Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
During the Summer holidays, we've played a number of board games but some of the most enjoyable games have been those which cause much laughter and giggles. Don't Rock The Boat is one of them!
Following the popular balancing items on a wobbly base philosophy, Don't Rock The Boat has a collection of pirate penguins which must be balanced on their teetering pirate ship without knocking any off. However, the valiant vessel is balanced on a treacherous wave which makes the task even harder!
It's no secret that we are two of Orchard Toys' biggest fans; I've got more of their games and puzzles than the local toy shop and we play a different one each day. One of The Boy's favourite Orchard Toys' games is Crazy Chefs which he likes because of both the 'cooking' aspect and the 'chance' factor. Therefore when we were sent Greedy Gorilla to review, I knew that this one would go down really well with The Boy.
Greedy Gorilla is a game designed to encourage healthy eating in a fun way. The game involves collecting healthy ingredients to make a nutritious meal while identifying the junk food and disposing of it in the gorilla's mouth. The game consists of:
The idea of the game is very simple:
As with all Orchard Toys games, Greedy Gorilla is educational and fun. However, the educational element this time comes in the form of educating children about the type of food that is healthy and those which are 'sometimes' foods; treats and not to be eaten very often at all. The Boy is starting to learn about this in school at the moment so it's great consolidation for him and really helps reinforce the importance of eating healthily.
The game can be extended further by discussing the need for a balance diet through combining the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins and dairy alongside fruit and vegetables. The game is aimed at 4-8 year olds and I can definitely see how the game can suit this age range. I also think that they could be used as recipe cards and a meal planner to help create healthy meals for families throughout the week!
Greedy Gorilla is available for £11.75 from Orchard Toys directly amongst a plethora of other toy shops online and on the high street.
I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.
I'm very fortunate that I have a fabulous sponsor for Britmums Live! in Orchard Toys, and as a result we've had a chance to review some of their amazing games and puzzles this year. Their latest game, entitled 'Baa Baa', is another excellent resource, and as always is incredibly fun.
I was recently sent a copy of the new augmented reality game for the PlayStation 3: 'Wonderbook – Book of Spells'. Set in the Harry Potter universe, the 'Book of Spells' is designed to be a handbook for wizard students but as it's set before the the books/films it doesn't feature him. Augmented reality is a bit bizarre, the game is turned into a 3D and interactive experience: very bizarre, very addictive.
I'm handing this over to Mr. TBaM to review.
When the first Harry Potter novels appeared, more than one reference was made to my rounded glasses, haircut and general appearance resembling images of the eponymous hero. It's fortunate that nobody could see the slight scar I have on my forehead, mostly covered by a fringe (yes, really!).
Although this did give me hope that I stood a chance of being cast as an adult Potter one day (before Daniel Radcliffe discovered that he could simply stop shaving for a few days) my actual magical abilities were still firmly rooted at "squib" standard. Until now…
'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' is the first game to use the new PlayStation 3 "Wonderbook". On the face of it, the Wonderbook is a simple hardback book covered in hieroglyphs, but combine it with the Eye camera and Move controller and you are given an impressive augmented reality view of what's in front of you. Within seconds the television becomes a mirror, with the plain book transformed into Miranda Goshawk's Book of Spells and the Move replaced with your very own magic wand!
The game is more of an interactive story, with plenty of new content written by J K Rowling, than a simple game. You are guided through twenty different spells, with tasks associated with each giving you the chance to use them in "real" situations. The Boy was particularly taken with using Winguardium Leviosa in herbology! (Or 'Nevenosa' as he calls it!)
Although set in the Harry Potter world, the book is from two hundred years before the present day and thus no mention is made of Potter himself. This is no bad thing, as it allows the player to concentrate on the magic, whilst also making it accessible to those – including the Boy – with no prior knowledge of the world of Potter. The fact that you see yourself performing the spells adds to the illusion, and it is very easy to lose track of time once immersed in the stories behind each spell.
Overall, an extremely impressive immersive experience. The Boy was hooked and grasped the concepts far faster than we'd expected him too, and TBaM and I did have a sneaky hour or two on it after he'd gone to bed!
This is a brilliant game and one which spans generations; my father, us, The Boy and my nine year old niece all really enjoy playing it.
I'd say the optimum age for Wonderbook: Book of Spells is six years or over, although The Boy as three and a half really did enjoy it with guidance.
I was sent this product on loan for review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.
Pointless is the hugely popular BBC show which sees four couples pit themselves against each other to score as low as they possibly can when answering questions. The lowest score wins. The aim is obviously to be as pointless as possible. Think Family Fortunes, but in reverse.
The Pointless board game by University Games mirrors the programme and is for two-four players or teams, ages ten years+. Now people who read my reviews normally know that I look at the age guide and say, "Meh." and ignore it. However, with this game I actually think it's pretty accurate as it requires a fair amount of general knowledge which most children under the age of ten years do not have. Of course there are exceptions to every rule and if your child likes to stay abreast of trivia and the news then they'd probably be able to play this. (I'm specifically thinking of Kate's son from The Five F's.)
Contents:
Before playing this, I would recommend finding an episode of the game to watch as it really helps to understand the format. It takes a little working out and I'm a visual learner so needed to see it in action.
