Competitions and Reviews

Hedgeways – A New Game Kickstarter!

September 26, 2020 by Anne Sweet 1 Comment

Earlier this year I reviewed the wonderful Sproutword Game from Sprout and Gherkin and it’s been a popular game for me and my son. I was really excited to get the chance to look at the new game Hedgeways and to tell you about the new kickstarter.

Hedgeways – The Game

Hedgeways is such a simple game at first impression. You place your coloured hedges down and match them up. The idea is to enclose a piece of land which then gives you points. The person who has enclosed the most land at the end of the game is the winner.

However, it’s not so simple as it sounds. Yes, it’s easy to play but there are strategies which you learn along the way. Each person starts with four hedges from a cloth back picked at random. You can lay 1 to 3 of these hedges and then replenish your hand to four again from the bag. As you play you learn to think ahead as well as thinking of ways of stopping your opponent from getting land.

What Do You Get?

Hedgeways arrives in a small wooden box which is easy to carry around with you. It’s sturdy and pretty and will last for many years. Inside the box is a cloth bag with 52 hedges made from sustainable wood and painted with precision. That’s one of the main things I love about Sprout and Gherkin games, they are so pretty, sustainable and just a joy to play with.

How to get a Copy of Hedgeways

Currently, the production of Hedgeways is dependant on a Kickstarter. They are almost at their goal but have just a few days to go. You can back them with a donation like I did, or pledge to buy a copy of the first batch of Hedgeways, with a numbered signed copy for just £26.

It would make an excellent Christmas present!

Check out the Kickstarter page for a great video and loads more details about this lovely game.

Sproutword, a review

May 28, 2020 by Anne Sweet Leave a Comment

We love board games in our house, and were thrilled to be sent a copy of Sproutword. It’s not so much as board game as it doesn’t have a board, any table will do. It is a fun, compact game that’s fun for all the family.

So, what is Sproutword? You can find out all about it on the website but as I was kindly sent a copy to review I’d like to tell you what I think about it.

Sproutword, The Word Strategy Game

Sproutword was invented by two eccentric Brits, Ian “Sprout” Neville and Dan “Gherkin” Richter.

Living in Dorset the natural beauty of the area was the inspiration of their colours for the game.

Stage One: Choose your colour

Western Sunset Pink,
Salcombe Sand Yellow,
Chalk Meadow Green,
or Dorset Sky Blue.

The little bags of letters are so delightful, it’s hard to choose. The next step is to decide who goes first and this is done by taking a letter from the bag and the the one with the lowest in the alphabet goes first. I did this with my son and he got A I got Z !

Then you select letters from your bag. If there is just two playing then you have 8 letters each, three players have 7 and four players get 6 each.

This is where the fun begins. Player one makes a word using any player’s letters. As the object of the game is to own the Sproutword, then it’s best to use as many of your own letters as possible.

Sproutword

The Sproutword is the longest word with more of one player’s colour in it than any other player. It’s not always the longest words, because sometime these words can have too many of other players colours in them.

This is from the game I played with my son. As you can see there are two 6 letter words, but one of them is a mixture of colours (vanity) and the other is all yellow (rescue.) In this case rescue is the sprout word and yellow is winning.

After the first player takes their turn they replenish the number of tiles used from their bag. Everyone’s tiles are always on display as any of the players can use them. If you use another player’s tiles, though, they cannot replenish until after they have taken their next turn.

I played the game with my son for about 40 minutes but once he put down the word Requesting (10 letters) I found it difficult to take back the lead and he ended up winning.

As you can see, some of the words have changed. That’s because you can change a word on your turn so long as it’s as long as, or longer than the existing word and does not displace any other word. Any players removed from play are put back in their owners colour bag and are not in use until drawn again.

The Game Ends when any player has no letters to replenish with. If the player has some letters in their bag they must replenish as fully as they can. The winner is the controller of the Sproutword.

Our Verdict

We really enjoyed this game. It’s fun and easy to learn, but the mastering of the game is harder. Sharing each other’s tiles adds a depth to the game and it can become competitive. If you spot that your opponent can make a word you can use their letters which stumps them.

There is no adding up of scores, it really is whoever is control of the Sproutword throughout the game. You can write down words that have changed, and keep track of which ones are the longest, but you don’t have to.

tiles and bags and words made in a four player game.

The bags of tiles come in a cardboard box that’s easy to carry around so a great holiday game. The tiles are made from sustainable European forests and the colours are really pretty.

You can play along with the makers of Sproutword on their Social Media channels. More rules can be found on Youtube.

Play along on Instagram or have a go on Facebook or even Twitter

Sproutword can be purchased from their online shop for £19.99

What do you think? Fancy a game?

