Orchard toys - Slug in a Jug

If you've had a chance to look through my instagram page or read any of my reviews, you'll notice that I do like Orchard toys. 

There are a few reasons why I like Orchard toys games, they are:

• The quality of the products is superb. All of the games we have are still as good as new, and that's after lots of play!
• They are excellent educational games. Orchard toys design and produce some very good educational games that I can use instead of pen and paper. 
• They are inexpensive for the quality and product being purchased. 
• They are unique, you cannot find copies of the games or similar games.
• They are fun! That is so important, not only do children learn whilst playing, but they also have ever so much fun.

Slug in a Jug

This is one of our newest Orchard toys games. The concept is simple, help children with rhyming words. It is aimed at children from 5-9 years of age. There are three different games that can be played, and full instructions are included on the instruction sheet provided.

How does it work? 

Game: Object 

It is another smaller game, and therefore set up and play are simple. All you need to use are the 48 rhyming cards provided. Simply lay cards out face down, each player picks a card. With each turn each player picks another card from the face down cards and checks if it rhymes with the card they already have. If the card rhymes they pick another, and again if that rhymes they can pick another card. However, if the card does not rhyme, this card is returned face down.  The player can exchange the 'non rhyming' card on their next turn. If one of the players has a card, and three rhyming words are held by another player, they must exchange that card from the cards in the middle on their next turn. When the central cards finish, the player with the most points wins. For 2 rhyming words prayer the player receives 2 points, for 3 rhyming words, player receives 5 points and 4 rhyming words equal 10 points. 

Game: Rhyming pairs

12 cards that do not rhyme are placed in a pile, with all the cards facing downwards except the top card (turned around). The rest of the cards are shuffled and placed face down in the middle, the first player turns one card from the middle, if that card rhymes with the card on the pile the player takes both cards. the next card in the pile is turned over and play continues. the winner is the person with the most cards at the end (when the pile of cards has finished). 

Game: Find the rhyme

12 non rhyming cards are placed in a pile and the rest placed face down in the middle. All players take 2 cards from the middle, but keep them hidden from other players. The first player turns one of the cards from the middle and reads the card aloud. If a player has a card that rhymes, they place both of their cards face up in front of them, the rhyming pair are matched and the first player takes the top card from the pile (pile of 12), so he/she is back up to 2 cards. If the card from the middle does not have a rhyming pair, that card is returned to the middle and play moves to the next player. If a player has two rhyming cards, they place these in front of them, and then take two cards from the pile. When the pile has depleted, players can exchange one of their cards for a card in the middle to find a rhyming pair, each exchange counts as a  move. The game ends when all players find they cannot make a rhyming pair. The winner is simply the person with the most rhyming pair of cards. 

What do we think?

I have found this game to really help us with our rhyming and poetry. Little person is comfortable with rhymes and rhyming words, but not confident enough to whizz words left, right and centre. The game has allowed him to appreciate how many simple words rhyme. 

We have used this game a little differently too, and that is what I love about Orchard toys games, you can add, take away and change the rules! I thought as a real test, it would be great to get little person to write simple poems using the rhyming words. This has enabled him to practice poetry writing skills, and definitely build confidence in this area. 

For a younger player, I can see using this game not only for rhymes, but spelling practice too! 

As mentioned above the quality of this produce along with others cannot be flawed. The illustrations are super too, making it engaging and fun! I would highly recommend this game, and if you would like to check purchase options, click here.