Christmas Gift Idea - Sheep Dip The Family Card Game - A Review

(AD - Gifted) 

If you are a regular reader to the blog then you will know that we enjoy a fun family games night every now and again, so we are always on the look out for something new and exciting to keep us entertained. There are always bonus points scored if it is also a game that we can take on our travels with us, so Sheep Dip definitely appealed as a card game with a difference.

The game comes packaged in a small letterbox sized box and features several brightly coloured images, along with pictures of several cards that display various different sheep breeds. There is some guidance on the front of the box, which recommends the game as being suitable for participants aged 7+ along with the requirement of 3-6 players. It also gives an estimated game time of 20-30 minutes. 

The rear of the box provides some further information on what the game involves, along with a list of contents that include:

• 71 FLOCK Cards
• 45 EWE DO Cards 
• 1 Playing Board
• Playing Instructions
• Sheep Breed Facts

On opening the box we found four postcard sized instruction sheets. I thought this was a brilliant idea as it meant I could hand a copy to each player as opposed to reading it out. Personally I take things in better by reading them myself, so thought this was really useful and it also meant each player could refer back to their own instruction sheet whenever they needed to. We also had a good look through the cards and the illustrations before we began to play as we found them to be quite funny.

The aim of the game is to be the player that scores the most points and in order to do this, you need to collect and hold onto has many sheep or flock cards as possible. You start by shuffling the packs and then deal five of the flock card to each player making sure that they are face-up. You then place the remaining flock cards, along with the Ewe Do pack in their position on the board facing down.

In this competitive game, you can then use the Ewe Do action cards in order to help protect your flock and you can also steal or swap your sheep to help you win. When playing a Ewe Do Action card, you must read out the words and carry out the instructions. Once the card has been played, you put it face up in the Ewe Done area and the game carries on until all 45 cards have been played.

There is also the Rainbow card to look out for as this can help you win some valuable bonus points, and the sheepdog cards can help you to protect your flock, however there are also the Hungry Wolf cards which can have a negative impact on your score. 

Overall we found this game to be very easy to understand, simple to play and most importantly good fun. One thing that I particularly like about Sheep Dip, is that the game has an element of luck to it as opposed to just being skill based, which helps to make it more enjoyable for younger participants as it prevents the older ones from always winning. The sheep drawings and accompanying comments are quite comical, so we enjoyed reading through these whilst playing as it definitely provided some sillyness and laughter. 

If you would like to find out more about Sheep Dip or to make a purchase, then you can visit their website here: Sheep Dip

The current price on their website at the time of writing this post is £23.50 which is inclusive of UK Mainland postage.  

You can also find more information on Sheep Dip over on their social media channels which can be found here:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sheepdipgame.co.uk/

Instagram - @SheepDipGame

*Disclaimer - I was gifted this game for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. All thoughts and opinions are my own unless stated otherwise. Information including availability and prices is believed to be correct at the time of writing, but can be subject to change. This post may contain external links and I am not responsible for content on external websites.

Rockpool by Gibsons Games - A Review

Over the past couple of months, we have had the opportunity to try out three games from the Gibsons Games range of products. Our last two reviews covered Quirk! and Pass the Bomb! The Big One! which were both great fun, but today we have been testing out Rockpool, which is an educational game suitable for children aged six and above.

Rockpool comes in a lovely shell shaped box, which has lovely bright images across the front. There are recommendations along the bottom of the box that advise the age suitability, a suggestion of 2-6 players and an approximate game duration time of 10-15 minutes. The rear of the box provides a short description of the game in a variety of languages and it is described as being a great game for family fun! We therefore couldn't wait to put it to the test.

On opening the box, we found the following contents inside:

• 36 Team Cards
• 65 Shell Cards
• 15 Creature Cards
• 10 Starfish Cards
• 14 Dog Toy Cards
• 12 Rubbish Cards
• 8 Wave Cards
• 1 Rockpool Board
• Instructions

To begin play, each player has to pick their own team. There are six teams to choose from and each team consists of 5 Child Cards and 1 Dog Card. One person then shuffles the Stone Cards and divides them into seven separate piles, which are to be placed around the Rockpool game board. 

