Welcome to a weekly feature on my blog – Ben’s Zone. Written by husband… Ben. A foodie, coffee obsessed, ex-smoking, ex-drinking and Ridgeback loving Dad. Who is also seriously into his fitness. You can find him on the blog (mostly) on Sundays. Enjoy!
Orchard Toys Dizzy Donkey and Dino-Snore-Us Game Review
AD | Gifted
Yesterday was Mother’s Day and not only did we been treat Laura to a nice lunch and cards to show our appreciation, we’re also going to review two games from Orchard Toys, Dizzy Donkey and Dino-Snore-Us. We’re big fans of Orchard Toys games here for two reasons and have reviewed them on the blog before. First, the games are pitched to a wide audience, they’re not boring for adults but they’re accessible enough even for 2 year old Bo to get involved. Secondly, though these are games, there’s a nice educational aspect to them which helps children develop skills in a fun atmosphere. The skills in question are usually called out on the back of the box and so if you need to work on numeracy, for example, you can choose games accordingly. The two we have today are new to us.
Orchard Toys Dizzy Donkey Game Review
Dizzy Donkey is a fun game based around imagination. The aim is for players to turn over a card and act out the feeling shown on the card while other plays try and guess. This led to a lot of laughs in general but was especially useful for the more neurodiverse people in the house as it helps with learning and modelling how feelings look. This is something we try and do anyway but doing it in a fun setting made things a lot easier.
The key aims of Dizzy Donkey are to promote imaginative play in a group setting while helping to develop personal and social skills. There is a way to ‘win’ but like most Orchard games the winning part is not overemphasised which is another thing I really like about them. There’s a time and place for competition and it’s not on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The two older kids found Dizzy Donkey hilarious as it plays out like a slightly more structured version of charades with some extra fun elements like spinning on the spot.
I asked the kids what they thought. Aria said, “What I really liked about it was that I got to act it out and I like acting.”
Logan was more reserved in his view, “The acting was good and it is a fun game, but I am not a big fan of spinning.”
Buy Dizzy Donkey on Amazon (affiliate link)
Orchard Toys Dino-Snore-Us Game Review
Dino-Snore-Us is a little more traditional board game where the aim is to collect dinosaur eggs while the T rex is sleeping. In playing the game players reinforce their counting and observational skills as well and building on interpersonal skills like in Dizzy Donkey. It’s not a huge surprise that the real attraction here is the dinosaur theme, universally kids seem to just love dinosaurs so this was always going to be a massive hit.
Of the two games, Dino-Snore-Us was the one that appealed to all 3 kids most broadly. Bo was too small to do the charades part of Dizzy Donkey but he had a great time rolling the die and spinning the spinning the spinner in Dino-Snore-Us. The premise of the game in play is only a bit more complicated than Snakes and Ladders but the addition of a sleeping (or not) T rex really added an extra dramatic edge.
Aria’s verdict was, “I didn’t like it when the T rex woke up but it was a good game.”
Logan said, “It’s a good game, its tense and it has great ups and downs.”
Overall both games were an absolute ton of fun and yes, they definitely had some educational value but in the end, both kids were having too much fun to notice!
Buy Dino-Snore-Us on Amazon (Affiliate link)
Giveaway
I have one copy of each game to giveaway to one lucky reader. To be in with a chance of winning simply enter your details below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway*Terms and conditions: Entries are open to UK and Ireland residents. The competition closes on the 5th April 2021. Winners will be announced on social media and contacted via email. If the winner does not respond to the email in two weeks, a new winner will be randomly chosen. One winner will win a copy of Dizzy Donkey and Dino-Snore-Us. No cash alternative available.
T Rex
Triceratops
Has to be T-Rex!
T Rex
T-rex is my favourite
T rex for sure!
T.Rex
Stegasaurus
T Rex
I love the Spinosaurus!
Stegosaurus!
Pterodactyl
Stegosaurus!
T Rex ???????
T Rex but I couldn’t eat a whole one!!
Tricerotops
mine is a Triceratops
A T Rex for sure!
A T rex
Diplodocus
I love the velocorapter because of its speed
T rex
T Rex
The stegosaurus is my favourite dinosaur
T-Rex
Mine is a diplodocus but my son says it’s rubbish and his favourite is a Plesiosaurus!
T Rex
Veloceraptor xx
I love a Stegosaurus
T rex, cartoon ones are the best
T Rex
Brontosaurus
T rex is my favourite dinosaur!
T Rex of course!
T Rex
It has to be the big T-REX.
T-rex
T-Rex
t rex
I always say that my favourite is pterodactyl, although some argue it’s not a dinosaur 🙂
Diplodocus xx
Our family love Diplodocus having seen “Dippy” at the Museum!
T Rex!
I like the really ugly ones such as the Balaur.
Mine was always the Allosaurus as a kid.
has to be a Pterodactyl – its amazing that birds descended from them.
Hello, my favourite dinosaur is a Triceratops.
My fave is the T-Rex
Velociraptors
the t rex xx
The T-Rex is my favourite dinosaur. I love the tiny arms!
My favourite dinosaur is T Rex
T-rex is my favourite
Stegosaurus
I love triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops.
T-rex