Features:

  • Use your mobile device to take command of real robotic Supercars in Anki OVERDRIVE.
  • Build up to eight battlefields in seconds with the Starter Kit.
  • Battle and race against friends or AI controlled vehicles. Wifi required for battles between iOS and Android devices
  • An Anki OVERDRIVE Starter Kit and a compatible mobile device are required to play.
  • Expand the battle with expansion tracks, Supercars and the all-new Supertrucks.
Amazing racing fun, once you get it working with a compatible device

The Anki Overdrive set was given to my son for Christmas by his grandmother, and it promised to be the hit of the Christmas party... if only we could have gotten it working. When we opened the set we un-packaged the cars, the tracks, the chargers and everything else - and put the cars on the charger. The track went together great - the magnetized tracks snap together super easy. So far, so good. Then we downloaded the app on my son's phone, a Motorola Moto X. The app downloaded from Amazon, and appeared to be working. So we went through the setup process on the app, updated the firmware for both cars, put the cars on the track, etc. Then we tried to do a race. The cars wouldn't connect to the app on the Moto X. Or one car would connect and not the other. We monkeyed with it for like 1/2 an hour and then decided to try it on my phone, a Motorola Moto X 2nd Gen, and no luck again. We tried the Google Nexus 7 tablet, and we were able to connect to the cars this time, but when it came time to scan the track the cars just sat there and never moved. We also tried another old Samsung tablet, but that one also wouldn't connect. So when it came down to it we tried the following devices and were never able to get the Anki Overdrive set working: - Motorola Moto X 1st Gen (2 devices no luck) - Motorola Moto X 2nd Gen - Google Nexus 7 tablet (newer version) - Samsung tablet After having the letdown on Christmas eve and not being able to play with the cars, on Christmas Day the set miraculously started working with the Moto X 2nd gen device long enough to do like 3 races, but then stopped connecting to the cars again. So finally I went online to figure out if others were having the same problems. It turns out that the set has some pretty specific devices that it recommends people use that use Bluetooth LE 4.0, and apparently none of our devices that we have were 100% compatible. In fact, our devices were actually on the "not compatible" list. Ugh. Before you buy this track I recommend you figure out for sure if your device is compatible, otherwise you'll end up running into the same issues we did, guaranteed. Finally after doing further research we found that the newest Kindle Fire 5th generation devices were in fact compatible with this Anki Overdrive set. Since those tablets were only $50, we bought one with a Christmas gift card. After unboxing the new tablet we downloaded the app from Amazon, we got everything up and running. This time the app on the Kindle Fire connected the first try to both cars and we were able to get the game up and running without any issues. We were able to play single player games, and host a multi-player game as well. When the Kindle Fire hosts a game, we're able to connect all of the devices mentioned above over the same WiFi network, and control the second car, as long as the Fire hosts the game and controls the first car. The other devices cannot host a game or play a single player game on their own without the Fire. Once we got everything running my son declared that this Anki Overdrive set was the "best Christmas gift ever" and he hasn't stopped playing since. He's gotten so good at this point that I can't seem to defeat him in battle mode. *sigh. Defeated by a 6 year old. My advice if you decide to buy this set is make sure your device is compatible with Anki first. If it's not, be aware you may need to get a new device (like the $50 Kindle Fire) in order to get it to work. If you have a device on the compatible list, buy it now - you'll have a ton of fun!

Awesome English-Speaking Customer Support!

Last year, I got my son a slot car set. From a name brand company. It worked a total of three times before one car and both plungers stopped working. I saw the Anki Overdrive set on Black Friday special and gave it a try. It is awesome! You can build several track configurations out of the box, and the track magnetically snaps together in under a minute. The only slight snag we ran into was that the set wasn’t compatible with my sons new tablet (Galaxy Tab A). I thought we were going to have to send the set back, but customer service got him up and racing in a short time. They explained that if a tablet wasn’t listed, it means it hasn’t been tested with the set, not necessarily that it won’t work. Speaking of their customer service, you get an actual American speaking actual English! Fantastic! All this gave me the confidence to order extra cars and track. Speaking of which, upgrades aren’t overly expensive. I got another car half-price through the Anki Overdrive app. All in all, it would be hard to ask for a better experience.

An honest review from an experienced anki family

We have owned the original anki drive, and now this overdrive product. My son and I enjoyed the anki drive product (purchased three expansion cars), but the size of the mat/track was limiting in our small house. So when anki overdrive came out, there was no way we weren't going to try it! We have been using overdrive thoroughly since Christmas, and we love it. My son has spent $$$ on two expansion cars, the collision/intersection track piece, and the launch track jump kit. The new cars seem better designed than previous drive cars, and there is more to play within the software portion (more upgrade options for cars, other types of racing: king of the hill, etc). The ability to configure your track with pieces vs a mat is probably the biggest improvement IMO... Easier to put portion of track away when not playing, and fun to come up with new designs based on how much space you have to work with. I have read some of the negative reviews of this product and want to offer an opinion: this is a sophisticated, hardware / software based toy, and it will be impacted by user input and potential error (I am in software + UI design for 20 years). With something this complex, there will be challenges in using it and enjoying it to the level of each user's expectation. Bottom line: you get out of it what you put in; it's not going to run by itself flawlessly and never come off the track or have other glitches. For example, the launch kit jump requires the drivers to align in the center of the track for the jump to land safely, which we like because it adds another layer of complexity to the game instead of just watching the cars run around shooting at eachother (I have read some reviews about the cars not landing and/or staying on the track). Overall, quality seems good, prices are a bit high, but not too bad given the design and technology involved.

