Orchard Toys Number Bears And Slimy Rhymes Review

Reviewed by Laura S

Orchard Toys have been around for over 40 years now as a leading manufacturer of fun educational games and puzzles across the world. I love Orchard Toys for many reasons but my main one is that they are a British company based in Norfolk.

You will never be disappointed with the quality of an Orchard Toy product as they are bright, fun, educational and extremely sturdy.

Even better still, is that there is very little plastic contained in the products, with the vast majority made from very thick strong cardboard, indulging the boxes. No awful plastic wrapping.

We were very lucky to try out two new games to the market games, perfectly timed for the summer holiday. One which is literacy-focused and one which is numeracy-focused, Number Bears and Slimy Rhymes.

Number Bears Game is excellent for developing and consolidating maths skills for numbers 1-20 with adding and subtracting.  I liked that you can decide which level to pitch the game at to match your child’s ability or areas for development. Due to this flexibility and being able to decide if you want to focus on addition or subtraction the game has decent longevity.

The aim of the game is to be the first person to climb up the tree to the bear cubs, each time you correctly complete an addition or subtraction you climb one space up the tree.  We found the game to be very fun and educational, not only does it develop numeracy skills it also develops hand-eye coordination and sharing skills.  If a group of children are playing together they need to be of similar ability as a child of much higher ability would win every time.

Slimy Rhymes was the second game that we tried. For this game, you need to find a pair of rhyming words and then say them in a sentence. How you say your sentence depends on the picture the spinner lands on. This adds a great twist to the game. The winner is the first person to get rid of their slime cards through the monster’s mouth.
This game is fantastic for developing imagination, communication and literacy skills to name a few.
My only criticism of Slimy Rhymes is that we wish there were more cards to create more rhyming words.

Both of these games are aimed at 5+ plus years but personally, I think that the Number Bears game would be suitable from 4 years old as you are able to tailor it to your child’s needs.  Slimy Rhymes is definitely harder and perfect for 5+ years.

Both games offer challenges which means that children will not grow out of them quickly. These games are perfect for playing over the summer to maintain knowledge and help reduce the summer holiday dip, ready for the new academic year. Or, as a gift.

We score Number Bears 5/5 and Slimy Rhymes 4/5. I highly recommend both games as they are fun, educational and develop a range of other skills.

East game has an RRP of £9.50 and can be purchased from Orchard Toys, if you spend over £30, delivery is free.

Number bears can be purchased from Orchard Toys here.

Slimy Rhymes can be purchased from Orchard Toys here.