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Wally the Washer from Drumond Park
(rrp £24.99, age 4+) Parents may well find washing a chore but young children seem to te mesmerised by watching the clothes spinning round – and now they can have their own toy version! Wally spins just like the real thing, and then all the washing drops out. Players must race to collect their own colour of clothes (red, blue, green or yellow) and be the first to fill their washing line. This is a great way to enhance manual dexterity and speedy reactions. But there's a catch of course - look out for the smelly dirty old sock! If it tumbles out with the washing on your turn, you must put all the clothes back and wear the giant clothes peg on your nose until the sock reappears. Simple but great fun - just load up the washer and close the door. Choose the colour of clothes you are going to collect and take the appropriate poles plus a washing line. Then Wally is placed within easy reach of everyone, his switch is turned on and his drum starts spinning away. Each player in turn then has a go at stopping Wally whirling – and as the contents of his drum tumble out, you don't know what will happen next. Either just clothes fall out of Wally; or clothes and the dirty sock; or nothing falls out. The player who stopped Wally spinning then takes the giant clothes peg from the player who is currently wearing it and puts it on their own nose until the next time the dirty sock pops out! Each game ends when one of the players has hung all their coloured clothing on their washing line. The game helps young ones learn simple colours and basic counting, and also to take turns. Children will happily play this game with their friends - once they have learnt the game, no adult input is needed - just sit and watch the fun! Needs 3 AAA batteries.
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Super Ski Jump from Drumond Park
This unusual game makes a refreshing change and will challenge players' skills. It's easy to set up, so you can get playing quickly, and it's ideal for 2 to 4 players from 8+ upwards. The game takes place over three exciting rounds and the aim is to score the most points by doing tricks and making the perfect landing from the ski ramp. Players choose their character and playing piece, then take it in turns to jump once in each round, The youngest player goes first . Put the character at the top of the ramp, and adjust the height of the ski ramp to one of the three different levels. Then, turn the wheel to send your character whizzing down the ramp... now the skill element comes in, as the player presses down on the lever to raise the lower part of the ramp and send your character off into the air! Watch carefully and count the points gained... and the rest of the group must keep a careful eye too! Repeat the process for all players over the three rounds to complete the game. At the end of the final round, the players are ranked based on their single highest scoring jump. If any two players have the same highest score, they must enter into a nail-biting ‘Jump Off’ competition. The game is great fun and the more you play, the more skilful you get... so what are you waiting for? As the photo below shows, this is definitely a game that will keep the whole family amused.
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Word Bandit from Drumond Park
Be prepared for a head full of words with this fun game - your brain will be spinning! The teams take it in turns to take on the one-armed Bandit across different categories to find words, names, celebrities and more. Children will love playing with the wacky one-armed bandit, which offers a really fun element to the game. The great thing is that the game features four easy word games, giving plenty of variety and making the game good value. The game can be played in two teams of any number, or by two individuals; we found it worked well to play as teams initially, then children are happy to play on their own once they have grasped the rules. The game uses from one to four rows of random letters to either find famous people, think up words in well-known categories, find things that ‘begin with’ (such as boys’ names) or spot short words spelled out by the letters on show. If the face of the Word Bandit appears instead of a letter then your team has one letter less to play with on that turn! The rules are easy to follow and there's a sand timer included so nobody takes too long over their go. With lots of different ways to play, you can choose just what will suit your family. More answers mean more points so the aim is to be as quick as possible and race round the board to win the game - and we found that children can be quicker than adults! The game is suitable for players of 8+. It's a super game for the family to share and an excellent way to develop children's vocabulary and thinking skills. Drumond Park would love to hear how you get on through social media using #wordbandit. |
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Foxy Pants from Drumond Park
Oh no! The Fox is in the hen house, snapping up the chickens and stuffing them into his capacious pockets. But there are hilarious consequences - when there are too many chickens, his baggy green pants will fall down, triggered by pressing on his head, and the chickens will escape! This is really fun and very effective as the chickens fly out. And then there's a scramble to pick up as many chickens as possible, using one hand only; the winner is the first to collect five chickens in their coop. This highly entertaining game which will be a real hit with children is suitable for up to 4 players, aged 4+; it's definitely one which appeals to a child's sense of humour and the element of suspense is just right for the age group. There's an added element of fun in that the starting player is decided by who does the best chicken impression. The cartoon style characters are great fun too. The game is very simple and quick to play and children will happily play with friends as well as with adults. It's great for developing quick reactions and you can be sure of plenty of laughter. |
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Bang On! from Drumond Park
