Banana Boys And Girls

Do you have a cheeky monkey at home? We definitely do, so when we saw Orchard Toys had a game called Cheeky Monkeys, we had to add it to our collection!

Orchard Toys do a great collection of games for younger players which help reinforce kids’ learning in ways that are engaging, colourful, and fun!

In Cheeky Monkeys players are pushing their luck! It’s a race to collect as many bananas as possible. There’s also a little bit of dexterity thrown in for good measure.

Players spin the spinner. If it lands on a banana they get to place a face down monkey token from the table and hang it on their side of the 3D tree. Each monkey shows 0/1/2/3/6 bananas. That player can choose to stop there or chance their luck with another spin to see if they can collect more bananas on their turn.

If the spinner lands on the Cheeky Monkey, they get to steal a hanging monkey token from another player and place it on their own side of the 3D tree. But only once their turn is over as they can keep spinning to see if they can collect any more juicy fruits. If it lands on the Pool Monkey any monkey tokens collected that turn have to go on the pool board and then the next player takes their turn. Finally, if the spinner lands on the question mark, the player gets to pick up all the monkey tokens from the pool board plus any bananas collected that turn. When all the monkey tokens have been collected from the table, the winner is the player with the most bananas!

Final Thoughts

This is a sweet, fun game of risk v reward. Do your little ones keep spinning in the hope of gathering or stealing more and more bananas? Or do they ascribe to a banana in the tree is worth two in the pool type philosophy? In this environment they can try both ways. Wagering and losing is an even more important lesson than when luck is on side so giving up bananas (and having them stolen) definitely practises good sportsmanship. It also plays fast and comes in a small box with a carry handle for little hands to hold.

The added banana counting is a sneaky math skill as is the dexterity needed to hang the monkey tokens on the tree. And as with most of Orchard Toys games, this is built to last so all the components are made from thick sturdy cardboard. It’s also cutely illustrated and super colourful too which will keep your little monkeys entertained! Our son was captivated by the 3D tree when we play this together. And although he has now topped out past the recommended age range, he still enjoys a game of Cheeky Monkeys. Whether your little ones keep all their monkeys (and yours!) on their side of the tree throughout the game is not guaranteed, however!

This blog was written by Favouritefoe