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Haba® My First Games - First Orchard Review
The board game that toddlers love. Find all fruit before the raven does!
Aside from the excellent quality and fun, the Haba First Orchard game is close to my heart. It was the first game that my son received as a gift and it was the first game that we played together. This game has been used in our household for over six years and we are currently teaching our two-year old how to play it. Here is a full Haba® My First Games – First Orchard review.
As always: this article is not sponsored by the manufacturer and represents my own opinion. Some text and photos my include partner links.
Review Summary
This game is about learning about a sense of togetherness in addition to learning about colors, symbols and simple rules. You can only win as a team. But you can also loose as a team. Haba My first Orchard teaches colors and symbols as well as motor skills. It is a quick game – only about 10 minutes, which is perfect for little children. The large wooden fruits are also great to use for free play. It is an ideal first board game.
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Review Content
Basic Info: Haba - First Orchard
- Age range: from 2 years
- Players: 1-4 Players
- Game duration: approx. 10 minutes
- Type of game: board game
- Learning goals: understand simple rules, identify and match colors, roll a dice, work as a team
- Contents: basket with 4 pears (yellow), 4 apples (red), 4 apples (green), 4 plums (blue), 4 tree cards, 5 path cards, 1 raven, 1 dice, instructions
Manufacturer Short Description
This game is simplified version of the classic “Orchard” game. It has been adapted to suit very young players and is especially designed for small children’s hands. It fosters improved motor skills and is also totally suitable for free play. Talk with your child about the colors and shapes of the wooden pieces and thereby stimulate your child’s language, auditory and creative skills as well as enhance the joy of playing.
Quality
The quality of the game is impeccable. The game box is very sturdy. Ours has been sat in and is still in good shape.
The tree cards and fruit basket are made of thick cardboard with colorful illustrations. Therefore, they can easily be wiped with a moist cloth.
All fruits are made of solid wood and are very well made. They are super smooth and are easy to hold even by little hands.
The dice is over-sized. Therefore, even toddlers that haven’t used a dice before and with limited motor skills can hold it well. It is easy to identify all colors and symbols due to the size.
Since the raven is standing up and is looked at from both sides, it would be nice if it was painted on both sides. However, this is a little detail and doesn’t reduce the fun.
How to play the Haba Game 'First Orchard‘
Game Setup
Put the four tree cards next to each other and place the corresponding fruits on it. Then place the empty fruit next to them. Arrange all path cards into a row and put the raven in front of the first card.
Rules
- Play in a clockwise direction. The youngest child begins and rolls the dice.
- If the dice shows a color, take the corresponding fruit from the tree and put it in the fruit basket.
- Pass the dice to the next person if no more fruit of that color is left on the tree.
- If the dice shows the fruit basket, you may pick any fruit from any tree and put it in the basket.
- If you roll a the raven, move the it one path card forward.
Goal of the Game
The goal of the game is to pick the entire fruit from the trees before the raven gets to the orchard. If you succeed, then you all win. You are basically all playing together against the raven.
If the raven makes it to the orchard before all fruit is picked, the raven wins.
Our Review
We love the Haba First Orchard game. It is actually really fun to play – especially with a child that is just starting to learn colors and different fruits. The rules are simple and you can therefore guide your child along. My children have always rooted for the raven and are actually giggling when we get a raven. Even when we win, we usually share at least one fruit with the raven.
The kids also use the fruit in our play kitchen or for other free play. I highly recommend this game. It is short and simple but not boring at all. Even older siblings love to participate.
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Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. There are no costs associate with this for you. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
