Having already reviewed the Orchard Toys Shopping list Game I thought I may as well do this one as well as the two games are very similar (so please expect similar Reviews).

After purchasing the Shopping List Game my sister wanted an idea for a Present for my 3 year old sons birthday so I suggested another in the ORchard Toy range and that is how we ended up with the Lunch Box game.

After a bit of searching i believe it currently costs around £7 from Amazon which is in my opinion excellent value.


The Game:-

The game comprises of 4 carboard lunch boxes with Food and drink items printed on, 4 box cards and 24 Food/drink cards.

To play this game you must first spread the food/drink cards face down in front of you. Each player picks a lunch box with its matching boxes and the game commences with the youngest player turning over a food/drink card.

If the item picked is on their lunch box it goes into one of the 6 boxes. If not the other players get to see the card and it goes back face down. The next player then takes their turn following the same rules.

The winner is the first person to fill their boxes.


My Opinion:-

The game play is very simple yet fun and is perfect for young children as there are not too many rules to learn.

My 3 year old son loves to play this even if he sometimes has difficulty understanding the turn process when the card is not in his lunch box (a budding cheat my son appears to be). This is of course part of the learning process and is a good way of us to help teach him about playing fair and not always winning (he is already an impressively sore loser).

Whilst playing my son also learns the names and pictures for a variety of common lunch box items and loves to identify each card as he picks it up whether he needs it or not, with encouragement from his mummy & daddy of course.

It can be difficult to find things to play as a family with a young child and this game is an excellent choice to combat this. We have had hours of fun and my family appreciate having something we can all play together.


The Cons:-

This is not a game a young child can play on their own so after purchasing expect to be bugged at every opportunity to play!

The 24 food/drink cards are fairly small (around 2 inches x 2 inches) and are therefore easily lost and missing cards make the game impossible to play.


In conclusion:-

I would recommend this product for parents of children aged 3-6 but I don't believe it would be appreciated by children any older.

It is an enjoyable way to spend time with your young child and this always feels more rewarding when you know they are learning and developing skills at the same time.

If you already own the Shopping List Game by Orchard Toys then I would not recommend this as they are virtually identical. If I had to pick between the two I would recommend the Shopping list game instead as you can buy additional packs to diversify the game a little and keep it fresh.