Peter Rabbit games from Orchard Toys review UK 2024

Overall rating: 5/5

What we like

Both fun and educational
Easy to set up
Easy for younger players to understand game rules
Short gameplay
Beautiful drawings of recognisable characters
Chunky pieces, making it easy for little hands to grasp

What we don’t like

Games are aimed at younger children, so older siblings may find them a bit boring

Key specs

Price on writing: £10-£13 | Ages: Toddlers up to 5 years | Difficulty: Easy | Game duration: 10-15 | Set-up time: Under 5 minutes

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How we tested

I was sent samples of four games and puzzles to test - Don’t Wake Mr. McGregor! (suitable for ages 4+), Fish and Count (3+), 4-in-a-Box Puzzles (3+) and Heads and Tails (18 months+). My two children, aged four and six, helped to test out the games and puzzles.

Our verdict

The fun, yet educational, Orchard Toys has launched its first licensed range of products - and what better fit for this much-loved brand than the cosy World Of Peter Rabbit?

Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Flopsy and Cotton Tail are all present and correct, alongside other recognisable characters straight out of Beatrix Potter’s timeless books, reimagined in Orchard Toys’ distinctive style.

We loved Don’t Wake Mr. McGregor!, a game where you have to race your rabbits to the irate farmer’s vegetable patch and pinch the veg without waking him up. As well as helping my youngest’s counting skills, it was great for working on turn-taking. And it was good fun to boot!

With its simple premise, Fish and Count is easy for young children to pick up and learn quickly. It’s also got a relatively short game time, so there is no chance of little ones losing interest. It was great for boosting counting skills and number recognition.

The chunky puzzles with their super cute designs were great for small hands and really got the little grey cells working. Meanwhile, Heads and Tails, featuring bold and beautiful images of Jemima Puddleduck, Mrs Tiggywinkle and all the old favourites, would make a perfect gift for any toddler.

Are the Orchard Toys Peter Rabbit games easy to set up?

As you would expect for games aimed at young children, these were easy to set up. With Fish and Count, all I had to do was fix the plastic arrow to create the spinner, distribute four character boards around the players and spread out the 30 fish/beetle cards on the table. And that was it.

Don’t Wake Mr. McGregor! was slightly more complicated and involved pushing a load of vegetable counters out of a sheet of cardboard, before six oversized jigsaw pieces were slotted together to make the game board. The rabbit counters and the sleeping Mr McGregor were inserted onto stands before the farmer and all his veg were put in place at the top of the board.

How do you play the Orchard Toys Peter Rabbit games?

Both Fish and Count and Don’t Wake Mr. McGregor! were easy to play, and both came with clear and easy-to-understand instructions. For Fish and Count, each player has to spin the spinner and then pick a beetle card with the number of bugs corresponding with the number spun. The player then flips the card over and counts the fish. The winner is the player with the most fish at the end of the game. But watch out for the stickleback card (or the piranha, as my six-year-old kept calling it) as it will eat all your fish and you’ll have to start from scratch. My eldest enjoyed this unpredictable element, while my four-year-old was highly unimpressed with having to start over.

Don’t Wake Mr. McGregor involves getting from one end of the garden to the other, swiping a vegetable to add to your haul. However, if your rabbit falls into a watering can, you will wake Mr McGregor, who will chase your rabbit back to square one. The winner is the player who has the most vegetables. But here’s the twist - some of the vegetables are rotten, and you only find out which ones at the end of the game when the counters are turned over. If your veggies are rotten, they won’t be included in your final total, so you may find that the winner isn’t necessarily the player with the biggest stash.

Are the Orchard Toys Peter Rabbit games good to play as a family?

We really enjoyed playing Fish and Count and Don’t Wake Mr. McGregor. Before we started playing, I was concerned my eldest may find the games a bit slow going or too easy, but she loved them, particularly Don’t Wake Mr. McGregor!, and enjoyed helping her little sister improve her maths skills playing Fish and Count. The games are fun, with the twists adding a little bit of excitement to encourage kids to come back and play again. Although older children probably wouldn’t want to play these games, all the Peter Rabbit games are perfect for their target audience.

My four-year-old also really enjoyed the 4-in-a-Box Puzzles. They are bright and interesting to look at, and posed just enough of a challenge without being too difficult and running the risk of putting her off completing them.

What other games are in Orchard Toys' Peter Rabbit range?

As well as all the games and puzzles listed here, you may also want to check out Rabbit Race (RRP £10, for ages 3+) and Veg Patch Lotto (RRP £12, ages 3+).

About the author

Laura Cooke is a Content Editor at Mumsnet, with a special focus on child’s play, outdoor play and toddler play content.

Laura started writing Swears By articles for Mumsnet in 2021, writing buyers guides and product reviews to help Mumsnetters make informed choices when it comes to parting with their pennies.

Laura is also a freelance journalist and has written articles for publications including the Daily Mirror, the i, Metro, Stylist and Happiful magazine.

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