Jumbo Games Colour Chameleon Review
Reviewed by Jenny Bray
This is one of Jumbo’s new games that are made from 100% recycled materials. The game is mainly made from cardboard but the dice frame is plastic so it’s good to see that the plastic element is also made from recycled material. It is also made within the EU so hasn’t clocked up as many air miles as many other games made further afield, less ethically.
The game is designed for 2 to 4 players from the age of 3 upwards. It comes with four multicoloured chameleon boards with spots missing, the missing coloured spots and a dice, which you put together with card sides in a plastic edged dice.
The instructions don’t come in the box, as part of their attempt at saving paper and the environment. However, they are easy to download online. I like that, ‘The player with the most colourful clothes on goes first’. This will often be my 4 year old, which obviously suits him!
The box it comes in is sturdy recycled cardboard that will hopefully withstand the test of time from my youngsters repeatedly opening and closing it.
The game concept is that each player throws the dice and tries to complete the matching coloured spots on their chameleon, in colour order which is from head to toe as red, purple, blue, green, yellow and finally orange in the tail. If the wrong colour is thrown then they can’t fill the space and play moves to the next person. The first person to collect all their colours wins. There is also a ‘quick play’ option for younger players to just collect the colour they throw on the dice. I don’t really get the point of the easy play option though as the first player to play will obviously win every time when playing that version, which most children will soon cotton on to.
I have 8, 7 and 4 year olds. They liked the colours and the look of the game. However, I think the main appeal will be to children at the younger end of the recommended 3+ spectrum. With my 4 year old being a third child he is quite advanced. I would therefore suggest that the game would be suitable for younger toddlers, just learning their colours, particularly if they made the game contents slightly bigger so not a choking hazard for under 3s.
I have a wide selection of board games for my children as I try to encourage interactive play through toys and games. I think this will be one that my 4 year old often chooses but not my older ones.
The price is a little expensive for a quite simple and small game but I do like the eco credentials of it. It was disappointing not to have the rules of the game on the box if not wanting to print additional paper but this game is easy to get the grasp of so wouldn’t require the rules printing once read through. It is easy to understand and great for younger children to play and learn their colours with.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £12.99
For more information visit www.jumbo.eu. Available to buy from Amazon here.