Build Your Own History Museum – Review and Competition

May 9, 2020 by Anne Sweet 2 Comments

Build Your Own History Museum is classed on the Lonely Planet Kids website as a boredom buster, and we all need those for our kids right now. But as well as being a boredom buster it’s also full of interactive and fun learning. See my review below and how you can win one of two copies yourself.

Build Your own museum book cover — ISBN: 9781788689403
Writers: Lonely Planet Kids, Claudia Martin
24 pages, 24pp color | Dimensions: 282mm × 259mm

Build Your Own Museum – The Blurb

Suitable for children ages 6-8
Calling all archaeologists!
A crate has arrived for you and it’s packed with treasures from the ancient world! Can you assemble them and assign each to the right room in time for the museum’s big opening? Among the treasures to display are an Egyptian sarcophagus, a Greek temple and a Chinese Terracotta Army.
Fun, interactive and with lots of facts to discover, Lonely Planet Kids’ Build Your Own History Museum is a hands-on way to learn about ancient people, cultures and traditions. It’s packed with amazing facts and awesome illustrations that reveal how people all over the world once lived and worked.
Perfect for history fans of all ages, this follow-up to Build Your Own Dinosaur Museum features the ancient civilizations Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, Egypt, Greece, China, Rome, the Maya, and the Vikings.

Our Review

My Little Man is 9 years old so a little older than the recommended age group. However, he still found this book fun and informative and still needed a little help putting it together.

history museum inside cover — *Archaeological finds*

The book comes in two sections. At the front you have a whole heap of archaeological finds which are cardboard cut outs.

They fit together on the relevant pages of the rest of the book to create a complete history museum.

From Ancient People, , Egypt, China, Rome, Vikings, and others you can learn in short bursts about their life and treasures and then go ahead and fill in the pages with 3D exhibits. The end result is a stunning fold out museum.

3D viking long boat — *3D Viking Long Boat*

Our Verdict on Build Your Own History Museum

I loved this book so much, it contains just the right amount of information to keep the younger ones entertained and learning. Then they can bring the book to life just by pushing out the cardboard pieces and building the exhibits themselves. It’s educational and fun, the best kind of book.

If I had any criticism it would be that the pieces are a little fiddly to fit in. I had to help my Little Man and he is 9 years. If I was to be fair, he is autistic and a impatient, but even I found it a little fiddly.

The good thing is, the exhibits do stay put once they are inserted and you end up with a pop-up book that you’ve made yourself. All kids love a pop up book and it’s exciting to be a part of making it.

Competition

I have two copies of this lovely book to give away to my readers. You can buy it from Lonely Planet Kids for £14.99 if you don’t want to wait or enter the competition.

Here’s the widget

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

The competition prize is one of 2 books
The winner must be living in the UK
No information is collected other than for contacting the winner
The prize cannot be exchanged for cash
The competition starts on 9th May 2020 and ends 6th June 2020
Prize winner will be selected from the widget.
Not all parts of the competition need to be completed, but you need to have completed the part you have been selected for if you win.
Winners will be contacted by e-mail
Prizes will be posted out as soon as possible depending on restrictions of lock down at end of competition.

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book for review and two for the competition. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am also an affiliate for Lonely Planet and my links to their website may earn me a little money if you decide to buy anything from them. Thank you for your support.

Brightening Birthdays from Gamely Games.

April 15, 2020 by Anne Sweet 1 Comment

It’s times like these that brings the good out in some people and what could be better than bringing a smile to a child’s face? During the lockdown so many kids have had their birthday parties cancelled and have had to stay home with their family. But it doesn’t mean they can’t have fun. A Brighton business that makes Children’s games has been brightening up their birthdays by sending them fun games and cards.

brightening birthdays, games being ready to send

Gamely Games

We are already big fans of Gamely Games, you can read some of our reviews, like Jibbergiggle and The Pretender.

The games are printed on cards and come in handy boxes, they are simple, easy to learn but loads of fun. On the Gamely Games Facebook Page They have been giving away hundreds of games along with birthday cards to those children who have been celebrating their birthday during lockdown. They’ll be opening their requests for further lockdown birthdays soon.

They have also launched two local initiatives.