As stated the aim of the game is to be as pointless as possible. I'll use the example question that I saw earlier on the television show: "Name a Richard Gere movie." Obvious answers are 'Pretty Woman' and 'An Officer and a Gentleman' but they were quite high scoring answers so the contestants needed to try and come up with the more obscure answers. There are four rounds played throughout: round one, round two, head-to-head and end game. On each round a question is asked from the relevant pile of question cards which also contain all the possible answers and their scores (based on the 100 people surveyed).
I won't go into the ins and outs of each round, but they are cleverly different and challenging each time. A card is chosen from the pile and placed into the relevant special wallet designed to hide the answers. Players write their answers down on the answer sheet, then reveal them as per the instructions. The answers are revealed and scores calculated. The lowest scoring person receives a 'pointless' token. These are important because in the final round the person with the fewest tokens is eliminated. This seems to be irrelevant when only playing with two players.
Mr. TheBoyandMe and I have spent an enjoyable hour playing this, it was challenging and fun. It was also obvious that while it's possible to play it with only two players, it's not quite as much fun as it would be with teams or three or four players. We enjoyed the range of questions (we need to brush up on world geography) and trying to be as devious as possible. We quickly abandoned using the board to chart our scores as it did actually seem pretty pointless itself (pardon the pun) when you're making a note of the scores on your answer sheet.
This is a fun game to be played across generations, I can't wait to take it down to play with my in-laws when we go and see them in September, my mother-in-law will love it. I would back up the age guide on the game, it's a complicated way of playing it and the questions are quite tricky at times.
A thumbs up from this family, a good game for Christmas! However you don't need to bother using the board and this actually makes it a good travel game for holidays.
Pointless is available to buy through Amazon here.
I was sent this game for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.
The Boy has recently started to show an interest in pirates. I'll admit to having withheld the swashbuckling realm from him before as I'm trying to keep him steered away from the 'treasure' chests of violence and theft for as long as is feasible. However, I fear that ship is sailing and so were dipping our toes in the waters to find out about pirate ships and treasure maps. Definitely no swords involved!
A while ago I was sent a fantastic pirate game by DJeco that is based around the world of treasure maps. The Piratrix Treasure Hunt is a simple retro style game aimed at 2-8 children aged 4+ but The Boy had no problem with it. The pack says that the game can take 15 minutes but that can be altered depending upon the complexity of play.
The idea of the game is to hide all 24 laminated images of treasure, chests and keys around the house. The first player to find one of each is the winner. The best part about this set is that because they are printed plastic, they are suitable for use outdoors in the garden or on the beach.
I taped some string onto some of the pieces so that I could hang them rather than keeping them all flat, it makes it easier for younger children to find them. Older children could create a treasure map to find the pieces, but that's a tricky concept for younger children as they can't relate the symbols to real life objects. I hid the pieces in (fairly obvious) places in the garden, and it took us a little over seven minutes for all three of us to each find a key, a chest and a treasure. Again, it could be adapted for older childrenthat you have to find them in a specific order; chest, then key to open it, and then the treasure.
Aside from being fun, it's a good game to help develop logical thinking, problem solving (especially if used alongside a map) and develop visual awareness. This is such an easy game that it would be ideal for a pirate birthday party, especially as there are eight of each playing piece.
The DJeco Piratrix Treasure Hunt is available from ToyJeanius for £4.95, which is an excellent price for a durable, quick, portable and fun game.
Readers of TheBoyandMe can get 10% off by using 'TheBoyandMe' at checkout (available on anything ordered from the site!)
I was sent this product for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.
Poppin' Hoppies is a new game for all the family from University Games. Utilising the age old fun spring-loaded children's toy that you press down and wait squealing with glee when it pops up unexpectedly, it involves catching them to earn parts to build your Hoppie character.
The game consists of a game board, seven coloured Poppin' Hoppies (two pink, two green, two blue and one yellow), and four sets of body parts (pink, green, yellow, blue).
Game play is very simple, which is just as well because we don't do complicated in this house; it ends up in heated debates and temper tantrums. And that's just me!
Poppin' Hoppies is aimed at children aged 5 years and over but we play it with The Boy with absolutely no problem, we have adapated it slightly: hands on knees and we don't restrict the colours when making the person up.
This is a really fun game which resulted in many squeals of delight from all three of us. It's quite retro in it's simplicity, design and gameplay which I love. Having won Best New Toy at this year's Toy Fair, I think it's going to be a really popular game which will allow for many hours of fun, without complicated play and the need for batteries. Although it's aimed at 5+, I think it's suitable from 3 upwards and I can see it causing much fun for years to come!
Poppin' Hoppies is made by University Games and is available to buy from Argos.
We were sent this game for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.
Anyone who has read any reviews on my blog will know that the statement above is true. I am a massive fan of Orchard Toys and think that they really are the leading producers of educational games and puzzles in the UK at the moment; long-lasting, sturdy, attractive, environmentally friendly and fun, you'd be hard pushed to find a better brand.
Is it just me or does he look like he's playing snooker not mini-golf?
Last Christmas the whole family sat down and watched The Gruffalo. It's such a beautiful adaptation; the narration and the animation are just superb. It really does help that I like the book a lot, and it filmed me with hope when I saw that The Boy sat captivated throughout the entire film!
Unfortunately he still isn't a big fan of the story at the moment, I think it's a bit too long for him. However, he does like the pictures a lot. We were recently sent The Gruffalo Magnetic Adventures by University Games and it is gorgeous. When I was a child, I covetted fuzzy felts but they were expensive at the time and mum didn't under the attraction. But the Magnetic Adventures is way better than fuzzy felts could ever be!
