Fireman Sam Spin and Rescue Game review

With all the toy reviewing we've been doing lately, I'm sure the kids must think Christmas has come early ! The latest toy that we put through its paces was the Fireman Sam Spin and Rescue Game from Jumbo (who also sent us the lovely Disney Princess Magic Wand Game that we reviewed here).

The game contains a Fireman Sam model which slots into a special spinner, 20 hero cards (5 cards representing 4 different characters - Fireman Sam, Elvis, Tom and Penny) and 4 markers. We got off to a false start because we'd run out of AAA batteries so we had to pack it all away and wait until I'd been to the shops to buy some. Disappointed faces all round - you have been warned !

Once we'd restocked the batteries, we set up the game. The twenty cards (or, if less than four players are playing, you can remove the cards representing the hero who isn't being played, to make it slightly easier) need to all be laid out around the spinner, rather like when you play pairs.

Now, whoever worded the instructions was asking for trouble - never ever tell kids to spin the spinner "as hard as they can" ! I love the concept though, as - just like the magic wand in the Princess game - it's so much easier, not to mention more fun, for small children to use in place of dice.

When you spin the spinner, Sam bursts into action, shouting orders and making bells ring so that you know whether to turn over one or two cards, hoping to find one of your set, or if you have to put one back. Just like when you play pairs, players have to memorise the position of their cards (if they are turned over by another player) so that they can pick them up when the spinner lands on them.

It all seemed incredibly loud, which had the girls in fits of giggles, but I would have liked a volume control or a slightly lower level of decibels, especially as Pierre was already in bed ! One other very slight criticism was that the marker cards kept falling out of the holes as the spinner whizzed around on the tray.

As it was taking quite a while to finish the game, we adapted the rules slightly towards the end so that the person who turned over the cards had to give them to the player with that character. With either set of rules, we had great fun playing and it's a good way of getting your children to use their concentration and logic skills, memorising the cards' position, and also basic maths, to work out how many cards they have and need to win with the complete set of five.

Fireman Sam fans of all ages will love it and it's a great game with very few rules for children to play by themselves as very little adult supervision is needed. Don't forget the batteries though !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £9.99 

Other reviews you may be interested in :

Hit Spring Water for Kids review

new Fireman Sam DVD : 'Ready for Action'

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