Anki for the win!

Great little toy. I hesitated because it was pricey, but this thing is worth every penny. My son, 8, received this for Christmas and absolutely loves it. He has an iPod Touch and uses it to play Anki, and my husband and I have added the app so we can play too using our phones. We have three boys and they all love it. It's very cleverly designed and has many cool features, including not only the racing but different "skills" to outrace your opponent. We have since purchased additional cars and are about to purchase more tracks for this. I'd like to note, too, that Anki has amazing customer service. We recently had an issue with the back wheel of our Skull car, and we contacted Anki and they resolved the problem for us by replacing the OEM car. The communication has been great too.

- Easy track setup and configuration/reconfiguration compared to old slot car ...

Bought the starter set for my 4 year old son for Christmas. Before buying I’ve researched into Scalextrix and Carrera Go but decided on the Anki due to its unique functions. After playing for a whole day with my son, I have to say I’ve made the right decision! Anki Overdrive is not just a gimmick, it is the new standard for slot cars! Pro: - Easy track setup and configuration/reconfiguration compared to old slot car tracks. The simple but strong magnetic connection is excellent. The cars scanning the track layout is very cool. - AI is pretty good in keeping the cars on the track. There’s significantly less off-track than traditional slot cars. Driving involves tilting your smart devices to change lanes. - Game play is more fun than traditional slot cars with the lap counter, the different challenges and the weapons. My 4 year old is occupied enough playing with the accelerator and brakes that he’s not bothered by the weapons. But I had plenty of fun myself against the AI after he went to bed. There are a few different types of play to chose from. King of the hill, battles, or just good ol racing. I would imagine they could add other formats to the app later to keep the game play fresh. - Car charging is fast and easy. Set it on the charging pad and a few min later it’s ready to go. I bought two more cars and change between them and never had issue with having to wait for a car to charge. - The product packaging allows you to pack everything right back into the box instead of having a lot of cardboard boxes to throw away. As the Grand Tour guys said, traditional slot cars basically have you picking up cars flying off the track the whole morning. And once you figure out where to set your accelerator, you are just sitting and watching the cars go around the track. I got bored of mine within the hour when I was a kid. With Anki overdrive, you don’t lose any of the traditional slot car fun. It enhances the game play by many times! The pricing is also very reasonable for the starter pack and some of the additional pieces. The most expensive item is the car. Which brings me to the cons. Con: - I wish there are more realistic cars available instead of just cartoonish character machines. I get they are building a fantasy app world so the more cartoonish cars make sense. But I don’t see how a scaled size Porsche or F1 car won’t work. Hopefully Anki would add some of these soon. - this is more nit-picking, but using a smart phone or tablet to download apps is easy enough, but a dedicated control that we can purchase would be great. Maybe a version of dumbed down iPod Touch would be great. After all if Amazon can sell a kindle fire for $30, selling a small dedicated remote shouldn’t cost that much. I wouldn’t mind buying two of these control that could be charged along the car charger.

Biggest christmas hit

This was the biggest hit of all the gifts at Christmas for my kids. I got it for my 4 year old son, but my 7 yr old daughter loves it just as much and it's the only thing that gets her excited to get off her iPad. Well, you do use the ipad to steer, but I still consider this a non-video game, that's just the controller. The cars do fly off the track sometimes, but that's half the fun, knocking them off, and they stay on remarkably well in my opinion (better than slot cars for the unskilled). Having AI opponents in so many skill levels means I can get a challenge and there are ones that match up well for my son too. Right now our favorite thing is playing king of the hill with teams, and it's been great at teaching teamwork. I dropped my son off at school this morning and he asked if we could race tonight and if we could be partners against that mean raccoon (one of the opponents he likes to pick). Track set up is really fast and the magnets make it simple to do, both my kids have built different tracks and I can pack the whole thing up in 2 minutes (unlike traditional slot car tracks). I do with there was an easier way to clean and protect the track surface, but that's a minor complaint compared to how much fun we're having. It's really just been a great purchase.

