Showing posts with label Drumond Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drumond Park. Show all posts

Wednesday 8 November 2017

Shark Bite Game by Drumond Park - Review and Competition!

Now that the clocks have turned back, the evenings are dark before we know it, so it's nice to have a fun activity to do as a family whilst keeping warm and cosy at home. One of our favourite things to do together, especially when the weather is poor, is to play some family games. We have had some firm favourites over the last year including Stoopido and Rapidough, which are always guaranteed to provide a good laugh together. However, the lovely team at Drumond Park, recently sent us their Shark Bite game to review and we couldn't wait to see how this fared in the fun factor stakes!


Shark Bite was released earlier this year and I am sure the box is sure to have caught the attention of many children when browsing in the toy shops. The front of the packaging features some brightly coloured graphics, displaying an angry looking shark whose mouth is full of fish and lobster delights. It also features a photo of two children playing the game in the bottom left hand corner, which helps you to gain a better understanding of what the product and the contents look like inside.


It is designed to be played by 2-4 players and is recommended for children over the age of 4. This really appealed to me, as my youngest son is 5, so I felt reassured that it would be suitable and easy enough for Riley to play, as well as understand.

The reverse of the box provides some brief information on how you play the game, as well as providing further graphics and images. The contents list is also provided which is as follows:
  • 1 Shark
  • 12 pieces of shark food
  • 1 fishing rod
  • 1 sticker sheet
  • Instructions

After Riley had taken a quick look at the packaging, he couldn't wait to get the box open and get the game ready for us to play. We removed the contents and began to prepare the shark and dice. This was really simple to do and simply involved placing some stickers on the dice, as well as applying the sharks eyes and pushing the shark into its base. Riley insisted on doing this himself and found it really easy. We then took the 12 pieces of shark food and began to push them into the holes in the sharks mouth. In less than a minute, the game was ready to play, with the added bonus that there were NO batteries required. Perfect!


Emma and Ben joined Riley and I, so that we could all play the game together. We read through the instructions and we were all confident that we knew exactly how to play. The game itself is a really simple concept with easy to follow rules. To play you simply roll the dice which shows you how many fish you need to catch. You could roll one fish or two, so it is easy for very young children to identify how many they need. Once you have rolled the dice, you then need to catch your fish, using the fishing rod provided. Riley found it a little difficult to remove the fish during his first couple of attempts, but soon got the hang of it and realised that if he pulled the rod with quite a quick tug, then the fish would come out easily.


This is where you have to be careful though, as when you try to remove the fish, the shark may bite without warning and if that happens, then you need to return any food back to the sharks mouth. The aim of the game is to be the person to collect the most fish.


We immediately fell in love with this game as soon as we began to play. Everyone was laughing, as each person took their turn to try and retrieve an item from between the scary sharks jaws. Each of us hoping that it wouldn't snap on our go. Not only was it great fun to play, but it also encouraged Riley to recognise colours and numbers. It also tested his coordination skills by trying to hook a fish or lobster onto the fishing rod.


We played the game for over an hour, as each time a round ended, I was met with shouts of "Again, again". Due to how easy it is to set up and play, the kids have also been playing it every day both before and after school and I have been really impressed at the fact that it has also been an 'argument free' game so far!


My only minor criticism of the game, would be that I think there should be more than one rod included. I am a little concerned that if the one rod that is included should break, then we would be left unable to play the game properly, which would be very disappointing. If there were additional rods provided, then this would prevent that potential problem. The game could be played by picking the objects out using your hands, but I think that the rod adds more skill to the game, and that makes it more enjoyable.


Overall we all really enjoyed this game and it is certainly very popular in our home at the moment. There are no fiddly parts, no batteries required and no great skill needed to put the game together. It is literally ready to play in seconds and provides lots of fun and entertainment. The instructions are simple and it is the perfect game for families to enjoy together. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to others. It is available to purchase from all good toy retailers including Amazon and has an RRP of £24.99.

You can also find out more about Shark Bite and the other great games in the Drumond Park range, on their website here:  Drumond Park



We love this game so much, that we have teamed up with Drumond Park, to giveaway a Shark Bite game to one lucky blog reader! If you would like to enter, then please do so, using the gleam form below. Terms & Conditions apply. Good Luck!

Win a Shark Bite Game by Drumond Park

Terms & Conditions

  • There is 1 (one) prize available on a Shark Bite game by Drumond Park. 
  • Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 years or older.
  • The prize is as stated and no cash alternative is available.
  • Competition closes on 6th December 11:59pm.
  • The winner will be notified via email and will have 7 days to respond to the winning email to confirm their acceptance of the prize, before an alternative winner is drawn from the remaining eligible entrants.
  • No bulk or third party entries.
  • The winner's details only will be shared with Drumond Park for the purpose of prize fulfilment.
Disclaimer: We were provided with a complimentary Shark Bite game for the purpose of providing an honest review of the product. All opinions and photographs are my own unless otherwise stated.

