Bugs in the Kitchen Game from Ravensburger

Bugs in the Kitchen from Ravensburger is a fun, exciting, fast paced game where the momentum never stops until the Hexbug is caught in one of the four traps at the edge of the board.

bugsThe game is aimed at ages 6+ and can have from 2 to 4 players.  Inside the box is the game board and a couple of bags of pieces which require assembly to complete the board ready for play, but it’s simple and once done, fits back in the box fully assembled ready for the next time you play.

The board consists of the main part where the action happens, which has moveable cutlery pieces and four traps at the edges, a chocolate, fish, bread and cheese trap.  There is a wooden dice and the highlight of the game, a Hexbug cockroach!!

bugs 1The Hexbug comes with battery included and my children were both eager to take it out of it’s tube and watch it scuttle, but being a mean mum I made them wait until we were ready to begin.  There were also a sheet of high quality cardboard cockroach token’s that needed punching out and these are the reward if the cockroach landed in your trap.

hexbugSo as you’ve gathered by now, the object of the game is for the Hexbug cockroach to land in your trap, which results in you getting a token, and after you have won five of these tokens you are declared the winner.  The board is set up as a maze with three suggested patterns to start as shown below by simply turning the cutlery accordingly.

bugs 2The game play is for players to take turns to roll the dice.  The dice is wooden and a lovely chunky size with symbols on the sides to include a knife, fork, spoon and question marks.  If you roll a piece of cutlery you must turn the relevant piece, although if you roll a question mark you can turn any piece of cutlery of your choice.  The idea is to turn pieces of cutlery to allow the Hexbug to reach your trap by turning the necessary pieces of cutlery to allow it through!

It’s like a Hexbug maze and the noise of the Hexbug scuttling around just drives the children crazy with excitement!!  Just check out this video clip of the game in action:

They are so eager to get the Hexbug in to their trap that this game is fast paced and causes a frenzy of excitement.  It is perfect for family fun and we’ve all sat and played it which has proved great entertainment for us all at any age.  Obviously there is some strategy needed to turn the correct cutlery to open the maze up for the Hexbug to go in the direction you want, but my youngest who’s four and a half managed this quite well and loved playing just as much as my seven year old.

bugs kidsThis game has proved a great hit with us, and one they love to show their friends, and even got the grandparents playing!  For some energetic, interactive board game fun, then Bugs in the Kitchen is the game to get!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the products in order to write the review.

GeoSafari Talking Bug Net – Review

GeoSafari Talking Bug Net from Learning Resources is a great way for children to learn facts and information about bugs, something most children are intrigued by and love to touch and explore.

The GeoSafari Talking Bug Net comes with a talking bug net which is well made and a good size, 28 x 14cm.  This requires 3 AA batteries.  There are two buttons on the handle, one for fun facts and the other for quiz, which tests your knowledge on bugs.

Bug net 2There are also six good quality plastic bugs included which the bug net cleverly recognises when placed inside.

These are:

  • Praying Mantis
  • Spider
  • Ladybird
  • Grasshopper
  • Bee
  • Butterfly

The net has two ways to play, you can either drop a bug in the net and listen to over 60 included bug facts or take the quiz, which was our preferable option, where we were given a fact about a bug and had to put the correct bug into the net.

The net cleverly recognises which bug you place into the net and tells you whether you are right or wrong.  You get two chances to get the question correct before it moves onto a new question.

The GeoSafari Talking Bug Net is aimed at ages 4-8 years, perfect for 6 yr old Miss M who was eager to have a go.  It was Easter weekend when we gave the bug net a good testing so Miss M comes complete with a little Easter bunny face!

Bug netMiss M enjoyed playing the quiz on the bug net and was thrilled when she put the right bug in the net.  The questions were challenging, I couldn’t answer them all myself, but this became the learning element of the game.  We were all learning at the same time and you could see the thinking process in Miss M’s head as she tried to decide which bug fitted the question.  When I knew the answer I’d try to prompt her but it was great to see her building on her knowledge as we played.

Miss M was unfamiliar with two of the bugs in the set, the grasshopper and the praying mantis so that gave us immediate talking points.  The Talking Bug Net is a great way to gain new knowledge, facts and information about bugs, from simple to more advanced facts.  If you press the button for fact learning mode, you place a bug in the net and it tells you something about the bug.

In the quiz mode the type of questions can be anything from “Which bug has 8 legs?” to “Which bugs hibernate over the winter?”.  By listening to some facts first, you can put your new found knowledge to the test with the quiz, a fun and interactive way to learn.

We really enjoyed trying out the GeoSafari Talking Bug Net, a fun educational toy that can be played alone or with others.  You can play it for as long or short a time as you want, so it’s a great way to fill any spare time and gain a bit of new knowledge.  The only thing we found a little frustrating was that after you had two attempts at the question, it moves onto a new question without informing you of the answer which sometimes left Miss M wondering which bug was correct.

Overall this would be a good toy for any avid little bug hunters out there to build up their factual knowledge on these creepy, crawlie creatures.  It also helps children to recognise and distinguish the mini beasts through their colours, number of legs and whether it has wings etc.

A simple, but fun and interactive way of learning that children enjoy!

Why not take a look at the GeoSafari Talking Bug Net over on the Learning Resources website?

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the bug net in order to write the review.