The Duck Game

This HABA Little Duck game is a wonderfully well made first board game designed for toddlers aged 2 years and up. If you are hunting for a very first board game where all its playing pieces are pretty much indestructible by children, this should be near if not at the top of your list to look at. The game parts are either of smooth wood or else very thick cardboard. I got this game to give my grand niece, who is not two years old yet, so most the game and what it hopes to teach her by playing it is still over her head, but she is already quite interested in "Lu, the wooden Duck on wheels" that comes with this game and is interacting and playing with that particular game piece, learning it can be pushed around on its wheels, which HABA describes as the earliest stage of play using this game before they move forward learning how to actually play it via some rules. The game itself was designed to help a toddler begin learning to identify both colors and shapes and how to match them. It is accomplished by using a game boards that show pictures of different animals, all of which are friends of Lu the duck. The friends are all dressed in clothing colors decorated with patterns that match the shapes the child is learning to identify. The clothes also all come with matching hats, but the hats are always being misplaced by the friends, and so need Lu the duck's help to find the hats and then match them up with the correct outfit. The game was designed to be played alone or with up to four people. Initially, the game is played cooperatively until the child knows the four basic colors and shapes used, and late, they can advance to mild competitive play. Beyond that, it is possible to incorporate a memory game into the game as well. So it is a very cute game that will teach the most basic concepts of joint play and playing games with rules, as well as the importance of helping others when they need it, and that games can be fun even if you do not win each game. The skills being furthered by playing the game include color and shape learning, and how to be a better observer of things, as well as some coordination of fine motor skills. Overall, this is a win-win early game.

Fun to play quality pieces just too expensive

My wife says: I absolutely love the HABA Lu Duck Educational Games! These games are not only incredibly cute but also provide a fantastic learning experience for toddlers. The "working together" concept is brilliant, teaching kids the importance of cooperation from an early age. The choice between two observation games keeps things fresh and engaging. It's fantastic to see children working together to match the hats in the first game, fostering teamwork and communication skills. The competitive aspect of the second game adds an exciting twist and encourages healthy competition among little ones. Plus, the adorable wooden ducky is a delightful touch that brings the game to life and adds a charming element to playtime. I appreciate that this game is not just about fun but also helps develop essential skills. It's a fantastic tool for pattern recognition and fine motor skill development. The age recommendation of 2 and up is spot on, and the fact that it's designed for 1-4 players makes it versatile for different play settings. And it's made in Germany, which speaks to its quality. Overall, HABA's Lu Duck Educational Games are a must-have for parents looking for an engaging, educational, and fun game for their little ones. It's a game that fosters both learning and togetherness, and it's become a cherished addition to our playtime routine.

Cute simple game for small kids, we love this brand.

HABA My Very First Games Little Duck for Ages 2+ This is a perfect and fun way to introduce very young children to playing a board type game. Little Duck utilizes a child’s ability to recognize colors and patterns that match to help the soft toy illustrations find their missing hats. The instructions include practical ways to help your child develop the cognitive skills they need to begin playing, as well as ideas for supporting those skills during play. There are also several social skills that come into the picture as you play. What a great way to have quality time and fun together. There are two variations of the game. One is a cooperative version and the second is competitive. Again, there is useful information in the instruction booklet about ways to approach both of these. Each game takes only about 5-10 minutes to complete, which is developmentally appropriate for the target age group. I have a feeling that many children might even come up with their own ideas for using these game parts. By far, our favorite part of this game is getting to take Lu Duck for rides around the game pieces. She is beautifully made of smooth wood and looks simply adorable wearing the hats. While the cost of this item might seem a bit high for a toddler’s game, our experience with HABA games and toys is that they are very durable and long lasting. A much better investment than toys that fall apart after a few uses. Designed for children 2+, HABA has taken into account that they can sometimes be unintentionally rough with toys, and used heavy duty durable cardboard and wood elements to create this.

Haba has made a name for themselves producing well-made games for small children. The Duck Game is another solid offering in their growing lineup. It is in many ways as much a toy as a game, in that moving around the adorable little wooden duck-on-wheels ("Lu Duck") and putting hats on it is perhaps the most significant part of the experience. There are zero meaningful decisions to be made (you choose hats at random), which is generally a good thing for the first games tiny humans play. In this it is similar to other Haba titles such as First Orchard that have been very popular with our kids in the 2-4 range. The fundamental skill required to execute each turn properly is color and pattern/shape recognition. Additionally, kids will exercise their basic motor skills trundling the wheeled Lu Duck around, adding and removing hats, and placing the hats/tiles where they go on various boards. The fun of the game comes from, in addition to the enjoyable physical components, the anticipation of what color/pattern each hat will be, the mild tension of needing to complete collections of them before drawing all the starry night hats/tiles, and the satisfying of correctly matching and placing the hats where they go. It teaches kids about taking turns, about working together/understanding that sometimes other people win instead of you (depending on if you're playing the cooperative or competitive variant), and of course provides practice in identifying/matching colors and tiny shape patterns. The kids always really want to roll that duck around and put hats on it. Overall, it's a solid entry in the "my first game" category.

My son is 2.9 years old, and we have a few other games in our collection. This duck hat game, was really fun. For some reason, I always have a hard time understanding game directions, but this one's pretty simple. We started with the simple version, where you pull the duck around in a circle turnover a disc, and match the color and pattern to the various game boards. This made me very impressed with my son's eyesight, haha. He could distinguish between the tiny triangle pattern and the tiny dot pattern from 3 ft away! I had initially tried to set the game up on my son's weaning table, but it did not work. The game required too much space so we moved it to the floor. We are still working on taking turns, and maybe assigning each player a game board, but I think this game will grow with him. My son also loves vehicles so the fact that this duck has wheels was a big plus. The game boards and all the circle discs are made of thick cardboard, very good quality. It would be tough for a toddler to bend this. Not impossible, cuz with toddlers we all know where there's a will there's a way, but I don't think my son has the finger strength to bend the boards. This is a cute game and I'm so glad we added this and it's very fun for color recognition pattern recognition and I'm sure the more advanced game will build on these skills.

We love HABA games. They are uniformly excellent, dumbing down nothing. Made in Germany, the workmanship is terrific and the games tend to be complex. In fact, I was surprised at how complicated this game is given that it is for ages 2 and up! But our kids can surprise us. There are two games, although I'm sure you could make up more. Basically, one is cooperative and one is competitive. Both involve matching hats up with depicted animals using both colors and shapes; the circles that represent hats have patterns printed on them. There's also an awful lot of pulling the cute duck around wearing the various “hats”. One flaw is that in the competitive version of the game, if you can't use your piece, you have to give it to another player. So it's cooperative after all. That was strange. Other than that, all good.