Orchard Toys: Football Game (Review & Giveaway)

by 78 Comments

There comes a time in a child's life when it's a good idea to start introducing them to positive current affairs, to show they that there's a wider world beyond their little cocoon. A sporting event like the Olympics is always a good way to start, as it shows healthy competition and promotes exercise. This year there are two major sporting events which are perfect to ignite children's interest; the Commonwealth games, and the FIFA World Cup.

Orchard Toys have recognised the popularity and have produced the fabulous Football Game to encourage this.

Football Game by Orchard ToysI've found that there are several formats of Orchard Toys games; bingo style, memorising pairs game, a board game collecting counters, and a dice game following the snakes and ladders format. Each new game tends to follow one of these, under a different theme, all completely engaging for children.

And we've got a lot of Orchard Toys games, so believe me when I say they are all engaging.

Football Game is a game that follows the snakes and ladders style of playing, with additional twists and turns. Each player starts with their own colour-coded board that depicts a football pitch with a winding pathway up the pitch to the goal. The pathway has the usual sliding down and climbing up arrows to allow the players to move unpredictably on the roll of a dice, but this game has a few extra symbols on it which mean different things happen if players land on them. For example if a player lands on a whistle then they must spin the whistle spinner: if the spinner points to the red card, they must start at the beginning again; if it's a yellow card then they miss a go, or if it points to the foot kicking the ball then the player has a 'free kick' and can roll the dice again.

The other addition to the game is what happens when players reach the top of the pathway; the goal. They must then spin the goal spinner: if it lands on the goalie's feet then they must move back down to the white cross on the board; if it lands on the goalie's head they move back to the black cross; if it lands in an 'open' area of the goal then they have won.

Football Game - Orchard Toys

We've got a few of these style of snakes and ladders games now, but I really like the way that this has been adjusted to create a very different game. There seems to be a lot more chance in this game and this makes it a lot more fun. The Boy loves playing it and it's definitely something to engage the interest of the whole family (and I hate football!).

As with all Orchard Toys games, they have a 'learning through play' ethos to them and Football Game is no different.

  • Develops personal and social skills by encouraging interaction and turn-taking;
  • Promotes maths through recognising numbers on a dice and counting on or back appropriately on the board;
  • Encourages oracy and communication through discussion about football and how it's played;
  • Extending understanding of the World Cup to explore the countries competing and locate them on a world map or globe (knowledge and understanding of the world/geography).

Football Game is available in toy shops and directly from Orchard Toys priced at £9.50.

However, Orchard Toys are offering one lucky reader the opportunity to win a copy of Football Game, simply fill in the Rafflecopter form below to be in with a chance of winning.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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Comments

  52. Kelly Hooper says

    Im a football fan, been avidly watching the World Cup on my own as no-one else in the family is interested 🙁

    Reply

  60. Rachel Gilbey says

    Hard to answer that in the middle of a summer of sport! Today alone I've been happy watching Wimbledon, World Cup, Tour De France and Formula 1!

    Reply

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