great game

Awesome game for 5 year old son. Didn't take long for him to figure it out. I don't recommend track on carpet. Cars will pick up hairs and wrap around axle between wheel hub and outer chassis. Car will immediately start making erratic turns. Took me a few minutes to figure it out. I'd suggest hardwood floors for track, and if you have pets hit the floor with a swiffer or vacuum to remove any debris or hair. The tire cleaner is a MUST. Helps dramatically when cars go off track and pickup dust on rear tires(big bang will fish tail if not clean). You can use cold water and your thumb to clean the tire cleaner and then let it dry over night. If you find yourself cleaning alot in one day take some packaging tape and stick it to a surface sticky side up to clean tires. Works just as good. Additionally, I got the Samsung nexus 10 to work. Download it from ankis site (not app store). Will let me join games, can't create though. Anki will supposedly send you a new car if the gears get grinder or hairs stuck in axle. Thermo was my first car to get jammed up. I slowly got the hairs out using a paperclip while I ran my other hand over car sensor. The back wheels are controlled by two separate motors to two separate gears on each wheel. The front wheels literally have no purpose so don't bother cleaning them they're solid plastic. Also check the rubber tire on rear wheels. If it comes slightly off wheel just in the slightest bit the car will be all over track. All in all great game for kids and adults.

Way cool for kids and adults

This has been a lot of fun. Kids love it and adults are blown away by the technology since there are no slots and we all grew up with slot cars. The only downside is the need for both bluetooth and wifi. It is a mobile phone battery killer so works best when the phone charger is nearby. The cars last a while and charge quickly - enough time to go get a drink or snack. It is a lot of fun to watch the cars go and to build the track.

Anki Overdrive Starter Kit

Lots of fun! But, it will burn through the battery charge on the phone/tablet used to run the race cars. The track setup is very easy being it is a magnetic snap together process and the track sections are flexible enough to allow for many hills and tilts to add challenges to the racers. Worked with Anki customer support to resolve a problem we had and they were very good. They even followed up a couple of times in the follow weeks after the problem was resolved to make sure everything was still going okay with the system. Great customer support! May add a couple of extra cars so the Grandkids can all race together. This is a great alternative to video games that they play at home.

Coolest Toy Santa Brought!! Great Customer Service by Anki!!

This kit is simply awesome! I did a lot of research before I bought this for my sons (aged 6 and 7) for Christmas. I was worried it would be too difficult for them, but we all know how tech savvy kids are today. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TO KIDS AND ADULTS!! I bought two extra cars so the boys would be able to race against computer controlled drivers, which works excellently, but the wife and I have been using them plenty too! You will fall in love with Overdrive as soon as you start opening the box! Everything is engineered flawlessly: from the mechanism that holds the cars in the packaging, the sticky pad used to clean the car tires, the "Getting Started" booklet, etc! It's obvious the designers of this system are either big kids themselves or have kids at home. WE LOVE IT!! Setting up the track is very simple. The ends of the track click together with magnets. The cars are set on the track and then do at least 2 laps to read the track. Now, make sure you have devices that use Bluetooth 4.00 (with full BLE support). My boys' old Kindles weren't compatible, but thankfully we also got them Fire 8's for Christmas, which worked perfect. I read in another review that you couldn't use Apple devices and Android devices together. However, we have found no issues at all mixing and matching different devices. I will mention that it seems like Apple devices change lanes better than Android, but we've only been using Overdrive for a week or less. I understand the tech that is involved in making everything work for Anki Overdrive, but it still seems like magic! The only slight downside is the physical connection to the race like pulling a trigger for throttle on slot cars, for example, isn't there. Thankfully, the addition of weapons and battle makes up for that. The cars themselves will cruise around the track without input from a player fine. A small negative we have noticed is that the rail kits I purchased separately from the Anki website don't stay on very well. They're supposed to click/snap into the edge of the track pieces, but they don't stay on as well as I would like. It's a bit surprising, really, because the rest of the systems are engineered so well. Also, the ramp kit doesn't work as well as the rest of the track. Too often, the cars careen off the sides of the ramp, which can be solved with the rail kits but the cars will eventually unclip the rails from the track. The bigger issue is that the cars will often do a 180 after landing on the other side of the ramp! Still, we have left the ramp in our track system because it works more than it fails and the boys enjoy the jump. NOW, let me mention Anki's customer service. I had bought add-ons from the Anki website directly before Christmas (20% off!!) including: two rail kits, a jump kit, a straight "speed" kit, a curved track kit, and Supercar Thermo. I had also purchased Supercar Guardian from an Amazon Lightning Deal. On Christmas day, we excitedly set up the track and everyone sat down eager to play. Everything worked well, except Guardian, which would spin in circles. The right drive wheel was the only one working properly or perhaps too much? Troubleshooting tips online for a possible misaligned tire or bent axle didn't solve the issue. So, I picked up the phone on CHRISTMAS DAY, without much hope of even reaching anyone. I was immediately connected to Moises at Anki and also later Lauren on email. They were very kind, understanding, and apologetic! The very same day, they put a new Guardian in the mail with 2 day shipping. Half a week later, we were all up and running! THANK YOU, ANKI! It's not enough to make quality products, you must support them as well, which Anki clearly understands. I will be purchasing more from them in the future. To put it simply, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Anki Overdrive! It's fun for kids and adults. They have made a high quality, enjoyable race track system and their customer service stands behind the products! Again, THANK YOU ANKI!

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