As you’ll no doubt know from my recent posts, it was Boo’s 4th birthday last week. So much fun and excitement here, and as you’d imagine, seemingly endless gifts all over the place. I’m pleased to say that one of the presents that we bought her definitely caught her attention, as it’s travelled with her to see both of our parents at the weekend, so has now been played by pretty much every family member, too!
It’s the Nutty Squirrel Balancing Game, which I bought from The Toadstool, so I’m sharing it with you as it’s gone down so well here!
The base there is used to sit the squirrel on and make him rock, though we don’t use that when playing with Boo as it makes it a little harder. Now, note that I said there, ‘when playing with Boo’, because we don’t always need her to be around to play it!
It’s such a simple premise for a game. You each take it in turns to balance a nut on the squirrel’s back. It’s all wooden, and beautifully made. It feels sturdy so I’m comfortable with Little Man getting involved, too.
Now, Boo piles the nuts on any which way, as you can see, but the husband gets quite picky about that, as they need to all go on in a certain way to give you a chance of stacking them all – spoil sport! His dad made one attempt at the weekend and successfully piled up every nut, the first and only one of us to do that – well done, Grandad! I was about to take a photo of this great accomplishment to share with you and save for posterity, when Boo walked over and knocked it down – sorry! I assure you that he did it, with several witnesses.
Boo also makes a game out of just the base and the nuts, which shows how such a simple game is so versatile, As she does this, she counts them up and tells me the colours of each nut.
This is very much a game to suit all ages, from pre-schoolers all the way up. There’s no setting up required, no complicated rules to explain, and it’s very addictive. I would definitely recommend it if you’re on the look out for gifts. It’s a bit different, feels traditional with the wood, and yet quite contemporary with the styling, and right now, is fitting in well with my autumnal mood!
A big thumbs-up from us here and a game I can see us all getting enjoyment from for years 🙂
Isn’t this the best game?! And it’s gorgeous to look at, has Boo named the squirrel yet? x
It’s brilliant! I think I love it as much as Boo! No, not named yet, though she’s not that original with names – she sleeps with ‘Mouse’ and ‘Rabbit’! Yours has a name then?
Ooh, looks good. It may turn ino a ‘knocking down’ game in our house though! My eldest would enjoy it I think.
It has many versatile purposes! It is really good fun and looks so charming
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I love the look of this game, as with all Janod games – it looks great as a stand alone item, even better as a game
Exactly. We love it, adults as much as Boo!
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That looks like great fun, and something I would get super competitive with!
Ha ha – yes, you easily could!