Pirate Shapes from Orchard Toys - Review

As you know, we are big fans of Orchard Toys in our house. I will happily sit with my children and play game after game and complete puzzle after puzzle with them when it comes to Orchard Toys.

2013 sees the launch of some brand new Orchard Toys products and we were excited to review Pirate Shapes for them.

Pirate shapes is suitable from age 2 and a half and for 2-4 players. I'd say it's suitable up to the age of 5 unless, like us, you have an older sibling who wants to play with their younger sibling and help them to learn.

Inside the box you get 4 very colourful pirate picture boards, set in different locations such as the beach, in a sail boat and drinking some rum blackcurrant juice! Within the boards are different shapes such as a square, a circle and a triangle. These shapes slot out of the board so you can play the game. The game is quick and easy to set up.

The shape pieces are removed from the picture boards and placed face down on the playing surface. You give them a good mix and take it in turns to try and find the shape piece that fits within your picture board. The winner is the person to complete their picture board first.

Miss C was a bit slow on the uptake of the game and started just picking up a shape and putting it in her board...at least she got the shape right. After a few turns, she got the hang of it. Wee Z had the game figured out and was quick to remember where his pieces were when we discarded pieces we didn't need for our picture boards. 

Pirate shapes is a great learning through play game and is good for:

• Recognising first shapes - Can you find a circle?
• Hand-eye coordination and dexterity
• Recognising colours and patterns that go together - Does that blue circle fit in your picture?
• Memory skills - Where did you see your piece?
• Encouraging turn-taking 
• Logical thinking - What piece do I still need? What piece does Mummy still need?

I love that this game is suitable from age 2 and a half. Most of the games we've played have a starting age of 3 and over. It may only be 6 months of a difference, but as a parent, you do notice that 6 months in child development. The game is simple enough to play that I could see my niece, who is 2 in April, being able to join in and enjoy playing this game. I could also see this being a game played in Miss C's nursery or playgroup.

We loved playing Pirate Shapes and we give it a fantastic 10/10

We received Pirate Shapes from Orchard Toys for the purposes of a review. The opinions expressed are my own.