Miniland Pair Game

We've been fans of Miniland for a little while and I like their bright, chunky toys and commitment to educational toys so when we were offered the opportunity for Bud to review one of their educational games in the run up to him starting school in September it was easy to accept. When we received the Miniland Pair Game I was unsure what Bud would make of it, we've had numerous card pairs games which haven't engaged him at all, I hoped this game would be different.


As soon as the game arrived I knew it was different. This is so much more than a pack of cards to match. The box is large, and inside contains a hinged game board, twelve game cards and twelve covers for the holes in the game board.


Game play is simple. Place a card in the game board, close the cover. Put the covers on and you are ready to go. Bud grasped the concept very quickly and got excited choosing which board he wanted to play first. Inevitably my little animal crazy boy went for the animals boards first and we got through each of them quite quickly. Bud grasped the game well and immediately understood what he had to do. Turn taking is a little problematic, he struggles a little with waiting for his go so we are trying to play games that require this at the moment and the Pair Game is perfect for this.


The twelve game cards included offer a range of difficulty level. Some are simple pair matching, like the animals you can see in the photos but six of them require more complicated processes to match the pairs. There are more complex patterns, where you really have to concentrate to see which two match, one where you match an item to it's silhouette, and one that I'm still a bit unsure of with die sides and images on it. I can't quite work out the pairs on this one!


Every component of the game is high quality, the covers sit nicely on the board and are easy to lift and remove. The box has it's own carry handle and it closes securely, making it a great game to take on holiday or on sleepovers.


We're really enjoying the Pair Game. It's exploring and introducing mathematical concepts to Bud - counting, matching and memory skills are needed and it's interesting to watch him play and improve his ability level with practice. Turn taking is something that will be necessary at school and it's really helping him to learn that he has his go and waits for everyone else to go before having his next turn. The beauty of this game is that you don't actually need more than one player. Bud has sat and played this on his own just as much as he has with someone else since it arrived.

If you'd like to keep up with all of Miniland's news then check out their brand new Miniland Educational UK Facebook Page, I'm told they have some fantastic giveaways planned there! To find out where to buy the Miniland Range, check out Where to Buy.

Discosure: We received the game for review purposes.