Orchard Toys: 'What's Rubbish?'

I've got a little bit of an eco-warrior on the sly, he's keen to put rubbish in the bin and is most insistent on knowing whether he can recycle the items or if they go in the compost bin. Very rarely does it occur to him that the rubbish may go in the 'normal' bin, and I'm quite proud of him for this.

We were recently sent the Orchard Toys game, 'What's Rubbish?' to try out and it has gone down a storm (it's even knocked 'Crash, Bang, Whallop' off the top spot, and Inever thought that would happen!).

'What's Rubbish?' is a fun recycling game which features a board with interweaving paths on, four counters, a 3D wheelie bin, four recycling bank player boards (two of each type: metal, bottles, paper and clothing), a spinner, and a selection of 'rubbish' cards.

• Each player chooses two different coloured recycling bank boards.

• The corresponding small cards are placed face down on the table. If four people are playing all recycling bank cards and corresponding small cards are used, remove unused recycling bank cards and the corresponding cards for fewer players.
• Choose twelve small cards and place them on the pathways all over the playing board.
• Choose a playing piece/counter and place this anywhere on the board.
• The youngest player spins the spinner and moves that number of spaces in any direction across the board. The aim is to pick up as many small cards on the board as possible to fill up your own recycling bank.
• If the spinner lands on the litterbug section then a small card is taken from the table and added to the main playing board.
• When you land on or pass a card, pick it up and see if it is one of your materials. If so add it to a space on the board, if not return it to another space on the main playing board.

• Occasionally there are 'litterbug' pieces which are picked up. When they appear, everyone must return one of their materials from the recycling bank to the table upside down. That litterbug card is then put in the wheelie bin.
• There are also some small cards which cannot be put on a recycling bank card, like a broken tv, alarm clock etc which are put into the wheelie bin.
• Each time a material is added to the recycling banks, or is put in the wheelie bin, then a replacement small card must be put onto the main playing board.
• The winner is the first person to fill their two boards.

'What's Rubbish?' is a really fun game to play as a family; it does involve some form of strategy when playing (for example Mr. TBaM and I are very careful to ensure we lay the small cards down on the board in our counter's path – or The Boy's if he's losing), but likewise it's purely chance as to whether a litterbug is picked up and pieces are lost. Even The Boy has started to realise that he needs to think carefully about the path he takes while playing.

Aimed at 5-10 year olds, I actually think that a child younger than that and capable of logical processing would be able to play this as well as The Boy does. As always,Orchard Toys games aren't just about having fun (although that is the primary aim!):

• develop strategic thinking
• encourage personal and social skills (turn-taking, etc)
• linked with National Curriculum Maths (counting, number recognition, shape and colour recognition.
• scientific development (identifying different materials and whether they can be reused or not – a tricky concept)
• moral and spiritual development (taking care of our world).

This is one of the entire family's favourite games from Orchard Toys; it's fun, educational and allows for a little bit of devilment whilst playing it with other adults. Excellent games and top marks from us!

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.