We had the ELC version of this game first - Pop up Dragon. I assumed that the 2 games would be basically the same but we never got on with pop up dragon. The flags don't really click in properly so you can never be sure if you have them in right or not. We had quite a few games where it just wouldn't pop even when all the flags were in. I got Pop-up Pirate as a replacement and we threw out Pop up dragon the same day. The Pirate one works just like we thought it would. The swords click in properly and the pirate pops nice and high. We have had lots of fun with this game as it's one that all ages can play and I think it will be around for a while.