First Orchard Review (HABA)

First Orchard is a 1-4 player cooperative children’s game for children ages 2 and up. The game encourages shape and color recognition, and an understanding of rules with options for free play.

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Game Overview

First Orchard is a 1-4 player cooperative children’s game for children ages 2 and up. First Orchard is part of HABA’s My Very First Game Series line of board games. (The My Very First Games is a line of games targeted towards children 2 and up.) The game is designed to encourage color and shape recognition as well as foster an understanding of rules for young gamers.

Players take turns rolling a die to determine which fruit should be picked from the orchard. The objective of the game is to pick the last fruit from the fruit trees before the raven makes it to the orchard.

Game Components

First Orchard game contents include:

• 1 raven
• 1 fruit basket
• 4 green apples
• 4 red apples
• 4 yellow pears
• 4 blue plums
• 5 path cards
• 4 trees
• 1 color-symbol die
• Game instructions

Component Quality

First Orchard includes high quality wooden game components. The cardboard pieces are very study and of good quality as well. The components are built to withstand the wear and tear of a toddler handling them.

Game Setup

To setup a game of First Orchard:

1. Place the 4 tree tiles on a table with the corresponding fruit on each tree.
2. Layout the path cards next to the trees
3. Place the raven in front of the first path card.

The setup is simple and after a few plays young children should able to setup the game without adult assistance.

Gameplay

Players take turns rolling the color-symbol die:

• If the die lands on a color (red, blue, yellow or green) the player picks the matching color fruit from a tree tile and places it in the basket.
• If the die lands on the fruit basket, it is a wildcard and the player can choose any fruit to place in the basket
• If the die lands on the raven the raven advances one space of the path.

End of Game

There are two end game conditions:

1. A player picks the last fruit among the fruit trees and places it in the basket (the players wins)
2. The raven makes it pass the last space on the path (the players loses)

Final Thoughts

First Orchard is a wonderful game for young children. It is a my go-to recommendation for any parent wanting to introduce board games to their toddlers. I introduced the game to my son at 1.5 years old with free play rules.  When he was 2 years old, we started to play the game with the official rules. At 4 years old he still enjoys and requests to play the game.

First Orchard has been great tool for introducing and reinforcing the concepts of how to follow rules, how to take turns and color recognition.

I find many children’s games dull and boring. From a parent perspective, First Orchard is enjoyable because it does not overstay its welcome. Games usually end within 10 minutes.

Rating on the BGG rating scale:

• Ashley: 7 – Good – usually willing to play
• Ashley’s Child (2 – 4 years old): 9 – Excellent – always enjoy playing it

I highly recommend the game if you are in the market for a board game for toddlers or preschoolers.

Where To Buy

You can purchase First Orchard from Amazon or directly from HABA’s online store.