Orchard Toys Catch and Count Game, Multi Color (101839)

Another brilliant first game from Orchard Toys! This has completely captured the imagination of my 2 grandsons (2y5m and 3y6m), and is one of the first toys they get out when they come to visit.The idea is to see who can catch the most fish while avoiding the nasty sharks who will gobble them all up. It’s an easy-to-grasp concept, even for kids at the lower end of the 3+ age range, and is great fun to play.There are four playing boards or ‘jars’, 30 cards and a 3D octopus spinner divided into 5 numbered segments (see photos). The cards are double sided with 1 to 5 bubbles on the front and 1 to 5 fish randomly on the back. Players take turns to spin the spinner and then choose a card with the corresponding number of bubbles. If there are fish on the reverse, you get to put them into your jar. If you’re unlucky enough to get one of the 2 sharks, you forfeit all the fish you’ve already caught and have to start over.As with all Orchard Toys, this game is the perfect balance of learning and fun. It encourages number recognition and counting (players have to count up all their fish at the end to see who’s won), as well as the principles of basic game play. The fun element is in the anticipation of waiting to see who’ll turn over a shark and lose their fish.In terms of quality, all the components are made from thick, durable board, which doesn’t bend, and it all packs away neatly into a compact box. Some reviewers have criticized the 3D spinner as being too fiddly to put together every time. To be honest, I don’t understand their concerns. It’s 3 pieces of board that interlock and are as easy as pie to assemble—2 of the pieces can even be folded together for storage in the box, so all you have to add each time is the spinner board on top. It’s really not a big deal, and certainly not something that should discourage people from buying this excellent, educational game.EDIT: We are now playing the ‘Euan’s Rules’ version—if you get a shark, it eats your fish. If he gets a shark it eats your fish. Whichever way, he wins (and gets a mini muffin). Genius!Thanks for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful. Check out my profile page for more reviews of toddler books and puzzles and educational toys and games.

I bought this because my 2 1/2 year old is absolutely obsessed with another Orchard Toys game, the Little Bus Lotto, and we wanted to introduce some variety. This game is well made and attractively illustrated, as I have come to expect from Orchard Toys, but the actual game is nowhere near as good as the bus one, and so far doesn't really appeal to my son. For a child who can count but is too young to recognise written numbers, the point of the spinner is lost on him, although he quickly got the hang of the actual spinning. Also, once someone picks up a shark they lose all their cards and become very unlikely to win the game, and so once the sharks are picked up the game becomes a bit dull and predictable. This is particularly the case when there are three players, because there are two sharks and if two different players pick them up the third player is basically guaranteed to win. We have resorted to playing an extra 'hand' to avoid this problem. It would be more exciting if the sharks remained in play throughout the game, so that the result would be less predictable.

We bought this as a birthday present for our four year old grandson. He loved seeing other players' fish being gobbled up by the shark! The rules of the game were simple enough for him to follow and explain to new players so it could probably be played by a group of children with minimal adult supervision.

My son is at an age when he loves playing games and he's starting a little orchard games collection. He loves the orchard booklet and picks his next favourite game, great marketing btw. We bought this last week and he just loves playing it. He's nearly 4 and he's managing counting very well but sometimes needs a bit of help recongising the numbers. This game gives him the opportunity to practice. He didn't like the idea of 'who gets the shark loses' and he developed his own version of 'who catches the shark and feeds it the most fish wins'. The game is very good quality, as always. The spinner takes a wee bit of skill to put together so a child might need help with it. On to the next one :)

This is a firm favourite in our household. There's a small element of suspense as to whether the shark card will be picked, which is fun for the child. I reduce it by a star, as the spinner is supposed to not need taking apart to fit in the box but it does and putting it together and taking it apart multiple times has soon damaged the sides of it. It still works though.