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:

• 4 playing boards including chicken, beef, fish and vegetarian meals,
• 24 healthy food cards (e.g. tomatoes, salmon steak, carrots, mushrooms, apple juice, water, milk, etc)
• 8 junk food cards (e.g. burger, ice-cream, pizza, fries, etc.)
• 1 gorilla posting box (requires 3AAA batteries which are included)

The idea of the game is very simple:

1. Each person chooses a playing board which has six ingredients listed on it;
2. The 32 healthy food and junk food cards are placed down in the middle of the playing area face down;
3. Starting with the youngest player, each person chooses a card and turns it over to see if it is on their board;
   1. If it is a junk food card then it is placed in the gorilla's mouth, who will then burp and all the players must put their hand over their mouth and say 'pardon me';
   2. If it is a healthy food card then they can place it on their board if it matches or return it to the centre of the table;
4. The player to complete their board first is the winner.

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.