When it is your turn, you need to take a Stone Card from the top of any pile and then place it face-up so everyone can see it in the Rockpool. Each player takes turns to do this until one of two things happens. Firstly if someone reveals a Wave Card, then the sea washes away the Rockpool's contents, which means that all the cards from the Rockpool are now out of the game. The Wave Card must then be placed face-up next to the pile of stone cards that it was selected from.

Secondly, someone can shout to empty the Rockpool, which can be done at anytime. You need to shout the right word and use a Team Card depending on which card has just been added to the Rockpool. The Stone Cards when placed in the Rockpool can reveal shells, dog toys rubbish, starfish or other creatures, so its important to make sure you shout the right word at the right time otherwise you must pay a penalty. The game is completed once all eight Wave Cards have been revealed or all Team Cards used.

At the end of the game you score your cards and the player who has the most Team Cards paddling in the Rockpool is determined as the winner. The score numbers are low and easy, making it simple for young children to add and subtract their own total. Riley really enjoyed doing this himself and used a piece of paper to keep count. We all liked the concept of the game, as well as the environmental message that was shared throughout play.

Overall we enjoyed this game, but Riley who is 7, did find the instructions difficult to understand when they were read out. However, he soon got the hang of it during game play and found it easier to learn whilst playing, rather than through the written advice. We all agreed that the graphics were great for children and the images were very clear and vibrant. With an RRP of £12.99, I think it is good value for money compared to other games and it can be purchased from good toy retailers including Amazon.

If you would like to find out more about Rockpool or the other products in the Gibsons Games range, then you can visit their website or social media pages on the following channels:

Website: www.gibsonsgames.co.uk

Instagram: @gibsons_games

Twitter: @gibsons_games

Facebook: facebook.com/gibsonsgamesofficial

*Disclaimer - We were gifted this game for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. All thoughts and opinions are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Pass the Bomb! The Big One! by Gibsons Games - A Review

If you are a regular reader to the blog, then you will already know that we are a big fan of family games. They are a great way to spend some fun time together and we really enjoy trying out the latest games for children and adults to enjoy.

We were therefore delighted to be sent Pass the Bomb! The Big One! from Gibsons Games which is recommended for players aged 8+ and contains 5 different challenge groups that are sure to put your brainpower and skills to the test. It can be played as a two player game, but is also suitable for groups of up to 8, making it the perfect game for our family of five.

Pass the Bomb! The Big One! comes in a square shaped, brightly coloured box, that immediately catches your attention. It is very vibrant and eye-catching, but you cannot tell much about the game from the front of the box or what it may involve. However, the rear of the box provides much more detail and you can gain a clear understanding of the game from both the images provided and the written detail.

I read out the information on the back of the box to the rest of my family so that everyone had a good idea of how the game worked. We then sat round the table ready to play and opened up the box. Inside we found the following contents:

• 1 x Board
• 165 Cards
• 8 playing pieces
• 4 puzzle tiles
• 1 wooden ball
• 1 cup
• 1 dice
• 1 electronic timer (red time bomb) - Please note that this requires 2 x AAA batteries which are not included.

We began to set out the contents on the table and placed the game board central to all the players. We then separated the cards into categories, shuffled them and placed them face down on the table next to the board. I then placed the time-bomb, cup and ball, the puzzle tiles and the dice next to the board on the opposite side, so that everything was laid out easily and in clear sight of all the players.

The aim of the game is to think of an answer or solve one of the tasks quickly, whilst the time-bomb ticks away.  The game includes five different challenges which are Rhyme Artist; Word Acrobat; Category Captain; Puzzle Pro and Bounce Boss. Each player continues to play and hope that the time-bomb doesn't detonate. If the time-bomb does detonate, then you must move your playing piece by one space on the game board, which moves it closer to the "explosion" at the centre of the board. At the end of the game the winner is the owner of the playing piece that is the farthest away from the "explosion" in the centre. 

When we were all ready to play the first player rolled the dice and set off the time-bomb. They quickly completed their task before passing it to the next player. This continued until the time-bomb detonated which certainly added to the pressure of completing the challenges. Each challenge really got us thinking and certainly tested our skills. Our favourite was the Rhyme Artist challenges which tests your rhyming abilities and for some reason we all found these ones really funny.

