Woopie Green "Squirrel in the Orchard" is a fun family board game for little ones: collect all the fruit into the basket before the squirrel manages to "snatch" it from the tree.

This first board game suits children from one and a half, though older children and adults enjoy it too. It is a cooperative game – everyone plays together, not against each other. It teaches cooperation, planning and concentration and brings plenty of laughter. Inside are a tree-shaped board, a squirrel figure, 12 colourful fruits, 4 wooden trees, a harvest basket and a die with fruit and squirrel pictures. The game is made of quality wood with lovely illustrations, and the manufacturer states the wood is FSC certified.

What your child develops

• Fine motor skills. Grabbing fruit and placing it in the basket strengthen fingers.
• Hand-eye coordination. Fruit has to land neatly in the basket.
• Focus and patience. Children learn to wait for their turn.
• Colour recognition. Colourful fruits teach colour names.
• Social skills. A shared goal teaches talking and teamwork.

How to play

Put the fruit on the trees and the squirrel at its start. Take turns rolling the die: a fruit means you pick it into the basket, the squirrel means it moves closer to the trees. Everyone wins if the basket is full before the squirrel reaches the fruit.

For the youngest, play without rules – just pick fruit together and name the colours.

A great gift

"Squirrel in the Orchard" is a great first board game for little ones – for a birthday, for Christmas or family evenings.

What's in the box

• Tree-shaped game board
• Squirrel figure
• 12 colourful fruits
• 4 wooden trees
• Harvest basket
• Die with fruit and squirrel pictures

Find more board games in our board and logic games collection, or more ideas for this age in toys for 1–2 year olds.