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Orchard Toys First Times Tables Review

THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER'S OWN.

Reviewed by Debbie Talbot

Like so many other parents in the country, I am home schooling my children during the coronavirus lockdown.    It is really important to me that we achieve a good balance which includes plenty of free play and learning based play.     I was therefore delighted to be offered some Orchard Toys Games to review.  First Times Tables, suitable for age 5-8 and for 2-4 players, arrived quickly in the post.  It was well packaged and therefore still in perfect condition.   The box itself looks very appealing for adults and children alike.  From a parents point of view, it has so much useful information on it which is presented in a clear manner.  I love the fact that the game has been Teacher tested and that it is made in Britain.  My sons love any resources related to learning their times tables.  We have activity books and other times tables themed games.   I knew that they would likely really enjoy this game.   The game is described as ‘The perfect introduction to the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.   If you are a parent of a child or children who can become overwhelmed when presented with a lot of info, the fact that this game focuses on just the 3 sets of times tables is a fantastic idea.   The box is compact enough that it would be easy to take along on family trips. The box tells you that the game contains:

  • 30 pancake cards
  • 4 place setting boards
  • 1 card spatula
  • 1 spinner board
  • 1 two-part plastic spinner
  • 3 number line boards
  • 1 instruction leaflet

We could not wait to get started.  We removed all of the contents from the box and proceeded to set the game up ready to play.  We each chose a place setting board.   We then sorted the pancake cards into  3 different piles, one for each of the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.  Lastly we placed the number lines, spatula and spinner where they could be easily reached by all players. 

The youngest player starts.  This is always fun for a mum of twins to work out.  The first player spins the spinner and picks up the card that relates to what the spinner landed on.  Note though that the player must not turn their card over yet.  First they need to work out the answer to the sum on the card.  If there are no cards left related to the times table pointed to, then the next player takes their turn.

Now for the really fun part.  The player needs to carefully turn their chosen card over using the spatula (and their fingers) and check whether the answer they gave was correct or not.   If the answer was correct then that player gets to stack the card up on their plate.  If not, the card must be returned fruit side up to the stack of cards for that times table.   Landing on a splat sadly means that the player must miss their turn.   The game ends when either 10 minutes has passed or all cards have been taken, depending how long you want to play for.   A timer is available on the Orchard Toys app.  The winner is the player with the most pancakes.  We really loved playing this game and were grinning from ear to ear and excitedly shouting out the answers.    The best part about learning games is the fact that your children learn often without realising that they even are.   I would recommend this game to others.  We have so many other Orchard Toys games in our home.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £8.30

The game can be purchased from the Orchard Toys website here.

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