My eldest son really liked the dexterity challenge Bounce Boss where you need to attempt to bounce the ball on the table and land it into the cup. He was really good at this, but I wasn't, so when this challenge was involved, it was almost inevitable that the time-bomb would detonate on me. We also really enjoyed the word challenges and I felt that these also encouraged my children to use their vocabulary skills in a fun and exciting way.

Overall we really enjoyed playing this game. It was very easy to understand and it created plenty of laughter and funny moments during play. It is recommended for players aged 8+, however my 7 year old joined in and had no problem grasping the concept of the game. It is fast paced and entertaining, so there was certainly no chance of boredom whilst playing and it was a great way for us to pass some time sat together in the evening. My only disappointment was that batteries are not included, however this often seems to be the way with games, so fortunately we do have a supply on standby for this purpose. Otherwise it is a fantastic game and we would happily recommend it to others. It currently has an RRP of £22 and is available to buy from toy retailers including Amazon.

If you would like to find out more about Pass the Bomb! The Big One! or other products in the Gibsons Games range, then you can visit their website or social media pages on the following channels:

Website - gibsonsgames.co.uk
Instagram - @gibsons_games
Twitter - @gibsons_games
Facebook - facebook.com/gibsonsgamesofficial

*Disclaimer - We were gifted this game for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Dough Nab The Game - A Review

We love a good games night in our home, especially now the darker nights are closing in and rainy days have been in abundance. We were therefore delighted to receive Dough Nab from Ginger Fox to review and add to our family collection.

Dough Nab The Game is described as being "Jam-Packed With Fun" so we were very excited to put this to the test. My children couldn't wait to find out what the bakery themed game was all about and whether we would enjoy a 'hole' lot of entertainment!

The game itself comes really well presented. We loved the bright and colourful design that adorned the box and the doughnuts that were visible through the clear window on the front. It opened just like a real bakery box and I thought that the packaging suited the theme of the game perfectly. The age recommendation of 8+ is shown in the bottom corner along with a player suggestion of 3-6 people and an estimated play time of 20-30 minutes.

The rear of the box provides some basic information on the game, along with the list of contents which includes:

• 3 doughnuts (Not edible)
• A 'Head Baker' winner's hat
• 60 doughnut cards
• Turn tracker
• Game rules

In terms of setting the game up, then it really couldn't be simpler. You place the three plastic doughnuts in the centre of all the players and someone can then shuffle the cards. Each player is then dealt 10 doughnut cards in the face down position before the bakery blitz can then commence. Any spare cards can just be put to one side for the time being.

Each player must then take it in turns to flip over the top card in their pile. The first person can be given the turn tracker token so that it is easy to know whose go it is next, which is also great to eliminate any arguments that may arise. The cards must be placed face-up in front of everyone which quickly builds up the individual Dough Nab piles. As soon as you see three cards with the same coloured doughnut, you have to grab the corresponding doughnut as quickly as you can.

The player who successfully gets their hand to the doughnut first, can then choose a player to receive their dough nab pile who then adds it to their collection. Play then continues until you have managed to not only offload all of your dough nab pile, but also played all the cards in your hand too. The winner then receives the fabulous Head Baker's hat which can be worn with pride! 

The aim of the game is to be the first person to get rid of all their cards, so it's vital to be both extremely observant and very quick. It is important to note, that as well as the coloured doughnuts, there are also some 'Special Cards' which add even more fun to the game. These are:

• The Magic Doughnut Cards - These can be matched with doughnut cards of any other colour, but you must grab the doughnut that corresponds to the majority colour. This is unless three Magic Doughnut cards are visible at the same time, in which case you can select any colour.
• Crumbs Cards - These can't be used for a grab and have simply been included to cause some confusion amongst players.
• The Don't Nab! Card - You cannot grab any doughnuts until the Don't Nab! card is covered up
• The Nab! Card - If this card is revealed then all players can immediately race to grab any doughnut. 

Overall we found this game to be great fun and VERY competitive. It is really fast paced and all of my children really enjoyed trying to be the fastest to grab the matching doughnut. The suggested age is for children aged 8+ however we played as a family with children aged 6, 11 and 12 and my youngest had no issue understanding or keeping up with the game. We loved the design and simplicity of the product and would definitely recommend it to families looking for a fun game that can be enjoyed together.

Dough Nab is currently available to buy from Amazon and other good retailers.