Thursday 20 April 2017

Family Fun with Dig In! - Review & Competition

As a family, we love playing games together. They are the perfect form of entertainment for in the evening, or on rainy days, and so we were really happy to be given the opportunity to try out one of Drumond Park's most popular games, Dig In!

The concept of the game is really simple, yet as we found when we started to play, it is also extremely challenging and frantically fun. It is a great test of hand to eye coordination and an enjoyable game for the whole family to enjoy.

The product comes packaged in a square box, which has been designed in a colourful and eye catching way. You can immediately understand what the game will involve from the images used on the packaging, and it is marketed as being "The great game of frantic finding fun!". It is recommended as being suitable for ages 8 +, which I can only assume is because of the small pieces involved, as I allowed Riley (age 4) to join in with supervision and he was able to understand how to play and really enjoyed it just as much as the rest of us.


The reverse of the box, provides further instructions on how to play, so it is great that you can find the majority of the information you need on the actual packaging, enabling you to make an informed decision about purchasing. A handy contents list is also provided, so you can see exactly what will be included in the box, and just what you are getting for your money. The contents list is as follows:
  • 'Dig In' Bowl
  • 128 pieces (32 each of Red, Blue, Green and Yellow)
  • 12 Double-Sided Cards
  • 15 Second Timer
  • Instructions

Setting up the game was really easy, and was simply a case of emptying the bags of the pieces into the large white plastic bowl. The cards were all placed together on a sheet of card and so it was just a case of popping them out along the perforated edges and in less than a minute we were ready to play.


We began by mixing the coloured pieces together in the bowl, and then shuffled the cards before  selecting one at random. There are two options with the cards, in that you can either play on the grey side where you just have to match the object, or on the coloured side where you need to select the correct colour as well as the right object. Each card features six objects.


When it is time for the first player to take their turn, they simply press the timer down which allows 15 seconds for you to rummage through all the items to try and find your pieces. This sounds really simple, and in theory it is, but as you are aware that your time is running out, it becomes a frantic scramble to try and locate your pieces just in time. 

On your first go in the game you can use both your hands as each player takes a turn, and then once everyone has had an individual go, it then becomes a free for all, where you can all 'Dig In' to find your matching objects, however you can only use one hand this time. The first player to collect all six matching objects wins the round, and the first to win three rounds is the overall winner.

We loved the fact that the game was so easy to understand and play, as it meant less time reading through instructions and more time to 'Dig In!'. Despite the concept being so easy, I quickly got frustrated at not being able to find my pieces or complete my card as fast as the kids could, much to their delight.

Both my daughter and I are extremely competitive and it became a fun battle filled with laughter as I became determined to find my missing objects. I found that some objects were easier to identify in a rush than others, and the ones with less shape to them such as the banana were much more harder and several times I would completely overlook an object whilst the kids shouted and screamed that I had just touched what I was looking for.

As I mentioned earlier it is recommended for ages 8+ but Riley who is 4 really wanted to join in and so I had no problem with him playing whilst supervising. As it turned out, he actually won the first two rounds and seemed to find his objects far more easily than the rest of us. It was nice to have a game that the whole family could enjoy together.


Overall we found that the game was much more fun than we had initially expected it to be, and I particularly liked how easy and simple it is to set up ready for play. This makes it an ideal game to get out when the kids friends come round, or if we have a spare half an hour in the evening to have some family time together. Everything fits back in the box really easily as well, so it is easy to store and keep all the pieces together which is always a bonus.

The RRP of this game is £19.99 and as it is a game that is really simple to set up and play, you should get plenty of use out of it for your money. The plastic objects are all well made and not flimsy and so I think that the price represents a good quality product.

If you would like to have a go at playing Dig In! with your family, then I have the chance for one lucky reader to win their own copy of the game by entering my giveaway using the gleam form below.

Win Dig In! by Drumond Park


Terms and Conditions: Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 years or over. Any bulk/third party entries will be disqualified. The winner shall be drawn at random from all eligible entries on or shortly after the closing date of 30th April 2017. The winner shall be notified by email and will have 14 days to confirm that they wish to accept the prize. Should the winner fail to respond, then a new winner shall be selected at random from the remaining eligible entries. The winner's details shall be shared with the promoter for the purpose of prize fulfillment, which shall be sent directly from the promoter. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery. There is 1 (one) prize of the Drumond Park game 'Dig In!' with an RRP of £19.99. In the event of any prize becoming unavailable then the promoter reserves the right to replace with a different product of equal value.

Disclaimer: I was provided with this product on a complimentary basis, for the purpose of providing an honest and impartial review of the game. All opinions and photographs are my own unless otherwise stated.