This is a fast-moving, action-packed game - there's definitely no time to get bored! It's a team game, so it makes a perfect ice-breaker for any social occasion, and it can be played by two or more players in teams. The more answers you get, the more time you are awarded, so you really need to think quickly - but will the tension stop you getting the answers? The game is centred on an electronically controlled ‘Bang On’ unit and a hammer. Teams must name as many items from their card as possible, in short, sharp bursts. Then the red timer knob cuts you off in mid-flow. The wide range of topics means that that everyone has the same chance, young or old (recommended for 8+), making it a great family game. One team member is picked to be the Banger for that turn, and holds the hammer. The other team takes a card and calls out the topic. The Banger hits the big red button to start the game. The everyone joins in, as every correct answer shouted out by any team member wins another bang with the hammer, sending the timer knob whizzing back up to the top again, so gaining enough time for someone to shout out another answer. The team then moves its playing piece along the board by the number of answers scored... but it's not that simple - there are various cunning mishaps and challenges along the way to add to the fun and tension. The questions seem deceptively easy, but it's surprising how your mind goes blank under pressure! We found that, the more we played, the quicker we got. It's great fun and really develops speedy thinking and quick reactions. The social media team at Drumond Park would love to hear what you think about this great game - send pictures, too! Just get in touch on Facebook facebook.com/drumondpark or Twitter twitter.com/drumondpark - and catch up on all the news on their crazy blog drumondpark.com/blog
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Shark Bite from Drumond Park
Drumond Park can always be relied on to bring us fun and innovative games that bring the whole family together and their latest release is no exception. There's no lengthy hanging around while the game is set up (there are stickers to be attached) and the rules explained - the game is quick to set up (just set the mechanical shark’s mouth to fully open and place the 12 pieces of yummy Fish Food into the holes within the gaping jaws) and the rules and objective very simple - can you save your catch before that big old shark snaps his jaws closed? When it’s your turn, a roll of the dice determines how many fish you have to catch, and using your fishing rod, it’s time to rescue the fish from the shark. If you drop your fish, keep dipping your rod in, until you hook the fish the whole way out of the shark’s mouth. But watch out...the shark can snap his jaws shut at any moment and then you lose all of your catch! There's just the right amount of tension for young players to enjoy - the game is suitable for ages 4+. Play continues round the table until there are no fish left inside the shark’s mouth. It's a game that will be played over and over again and it's simplicity makes it eminently for children to play without adult supervision.
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King Pong from Drumond Park
Another fun new family game for Autumn 2017 from Drumond Park. There's no hangi ng around with this game, as everyone plays at the same time. Suitable for up to four players age 8+, who vie for supremacy as they frantically scoop up and bounce a multitude of coloured ping-pong balls towards the King Pong cube - using one hand only! Great to develop manual dexterity. It's a super ice-breaker for parties and family get-togethers. The aim of this fast-paced game is to get rid of your five coloured King Pong balls as quickly as you can - by bouncing them into the plastic cube faster than they can roll back out into your tray. All the players racer to fling their balls onto the table so that they zoom through the holes in the sides or the top of the cube. The problem is, you are racing against the randomising pyramid within the cube which pings the balls back out into your tray. It's definitely one of those games where practice makes perfect, and we soon found we were building in a strategic element so our opponents' balls were thrown out; be warned - it's highly addictive, as you strive to complete the game ever more quickly. And in case you want some variety - each player’s balls are a different colour so that you have the added option of inventing your own rules and extending the game play should you so wish. Fast moving family fun that very quickly engages all the players.
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Drumond Park Stoopido Game
This is a real ice-breaker - I defy anyone to keep a straight face when playing this hilariously silly game. Everyone will have tremendous fun with this game and there's no use being shy - just forget any worries and get into the spirit of the game. The game includes four pairs of glasses and play starts by donning a pair each.Then the dice is rolled and whatever comes up - nose, eyes, ears or hat - players race to be the first to the appropriate card. They get to choose one of the appropriate colourful cardboard appendages - but they don't put it on themselves. Oh no - the fun is that they hang it on the glasses of whichever opponent they choose! There are two sides to each card, so there are lots of combinations that can be made. Stoopitoot brings even more fun to the game. As play proceeds, players get to look more and more ridiculous, much o everyone's amusement. Children will be especially gleeful as they see their elders (and betters?) looking more and more silly. The game ends when there is only one player left with an incomplete silly face. The game is simple to set up and play, so children can happily play on their own. It's all good family fun and is great for bonding. You can get some great pictures for the family photo album too!
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Drumond Park "Dig In" Game
This is a fast-paced game of frantic finding fun which children and adults can play on equal terms. Players have to be the first to find their six pieces in the bowl full of different brightly coloured plastic pieces (128 in all) which include teddy bears, frogs, rockets, houses, ice creams and many more. It's quite a challenge, with 32 different items in all, as you have to match object and colour according to your cards. The wide range of pieces is very appealing and I think other games could be made up using them, too. There are two ways to play - the cards are grey one side, so you just have to match object, not colour; the other side has coloured objects to match - you decide at the start which way to play and it's good to have the variety. When the neat push-down timer is pressed, players have 15 seconds each to search. Once the time is up they make way for the next player. The good thing is that, even when your turn is over, you need to keep watching, looking for that elusive final piece or two, so there's no sitting out feeling bored. When the final bell goes it's a frantic free-for-all as you jostle for space and grab for your items before they are stirred into the mix again. Fast and frenetic, it's great fun for all the family and guaranteed to bring out the competitive streak in everyone. It's a good way to encourage memory and observation skills, too, as you need to keep an eye on the bowl while others are delving, to see if you can spot your missing pieces.
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