If you would like to find out more about Ginger Fox games, then you can visit their website or social media pages on the following channels:

Facebook - facebook.com/GingerFoxUK

Instagram - @GingerFoxUK

Twitter - @GingerFox_UK

*Disclaimer - We were gifted this product for the purpose of writing an honest review of the game. All opinions and photographs are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains an amazon affiliate link.

Baby Shark Let's Go Hunt Game and Wooden Puzzle Review & Competition

There is no denying that Baby Shark took the world by storm last year, with people of all ages joining in and singing the Baby Shark song. It is one of those tunes that simply can't help but make you smile and the colourful shark characters certainly gained peoples attention.

We were therefore delighted when Spinmaster recently sent Riley some Baby Shark toys to review including the Pinkfong Baby Shark Let's Go Hunt Fishing Game and the PinkFong Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle.

The Let's Go Hunt game was an instant hit with Riley who was drawn to it immediately by the packaging alone. The box is very brightly coloured and adorned with the Baby Shark characters all over the front. There is a clear plastic window which allows you to see the product inside and so you can instantly gain a clear understanding of exactly what is included, as well as seeing how the game can be played.

The game is extremely simple to set up and inside the box the following contents were provided:

• 1 x Musical motorised game board
• 15 x Fish
• 4 x Fishing Rods
• 1 x Instruction Sheet

Unfortunately batteries are NOT included so you will also need to ensure that you have 2 x AA batteries available before you can begin to play.

Once batteries have been installed then game play can commence, with the aim being to collect as many fish as you can with your shark themed hooks. Up to 4 players can take part at a time and each player can choose to use one of the coloured shark themed rods to collect their fish.

This may sound simple, but when you flick the switch into the on position, the board will start to rotate and the fish will begin to not only move up and down, but open and close their mouths too, making it a really fun and challenging game. The winner is the person who manages to collect the most fish and I will be honest when I say that my 6 year old managed to beat me every single time we played. Just look at his concentration face!

Another fun element is that the Baby Shark song is also played during game play. Whilst for me this quickly became very repetitive, my son Riley was in his element singing along to the tune whilst catching his fish. He thought it was hilarious and so much fun!

My whole family ranging from 6 to 39 enjoyed playing the game together and it certainly provided plenty of entertainment. The RRP of this toy is a really reasonable £9.99 and it is available in most good toy retailers including Smyths, The Entertainer and Amazon.

After the excitement of playing the Let's Go Hunt Game, Riley then took some time to play with the Baby Shark Wooden Puzzle. This is a really good quality chunky puzzle board which has a fantastic bright and colourful appearance.

It features five wooden sharks which represent Baby Shark, Mummy Shark, Daddy Shark, Grandma Shark and Grandpa Shark. These are all really nice sized pieces for little hands and really help with hand to eye coordination.

In an added twist, the puzzle also plays music (requires 2 x AAA batteries) and will sing the corresponding part of the song for each shark. So for example if you successfully place Baby Shark into it's shape then you will hear Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo! This makes the puzzle so much fun and Riley absolutely loved moving them through the air in a swimming motion in time to the music.

It is recommended for children aged 2 years+ and with an RRP of around £10 I think it represents great value for money. It's bright and vibrant colours, chunky wooden pieces and musical sounds make this a fantastic little puzzle which I am sure will be loved by children.

The Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle is available to purchase in most good toy retailers including Smyths Toys, Argos and Amazon.

We also have a fantastic competition for the chance to win a Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle. If you would like to enter then please read the terms and conditions and complete your entry using the gleam form below. Good Luck!

Baby Shark Wooden Puzzle

Terms and Conditions

• There is 1 (one) prize of a Baby Shark Wooden Sound Puzzle as featured in this review
• Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 years or over.
• Competition closes on the 31st July at 23:59
• A winner shall be drawn from all eligible entries within 7 days of the closing date and notified via email.
• The winner will have 7 days to confirm their acceptance of the prize before an alternative winner is drawn from the remaining eligible entries.
• No bulk or third party entries
• The winner's details will be shared with the promoter for the purpose of prize fulfilment and permission shall be obtained from the winner prior to doing so.

*Disclaimer - We were gifted these items for the purpose of writing an honest review of the products. All opinions are my own unless stated otherwise. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Family Fun with Googly Eyes by University Games - A Review

Keeping my kids occupied during the school holidays can sometimes be quite a task. Whilst we enjoy regular days out, our budget will only stretch so far, therefore it means that occasionally we need to find some ways to entertain ourselves at home.