Sending out £600 of games to be given to 48 low-income families in Brighton & Hove through the CHOMP project Working with Brighton & Hove council to get £800 of games to 64 families in emergency accommodation.
And we have been making financial donations too. Since we first founded our company in 2015 we have been committed to giving at least 10% of profits to charitable causes and recently we have been directing this giving to charities that are working to help the most vulnerable people through the pandemic:
We’ve donated £1,000 to the National Emergencies Trust (NET) Covid-19 Emergency Appeal (doubled to £2,000 by The Big Give)
We’ve donated £1,000 to Give Directly’s International Response, distributing cash to hard-hit families in extreme poverty.
As a company we feel very lucky to still be operating during such a challenging time and we are keen to spread as much joy as possible. We’ve actually seen sales soar since the lockdown began as laughter and fun (which our games provide) has become even more precious. We’ve also loved hearing that people are using our games to connect with those they can’t see in person – our games Soundiculous and Frozen Unicorns work particularly well on Zoom and other video chats and it’s wonderful to think these games are helping people enjoy moments of laughter and lightness when the current situation sometimes feels so dark.

Saying No To Dragons

I’d already heard of Gamely Games when I saw Hazel appear on Dragon’s Den. I was surprised that she turned down an offer. But, it was obvious that the company was going to do well anyway with such exciting and new ideas coming all the time. The ethics of the company has proven to be much more than making a fortune. I hope they continue to go from strength to strength.

Check out all their games on the website and don’t forget to check out their Facebook page to see what they are up to next.

Photos on this page are all courtesy of Hazel from Gamely Games and I’ve received no payment for this post, I’m just helping to share the joy.

Hazel and her kids brightening birthdays — Hazel and her Children

The Plastic Problem – a Review and giveaway

March 9, 2020 by Anne Sweet 3 Comments

I was sent this book, The Plastic Problem, for review in return for my honest opinion. I also have two books for the giveaway which you will find at the end of this post. Read on to find out more about The Plastic Problem and how you could win a copy. This page also contains affiliate links which if you click may earn me a little money at no extra cost to yourself, so thanks in advance.

ISBN: 9781788689359
Writers: Lonely Planet Kids, Aubre Andrus
112 pages, 112pp color, 0 maps
Dimensions: 172mm × 215mm

The Blurb

Help Solve the Plastic Problem

Plastic is everywhere! Its almost impossible to get through a day without using it. That’s causing major problems for our planet.
In this practical guide, you’ll discover loads of easy ways to reduce the use of plastic in your life.*
Your actions, however small, can make a big difference. With each change, you’ll help our oceans become a cleaner and our planet a little healthier.
Are you up to the challenge?
*This book is 100% plastic free. \it may not be as glossy as others on your shelf but its better for the environment.

60 Small Ways to reduce Waste and Help Save the Earth

This handy hardback book is aimed at 9-12 year old’s but it contains lessons that can be learnt at any age.

The first section focuses on what types of plastic there are, the history of plastic and where you can find it. It simple but informative blocks you will soon learn the basics you need to know about plastic before you make up your mind what you are going to do about our worldwide problem.

The next section talks about the problems that plastic causes, why it’s so hard to recycle and what happens to plastic waste. And also how it affects our oceans which has an immense effect on our planet.

What you Can Do.

Once you have learnt about plastic then hopefully you will be inspired to do something about it. First the book talks about how we can build a better future just by taking action with our plastic use.

There is always something new to learn. I have often bought my girls water bottles only to have them lose them. So I buy bottled water but reuse them throughout the week with filtered water. However, these bottles are PET, easy to recycle but not safe to reuse because PET absorbs bacteria and is hard to clean after it has been used. So these bottles should not be used more than once. I’ve now vowed to buy the girls metal bottles to re-use, I have warned them to be careful not to lose them.

I knew that PVC was not the best to wrap sandwiches in, so now that Star is having packed lunches I’ve decided to buy her some re-useable sandwich wraps.

Then there are a full 60 ideas on how you can take action against plastic, in your bedroom, your, wardrobe, your bathroom, at lunch time, when eating out, at the supermarket, at school, out and about, at a party and around your community.

Finally you are encouraged to take the ‘plastic patroller’ pledge and to help you keep your pledge there is a handy checklist. Once you have done any of the 60 ideas you can tick them off. Then hopefully you will have habits formed for your lifetime.

Today is the perfect time for a change. As a future guardian of the planet, you can say no to plastic. Your actions, however small, can make a big difference every day. And with each change, you’ll help our oceans become a little cleaner and our planet a little healthier.
Are you up to the challenge?

Give Away

I have two copies of The Plasti Problem to give away to my readers. Just fill in the widget below for your chance to win. Good Luck!

Terms and Conditions:

The competition prize is one of 2 books
The winner must be living in the UK
No information is collected other than for contacting the winner
The prize cannot be exchanged for cash
The competition starts on 9th March 2020 and ends 6th April 2020
Prize winner will be selected from the widget.
Not all parts of the competition need to be completed, but you need to have completed the part you have been selected for if you win.
Winners will be contacted by e-mail