Review | Orangutwang Board Game

If you’re looking for a game for the kids this Christmas, then get your teeth into this. Orangutwang is the new kid on the block.

It’s along the same lines as an old classic but involves, not a horse, but an orangutang. Get the word play? Excellent. Toby and Teddy had absolutely no idea what I was talking about when I tried to explain it to them but I found it brilliant nonetheless. It’s crazy what pleases you when you’re a real life grown up, eh?

Setting Up Orangutwang

The set up is incredibly simple. No batteries involved and all pieces are included. All you need to do is click together the two base pieces, and then push the two trees in at opposite ends of the base; the wire upon which the orangutang piece will hang is already assembled. I will say now, this does need a little bit of adult power to get the bits in just right.

Once the structure has been formed, it’s time to hang the orangutang. You’ll need to take it from the front of the box and I would urge you to do this with care and try to save the plastic mould he’s attached in; if the box rips or the plastic gets damaged then there’s ultimately nowhere to store all the pieces as there’ll be a gaping hole in the box in the shape of the orangutang. However, we have managed to do it by fitting the big pieces closer to the front so it can be done!

How To Play

Once the orangutang has been hung on the vine you’ll need to push the toucan down – you’ll find this guy on one of the trees – to set the vine ready for the game.

We chose the easiest way of going first by starting with the youngest, although if the kids are a bit older than mine (they’re currently 6 and 4) then you can do it by seeing who can say ‘banana’ five times the quickest.

You roll the dice and depending what you land on will determine what piece you have to hang on the orangutang; whether it’s a bat, a bunch of bananas, a gecko, coconut or pineapple – there are 14 pieces to hang in total. Once you have your piece in hand, you must hang it anywhere on the orangutang, but not the vine.

Play continues to the left until all pieces are hung; obviously the whole idea is to keep it balanced so you’re not the one to make the orangutang go ‘twang’. Play ends when all pieces are hung, or the orangutang gets too unbalanced and heavy and flings off the string. The winner is the last person to successfully hang a piece before it goes flying.

Thoughts On Orangutwang

Interplay UK have come up trumps with Orangutwang. I love that this game is a well thought out remake of an old classic but with a whole new lease of life. It’s fun, helps teach patience and fine motor skills in younger children and is full of suspense; everything you could possibly want in a family game.

It’s made for the whole family and can get quite competitive, of course, but we’ve not had any tears yet because if anything my kids want to be the ones to make it jump.

A couple of things I would like to mention though are that firstly, if you run out of a certain type of “piece” there aren’t any instructions on what you should do. It’s a good idea to make your own rule here about whether you continue to roll until someone gets that particular piece, or whether you can choose what to hang up instead. The danger with continuing to roll is that it might take ages to land on that piece.

The second thing is that I was initially quite disappointed in the lack of ‘twang’. We successfully hung up all 14 pieces, three or four times in a row, without the orangutang moving even a millimetre. I made sure the vine was slacking enough and that all pieces were put together properly, but I guess we were just really good at balancing. We got a couple of good jumps but I think this game really does rely on the heavy handed-ness of children in general, rather than the weight of the actual pieces to make it jump.

There are no batteries involved which is always a bonus, especially at times like Christmas! I really enjoyed playing this with the kids. No tricky rules, quick to set up and put away and they really enjoy playing it!

Win

It’s the first day of the Christmas Bonanza here! For your chance to win an Orangutwang board game then just enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is the next giveaway:
Day Two – Retro Personalised Sweetie Jar

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This competition will open on 1st November and will close on 7th December at 11.59pm
• One winner will be selected at random
• One winner will receive one ‘Orangutwang’ board game
• You must be a UK resident aged 18 or over
• No cash alternative will be offered
• The winner will be contacted by email and announced on Raising the Rings Facebook and Twitter
• The winner will have 28 days to respond to their winner’s email
• You must enter using at least one of the entry methods in the Rafflecopter widget above, they are not all mandatory
• Prize will be provided within 28 days from winner’s response
• Delivery for Christmas is NOT guaranteed

*I was sent this product in return for a review. All views and opinions are my own.
*This post includes affiliate links.