyone who loves slot cars.

What a cool racing game that is based on AI technology. I purchased the game for the holidays, and my kids really like the game. They say Anki Drive, Anki Drive and can we play again. The game is really easy to setup and to start racing. The individual garages (charging stations) are really a nice touch. The packaging is really nice and the game rolls up when you are done. We have not tried to roll it up yet because the kids can't get enough.

However, my biggest issue with the game is with all the engineering/technology it is not realistic racing. Basically, you can leave the car in full throttle and not touch the controls for the entire race. In any form of racing you need to slow down (brake) or lift for turns. The cars will not go off the track under normal circumstances which is very disappointing. I remembered playing slot cars and if you don't slow down for a turn you go off the track -- well that does not apply for this game. Maybe this is different for one of the "extra" tracks, but not for the starter kit.

In summary, I really like the game, but am disappointed with the lack of core racing. Good for young kids say 7 - 11 any older I would bet the kids would lose interest quickly because it is too easy.