ELC Honeybee Tree

I remember absolutely loving the game, Kerplunk when I was a little younger than I am now! Therefore, when we saw this Honeybee Tree game from Early Learning Centre I thought it would be a perfect present for my little one. Although not associated with Winnie the Pooh at all, one thing that appealed to me for my youngster is the honey bee tree aspect as this is something she loves about Winnie the Pooh, and true to self, she immediately said 'its Poohs tree!'.

I was able to pick this up second hand on Ebay for £2.99 which is a great price especially considering Amazon have it there for just under £11.00 which is still a very reasonable price for a great game.

Included in the box is the following;

* 1 honey pot
* 1 old oak tree
* 1 flower tray base
* 32 leaves
* 30 little bees

All the contents are made from a sturdy plastic with the exception of the leaves where the stems are rather flimsy and easily bent. On one hand, this makes it easier for young children to insert them into the honey pot, though on the other hand, once bent it can also hinder them doing so. The pot is orange and see-through, again, making it easier to fill it in with the leaves, and the holes around the edges are of good size compared to the leaf stems. The trunk slots in to the base well and turns around without any problems. It has a good sized hole to let the honey bees fall through. The base is well made though rather small. It contains four spaces to allow the bees to fall into, though if a number fall through (which especially happens on a two player game) then the bees overflow from the base.

If you have never played Kerplunk, then firstly, where have you been!? Secondly, the rules are as follows.

The game play is for two to four players, each choosing one base space. Insert all the leaves into the honey pot holes, making sure they go all the way through if possible, and then tip all the bees through the hole at the top so they all lay on the stems without falling. One by one, players turn the trunk so that the hole faces their chosen space and pull out a leaf. If they pull out the wrong leaf, one or many bees may fall into their space. Once all the bees have fallen, the winner is the player with the least leaves.

My little one loves this game and I admit I do too. The only problems I find is the above stated problem with the small base, and the fact that it takes a while to set up all the leaves. Once set up, the game takes no longer than five minutes to play.

Overall, a great game and fully recommended!