Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates

Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates – AD sent for review

disclosure:  we were sent this game for the purpose of review

I’m always on the lookout for a new game, something to interest my little boy, something for us to play as a family.  He got a pirate ship for his birthday last year, it’s been well-played with over the year and he likes the idea of buried treasure.  We often play treasure hunts around the house and garden.  When Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates came to my attention, I knew this would go down well with my little treasure hunter.

Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates

Chimp and Zee are a range of educational games and puzzles from Paul Lamond GamesChimp and Zee Pesky Pirates is a game aimed at children between 3-5 years and can be played with 2-4 players.

A nearly 4-year-old boy was eager to join the Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates and discover some buried treasure!

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The game comprises a 4 piece jigsaw desert island play board, 4 treasure chests, 36 golden coins, 4 Pesky Pirate character play pieces, a Parrot play piece, a Jolly Roger play piece, 5 plastic bases for the play pieces to stand in, and a spinner.

Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates

My son set to work putting the desert island together.

Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates

The board and play pieces are made of a thick board, so will withstand being played with by younger children.

We picked our treasure treasures – a good test of colour recognition skills as each chest has a different colour octopus guarding it.  The treasure chests are made of thinner card than the other play pieces in this game.  You would probably want to keep them away from very young children to ensure they didn’t get ripped.

Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates

You then put a piece of gold on each space around the board except those with footprints on, and place the remaining ‘pieces of eight’ in the centre of the desert island.  You decide whether the Pirate or Jolly Roger will be trying to steal your treasure, and he guards the central stash.

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Pick your Pesky Pirate companions, place them on the footprints nearest to you and you are ready to begin!

Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates

I have to say that the bases for the play pieces are great, they are made of thick plastic and the play pieces fit in really easily.  There’s no risk of damage and the pieces stay in the bases really well.

My son, as the youngest, got to spin first.

Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates

The aim of the game is to collect as many gold coins as you can.  If you spin a number then your Pesky Pirate moves around the board that many places and if you land on a coin, you claim it as your treasure and stow it safely away in your treasure chest!

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The plastic gold coins have images of skull and crossbones on one side and a pirate ship on the other.  My son thought this was great and we discussed bringing our pirate ship into play to whisk the treasure chests away at the end of the game.  I love games that stimulate the imagination.

If you spin and land on the Parrot/Jolly Roger then you pick up the character from the centre of the desert island and place them in front of another player’s treasure chest.  That player must put one of their coins into the central pile along with the Parrot/Jolly Roger.

If you spin and land on the gold coin then it’s your lucky day and you get to take a coin from the central stash for yourself.  If the central coffers are bare, then you can take any coin from around the board.  You also get another go!

There is so much to talk about with this game, the desert island has lots of detail, we loved the X marks the spot.

My son’s getting much better at turn-taking now which is good with this game, he’s learning to accept that he might lose gold coins during gameplay.  He can count out the spaces he needs to move and loved counting his coins, especially when he was beating me!

If you land on a space that’s already occupied by a Pesky Pirate you move forward to the next available space, he liked that idea too! When all of the coins from the end of the board have been collected, you play a final death spin-off!  Whoever spins and lands on the gold coin, get the bounty.  The winner is the player with the most coins.

This game can be played quite quickly, so it’s great for younger children, who might not have the greatest concentration span.

We both thoroughly enjoyed this game, my son loved playing in an imaginary world, and I liked the fact he was working on his counting skills and on turn-taking, whilst having lots of fun.

We give Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates a big thumbs up – it’s a great game, we’ve had loads of fun with it. Priced at around £10.00 I think this is good value for money.

 

11 thoughts on “Chimp and Zee Pesky Pirates – AD sent for review

  1. Thanks, just picked this up from a charity shop and it came without the instructions. You explained how to play in great detail:)My 4 year old loved it! We definitely found treasure at the charity shop.

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