Spooky Steps Game by Orchard Toys - Review

Spooky Steps is a new game from Orchard Toys which we were sent a little while ago to review!

The game has a great 3D board, which Boo really enjoyed building and it helped to build excitement about the game! I must confess, he did find fitting the spinner onto the cauldron a little awkward so I had to step in to help with that bit! As usual for Orchard toys, the game is made of very good quality card which can cope with even the roughest little hands! The rules of the game are simple, enabling me to quickly read through while Boo was building, and then we were  playing!

The game focuses on counting, and learning about chance. Boo at first found it very frustrating if he picked up a spooky ghost card which meant he couldn't move on and instead had to move backwards by the number of spaces on the cards he'd already collected on that turn. But he rapidly got the idea that if it could just as easily be Mummy or who picked up the ghost and it added to the excitement! Boo really enjoyed counting out how many places he could move, and then moving his frog the relevant amount of spaces forward (or backwards!) through the spooky house.

Boo has wanted to play Spooky Steps virtually every day since we first played, and it has been great while he's had chicken pox! His confidence with counting and adding numbers together has noticeably improved and he is now more cautious before he picks up an extra card taking the time to think whether he really needs it! 

From my perspective, I really like the fact Boo is learning about numbers without even realising it, and even E (who I helped to join in) is starting to be able to count a little bit. There is lots of scope for talking about why you have to turn your frog into a person to win, and you could use the game as a starting point to reading relevant fairy tales. The game in my view is suitable for both boys and girls, and will certainly be played a lot in our house over the coming years! 


Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of the game for the purposes of the review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.