Orchard Toys Games – Hot Cross Bunnies and Dinosaur Number Eggs Review
DISCLOSURE -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 Amy Peacey
I have a two year old daughter who loves to play. She tells me most days that she just wants to play all day. There is so much choice when it comes to toys and games that it is difficult to know what will be fun and retain the interest of the child and what will be a waste of money.
We were excited to try the Easter related games from Orchard Games: Hot Cross Bunnies and Dinosaur Number Eggs.
Hot Cross Bunnies
Hot Cross Bunnies is a matching game for children aged 3+ and it is for 2-4 players. The game can be played in various ways dependant on the age of the child. We played the simple matching game where you lay all the cards on a table, we had them face up but to make it a bit more tricky you can lay them face down. Each player takes it in turns to find matching pairs of bunnies. If you find one of the “Cross Bunnies” you have to put back one of your pairs. The other option is to play snap. If during the game of snap two “Cross Bunnies” are matched then the player who crosses their arms and pulls a grumpy first wins that pair. The game is designed to develops matching and memory skills and encourages observational skills.
The box contains 32 cards featuring various cartoon bunnies including the cross bunnies. This game is one of the Orchard Games Mini range. It is compact and lightweight, making it easy to put in my changing bag to keep my daughter entertained when we are out and about.
Dinosaur Number Eggs
The second game we tried was Dinosaur Number Eggs. The game is for 2-4 players and is recommended for children between the ages of 3-6 years old. The game requires you to spin the spinner and match eggs to hatch the baby dinosaurs. The game is said to encourage a child’s counting skills and their number recognition. The object is to hatch the most dinosaurs. You do need to watch out for the T-Rex wild card, which if found requires the player to return an egg. The game promotes social interaction and friendly competition. The pieces could also be used for playing a matching game too. The box contains 40 egg cards, 4 nest boards, 1 spinner and the instruction leaflet.
The pieces in both games are all pretty robust and are bright and colourful, which also helps with engagement of the game. Both games are said to be teacher tested.
Orchard Toys have a wide range of educational toys and games for young children. The Orchard Games website states that they started out around a kitchen table making blocks and stencils for a local nursery school. Over 50 years later, they ship to over 50 different countries around the world and are recognised as a leading manufacturer of educational games and puzzles both in the UK and globally.
Orchard Games offer a Free Parts Replacement Service, which allows customers to receive up to 3 free replacement pieces for their games. This is great as often game pieces do go missing. This service does not apply however to missing puzzle pieces.
My daughter enjoyed playing both games although she was a little young for the Dinosaur Number Eggs, exactly in accordance with the instructions.
Either of these games would make a fantastic Easter gift for a child and I would recommend both games.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £6 (Hot Cross Bunnies) / £9.50 (Dinosaur Number Eggs)
For more information or to buy, visit www.orchardtoys.com or click the links to the games: Hot Cross Bunnies / Dinosaur Number Eggs. They can also be purchased from Amazon Hot Cross Bunnies / Dinosaur Number Eggs.