This is when I find that board games can be a great source of entertainment and they also provide you with the perfect opportunity to spend some family time together. University Games have a great selection available in the shops and when we were recently offered the chance to review their Googly Eyes game, I knew that the Easter holidays would most certainly provide us with the chance to try it out.

Googly Eyes is described as 'The drawing game of wacky vision!'. All of my children love to draw, so as soon as I discovered that there was an artistic element involved, I quickly realised that it would be the perfect game for us.

Googly Eyes by University Games comes in a brightly coloured and interesting box. There is a clear plastic window where you can see the glasses inside, along with some images of the contents and someone drawing a picture. This gives you a slight hint as to what the game involves.

On the reverse of the box there is a great contents picture which shows you everything that is included in the box. There is also a basic sentence that gives a simple idea as to how the game works which reads 'Put on the wacky vision-altering glasses and race against time to draw your team to the finish.'

The full contents include:

• 1 x Gameboard
• 1 x Pair of Wacky Oversized Glasses
• 3 x Sets of tinted, interchangeable lenses
• 4 x Plastic playing pieces
• 1 x Drawing Pad
• 1 x Pencil
• 1 x Dice
• 1 x Timer
• 54 x Challenge Cards (this equates to a total of 162 challenges)
• 1 x Instructions

Setting up the game was easy and was simply a case of removing all the items from the box, placing the board on the table and putting the cards in a neat pile. I then read through the instructions for everyone so that we had a clear understanding of how to play before we began. Each of my children were desperate to try on the glasses, so we actually spent ten minutes just wearing the glasses and seeing how the different lenses compared. Once we had taken some funny photos we made a start and Riley excitedly threw the dice.

To play the game the first player rolls the dice and moves their counter along to the corresponding colour. This can be green (easy), yellow (medium) or blue (difficult). Once you have landed on a space, you then select a card and need to draw the item that matches the colour your counter is on. Each colour is also allocated a set amount of time for your to do your drawing, with green having 15 seconds, yellow having 30 seconds and the most difficult of blue being given 45 seconds.

The players team mate(s) then need to try and correctly guess what is being drawn against the clock. Of course this sounds quite simple, but the glasses make the task quite tricky, especially if you are unlucky enough to land on the blue space where you also have to switch hands. This means that you have to wear the most difficult of lenses, whilst also drawing with the opposite hand to which you would normally use.

The glasses fitted Emma (12), Ben (11) and myself really well, however my six year old did need to hold them in place at times. Funnily enough he chose not to hold them in place when he had the blue lenses in, so I am convinced that he could see through the gap, though he would never admit to this. I really liked how it encouraged my youngest child to think how he could draw things, so for example he had the challenge of drawing a tree house, so he quickly thought about this and drew a separate tree and then a house next to it, which made it easy for me to guess.

If the team player guesses correctly then you roll the dice again to move along the board. The winner is the team that reach the Finish point first.

I seemed to find the blue lenses far more difficult than the children and some of my drawings were hilarious as I literally could not see what I was doing.

Overall we had a fantastic time playing Googly Eyes and it provided plenty of laughter. It is a great game to play as a family and would also be the perfect game to bring out at a party or family gathering. It is simple to understand and my six year old son grasped the concept of the game instantly without the need for much explanation. The contents were all good quality so I had no need to be concerned about any parts breaking. One thing that I particularly liked was that everything fitted back into the box really easily, which I have found can be quite a challenge with some other games and smaller parts often go missing. However with Googly Eyes, everything has its own place in the box so it is easy to store away safely ready to play again another day. My family and I would happily recommend this game to others and we have already decided that it is going to become our new travel game to take with us when we go on holiday.

The game has an RRP of £19.99 and is recommended for children aged 7+. It is available to purchase from most good toy retailers including Argos, Smyths, Sainsburys, Debenhams and Amazon.

For further information on Googly Eyes or other University Games, then please visit their website or social media pages which can be found on the following channels:

Website - www.university-games.co.uk
Twitter - @ugamesUK
YouTube - University Games

*Disclaimer: We were sent the Googly Eyes game free of charge for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. All thoughts and opinions are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link which means that I may receive a small commission should you choose to purchase from this retailer.