It was only last year that I accidently discover the wonders of Orchard toys. I happened upon one of their games on sale and bought it on impulse. I was instantly taken with the game as were my two daughters who enjoyed playing it unbeknown to them that they were learning whilst having fun. I began to research the company online, discovering that they produce an array of educational games. A few weeks ago I picked up our fifth addition to our Orchard games collection "Insey Winsey Spider". I bought this from a local charity shop for the bargain price of £1.99. (Infact I think about 3 of the Orchard games we own have come from that same charity shop!) Of course when buying anything second hand it is always a good idea to have a quick check inside to make sure all the pieces are present, in this case everything was there. A quick look online shows that this game can be found for £8.21 on Amazon (free super saver delivery is available).

The game comes packaged inside a lovely bright box that is certain to entice and interest any young child. The title of the game "Insey Winsey Spider" appears at the top of the box in bold white writing. On the front of the box we have a cartoon style picture of a green drain pipe, popping out from inside is a rather surprised looking yellow spider and next to him a happy red spider. In the background the sky is blue with a lovely happy sun looking on, we also have too grumpy grey clouds. This is clearly a Orchard toys game as the brand logo is proudly displayed in the bottom corner. We are also given the information that this game is for 2-4 players and that the age range is between 3-6 years. The box is sturdy and is made of strong card. The box is easily opened and the contents removed from the top of the box. This style of box keeps everything neat and tidy and also lessens the chances of pieces being lost compared to boxes where the lid is removed altogether. I find a durable games box is very important and this one certainly ticks all the boxes!

Inside the box we have the following contents:

4 Drainpipe boards
4 Spider counters
1 Spinner
1 Number dice
1 Shapes dice
1 Dice shaker
1 instruction leaflet

As stated on the box this game is for up to four players, so it stands to reason that there are four drainpipe boards, one for each player. These boards come in two pieces, which are easily assembled by slotting them together much like a simple jigsaw. This is a two in one game, the boards are reversible and a different game is played on each side. Each of the drainpipe boards are a different colour these being blue, green, red and yellow. The Spider counters also come in these colours and therefore match the drain cards. So, if player one chooses a yellow board they will play with the yellow spider counter. These spider counters are of a nice size and perfect for little hands. They are made of strong plastic and are bright. They all have white googly eyes and big smiles, which I think makes them look very friendly and appealing to small children. Also included in the game is a large spinner made of strong durable board. Again this is very bold and bright. On the board we have the red spider, happy sun and grumpy cloud as seen on the boxes cover. There is also a circle with alternating pictures of  happy sun or a sad grey raining cloud. The black spinner is located in the centre of this circle.

The instructions give two variants to the game. The first game is a counting game. The boards are placed on their appropriate side and the number dice is used. Spiders are placed at the start. The first player rolls the dice and moves up the drainpipe then spins the spinner. If the arrow stops at a picture of the sun the player stays were they are, however if it lands on the cloud picture down the drain they go right back to the start. The winner of the game is the player whose spider reaches the web at the top of the drain board.

The second game is fairly similar to the first. However, instead of a number game we have a shape game. Again the spiders are placed at the start. In this game the shapes dice is used instead of the normal number dice. The dice has pictures of the following shapes: circle, semi-circle, triangle, diamond, rectangle and square. Each of these shapes are also present on the reverse side of the drainpipe board. Again the spiders are placed at the start. The first player rolls the shape dice they then move to the appropriate square which features the picture of the shape they just rolled. A spin of the spinner will determine whether the player is staying put or sliding back down the drainpipe. The object of this game is the same as the number game with the winner being the player that makes it to the top first.

As i mentioned earlier we have had this game for a few weeks now and have already played it quiet a few times. My eldest daughter is 9, she played it once and said it was boring. That being said it is aimed at children under 6 so I was not overly surprised by her response. My three year old daughter really loves this game thought. She was initially drawn in my the Insey Winsey Spider theme as she has recently been singing this in nursery. She often sings the rhyme as we play. Although she does like the number game I would say the shape game is more popular with her. She grasped the concept of numbers and counting quite quickly so think that the number game is not a huge challenge to her. She finds rolling the shape dice and then matching it to the shape on the boards fun. 

This is a great educational game that teaches colours, numbers and shapes along with turn taking and communication skills. My youngest daughter and I enjoy playing it and do so often. However, it is not our favorite Orchard Game. I am not sure that this is a game we will still be playing this time next month as I believe my daughter may tire of it by then. Although there  are two variants i dont feel there is huge difference in how the games are played and feel it may begin to get a bit boring for us both. I can imagine it sitting in the games box and maybe brought out occasionally, until it finds it way back to the local charity shop in a few years time. But for the time being we are enjoying it and my daughter is learning and having fun at the same time, plus we get to spend some nice quality time together.