Designed for 3 – 6 year olds, Dotty Dinosaurs is perfect for little dinosaur lovers. It’s also a great way of supporting children’s learning of colours and shapes.
The game consists of four different dinosaur playing boards, meaning that up to four can play at a time. Each board is double sided so you use one side for the colour version of the game, and the other for the shape variant. Depending on which version of the game you are playing you use either the colour die or the shape die.
Included are 24 coloured dots (four of each of six colours) and 24 shapes (red, yellow, green and blue of square, rectangle, circle, diamond, triangle and semi-circle).
Colour matching Dotty Dinosaurs
Turn all the boards to show the coloured dots on the dinosaurs. Lay out on the table the coloured dots, coloured side up. Take it in turns to roll the coloured die. When you roll it find the matching coloured dot and place it in the correct position on your dinosaur’s back. If your dinosaur already has a dot of that colour play just moves to the next player.
The first player to add all the different coloured dots to their dinosaur wins.
Shape matching Dotty Dinosaurs
The shape matching version of Dotty Dinosaurs works in a very similar way to the colour matching game. This time turn all the dinosaur boards over to the side showing shapes on their backs. Lay out all the different shapes on the table, or give each player all their coloured shapes. Use the shape die and each time you roll it place the matching shape on your dinosaur’s back. Again, if your dinosaur already has that shape on their back, play just moves to the next player.
The first player to fill all the shapes on their dinosaur board wins.
Why we love Dotty Dinosaurs
Whilst Dotty Dinosaurs might appear to be a simple game it is wonderful for children as a way of the practicing both shape and colour recognition. It also allows children to get used to the concepts of turn taking and also rolling a die. Both important skills when it comes to board games.
What to look out for…
The only word of warning I’d give grown ups with this game is that it can be a bit of a faff sorting out the circle shapes and working out which are coloured dots and which are circles for the shape version. It took me a while to realise that Orchard Toys have actually made this easier though and the version of Dotty Dinosaurs we have has different coloured backs for the shapes and the colours. Genius!
Missing a piece?
One reason we love Orchard Toys so much is because of their spare part service. We often pick up Orchard Toys games in charity shops or at car boot sales, and is always the case with children’s games pieces do tend to go missing. Orchard Toys offer a wonderful service though where you can just head to their website and order spare parts for your game. What’s even better is that you can order up to three parts and it only costs you the postage of £1.30 (correct as of February 2023). It’s a brilliant way of making games last and allowing them to be passed on to other children once one grows out of them.
Where to buy Dotty Dinosaurs
Most good bricks and mortar toy shops sell a range of Orchard Toys games and you can often also find them in Garden Centres that have toy departments. Dotty Dinosaurs is available to buy online from Amazon here.
Want to see other Orchard Toy games?
Why not see which other Orchard Toys games we have enjoyed. Take a look here for all the ones we have written about.
Disclaimer: Links in this post that take you to Amazon are affiliate links. If you go to Amazon and buy anything then I will receive a small commission, but it will not cost you any more than if you have arrived at Amazon under your own steam. Thank you very much for any purchases you do make. Right now every little bit is very appreciated and makes a huge difference.