This is a collaborative post in partnership with Jaques of London
Do you like to play family board games? We’ve played them with the kids since they were really small, and over the years have always found it a great way to get everyone together and having fun.
We’re always on the lookout for new games to add to our collection, and Jaques of London have sent us two of their lovely traditional games to try out.
Traditional toys & games from Jaques of London
Jaques of London is the oldest games company and sports manufacturer in the world. It’s very much a family company, with a heritage that reaches through eight generations all the way back to 1795. You might be surprised to learn that Jaques are responsible for inventing lots of well-known games, including croquet, snakes and ladders, ludo and tiddly winks.
The Jaques of London range includes toys, board games, jigsaw puzzles and outdoor games. Many items incorporate traditional manufacturing methods and hand-finished elements, and there’s something for all ages from baby right through to adult.
We tried out the Chinese Checkers game and the 15 inch Club Backgammon Set.
The products arrive beautifully packaged in Jaques of London’s signature gift packaging. If you’re buying them as a gift, you definitely won’t need to do any wrapping.
Chinese Checkers / Go Bang
This is a two-in-one product, with a double sided game board and two sets of playing pieces in a cloth drawstring bag. It’s currently on offer at £17.99.
With Chinese Checkers, the aim is to move all your pegs to the opposite section of the board. Go Bang is all about encircling as much territory on the board as possible. Both of these are the type of family board games that look deceptively simple, but quickly hook you in and get more and more strategic.
The game is handmade from wood, and the playing pieces are all easy to handle with a glossy finish. I love the fact that everything is wooden, and you can really tell that it’s been made with care. The two-in-one aspect of this product makes it really good value for money too.
We sat down for a quick game, and were still going strong an hour later! There’s definitely a lot of scope for a strategic game with older children and adults, but there’s no reason why younger kids can’t join in too.
15″ Club Backgammon Set
Backgammon is a family game that requires tactics, but there’s also an element of chance thanks to the dice. The aim is to be the first to get all your pieces off the board. The principle is quite simple to grasp, which makes it good for younger children, but you can easily play a more strategic game with adults or older kids.
This stunning set costs £36.99 and features handmade pieces in a lovely leatherette case. It’s a really grown-up looking game, and I can tell it’s going to last for many years. It would make a fantastic gift.
We’ve had a few games of backgammon now, and it’s quickly becoming a favourite with the whole family. The more we play it, the more I can see the potential for getting strategic, and as such it’s definitely a game that we’ll carry on playing as the kids get older. It’s a fantastic way to develop their counting and memory skills too!
We’re really impressed with our Jaques of London games. They’re wonderful quality and beautifully made, with lots of attention to detail and bags of play value. The fact that they’re both traditional games with plenty of strategic potential means we’ll be playing them on a regular basis, which also makes them excellent value for money.
If you’re looking to buy traditional family board games or educational toys, it’s well worth checking out the Jaques of London range. There’s something for all ages, and that gorgeous wrapping will make your gift shopping even easier!
Jaques of London supplied me with the products covered in this feature for review purposes. All comments and opinions are honest and based on my experience of using the products.
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