First Orchard

My toddler’s favorite game! And not mind-numbing for the parent! 😆 The game pieces are wooden and sturdy and fun to handle. She loves rolling the die and getting to select fruits from the orchard or move the sneaky raven. It is a simple and straightforward game, but with plenty of activity to keep her engaged. The turns go quickly. It is really lovely and well-made, as one would expect from Haba!

I figured it was time for my 2.5 yo to start playing games and bought a bunch for xmas (Ants in the Pants; Acorn Soup; Hi Ho! The Cherry-O; a matching game) but none are nearly as perfect as this. It was super easy for him to grasp, game play is not too fast and not too slow, it’s cooperative, easy to set up, and no small pieces (a plus for my 10 mo who’s always intervening). The 2.5 yo loves to play it with anyone that visits (and loves to explain it too). Kids with a longer attention span will want to play a handful of times in a row, and kids with a shorter attention spay will be fine playing once. This pieces are age appropriate, well made (wooden fruit!), and not chintzy. Also the ending of this game is clear-cut and satisfying. Really perfect for a toddler’s first game.

This game was a huge hit with our (nearly) 3 year old. It was her first real board game and she immediately took to it. The pieces are great and high quality. The fruit in particular is very nice and holds up to getting banged around when they inevitably fall on the hard floor. It’s fun enough that our son, 9, will sit with her for a game where they actually play and take turns. Let’s be honest, it’s not a complicated game and he’s not playing it for his own fun. He’s playing it because it’s clear how much his sister enjoys it. The fact that it’s tolerable enough for a 9 year old to play with his sister is no small feat. We have other games that don’t hit this sweet spot (too complicated or too simple). The gameplay teaches taking turns, rolling dice, performing a single action on your turn, helping others take their turn, and some basic strategy. One of the dice rolls has you decide which fruit to pick. At first this didn’t even make sense for her so she would just re-roll. Now she’ll pick one somewhat arbitrarily, while each of the older players take from whichever has the most pieces remaining. When you roll a fruit that is already fully collected, you “miss” your turn, so my daughter quickly picked up that we can’t take any fruit if they’re all taken. I think she’ll eventually connect that to the “choose any color” and form a strategy. As a board game playing family, this is a perfect introduction to the board game world for my daughter so she can participate when she’s older.

The game is an outstanding introduction to board games for toddlers. The cooperative gameplay is simple and engaging, making it easy for young children to understand turn-taking, color matching, and teamwork without frustration or competition. The concept of working together to harvest the fruit before the raven arrives is age-appropriate, gentle, and genuinely fun- our toddler stays engaged from start to finish. The quality is exactly what you'd expect: sturdy wooden pieces, thick cardboard, and beautiful, child-friendly artwork. Everything feels safe, durable, and designed for little hands. It's quick to set up, fast to play, and perfect for building early game skills while spending quality time together.

The My First Orchard Game is so much fun! I gave it to my 2 1/2 year old grandson for Christmas and we played with it multiple times a day. The rules of the game are easy for a toddler to grasp, even though we didn't always play by the rules lol. The older kids love it too, and it teaches taking turns, rolling the die, and teamwork while playing together to beat the Raven. The pieces are non-toxic, beautifully crafted out of wood, hand-painted in vibrant colors, and the perfect size for toddler hands. I will definitely purchase more games from this brand, and I highly recommend!

I bought this for my 2 year old daughter as her parents are board game players. She loved playing it. She liked setting up, choosing the colored fruit and placing them in the basket. We made it more exciting having the raven attack the fruit. Very basic but good for toddlers.

This is a very simple game which is perfect for 2 year olds. Seriously, it is very hard to find a game so simple that even a 2-year old can understand and enjoy it. I had avoided getting this game because of all the "simple" comments, but I am SOOO glad I ignored them because its what I needed for my little one. Not only is it the perfect age range, but the game is collaborative so all the players are working together towards the same goal. This collaborative format works much better with the very young children as it is hard for them to play games individually. It also is helpful to share the winning and losing as a team as it helps process the emotions of it as a group instead of alone. Set up - Set out four trees. Place the same 4 wooden fruits on the same tree (plums tress only bear plums). Each tree in the orchard now bears 3-D wooden fruit... and each fruit is a different color: green apples, red apples, yellow pears, and purple plums. Put together the pathway to the orchard (place the given tiles in a row). Place the raven at the start of the path. Purpose of the game - The raven will hop down the pathway to the orchard and when he arrives, the raven will eat ALL the fruit on the trees. To win the game, players must collect the fruit before the raven gets there. Game play - Roll the die and see what color is on top of the die. Pick the fruit of that color and place in the basket. If a basket image shows up on top, collect any colored fruit you want to put in the basket. If the raven shows up on top, hop the raven one space closer to the orchard. If you roll a color and there is none of that colored fruit left to pick off trees, then pass the die to the next player. Teaches - taking turns, following directions, color matching, counting 1-8 (ex: by counting 8 apples and spaces the raven hops), processing emotions of win/lose, and some basic science concepts: 1. fruit comes from plants 2. apples, pears, and plums grow on trees 3. farm that grows fruit on trees is called an orchard 4. birds eat fruit 5. each tree only bears one kind of fruit (pears and apples do not come from the same tree) The fact that this game could so easily be connected to a basic science lesson on where food comes from was really such an amazing surprise! This game could easily be added into a 2-year old basic curriculum. Heck why not add in a mini outing to pick apples or cheeries at a local orchard? Overall, I am thrilled with this game. Quality, well throught through, and more learning opportunities than I even expected! Even after my children outgrow this game, the fruit could even used in other ways because they are so well made. Haba just won over my lifelong business.

The quality on this game is fantastic, chunky wooden and thick cardboard pieces. This is a "children's first game" there is no strategy and is more of an activity. However I got this for my 3 yr old and is perfect for him to learn to roll the dice and act accordingly. It is also cooperative which I think is great for children's games. Children will age out of this but I think this is a good first game for a toddler