Matthew Bailey“Forest First” is the first in a selection of games we’re looking at that have just been brought to the UK by Hachette, designed by Kiwi Zou. To give you an idea, these games are very much aimed at a younger audience and have a similar feel to games by HABA. Overall, looking at the range as a whole, I’m really impressed by them for a number of reasons. Starting with “Forest First”, I’m going to tell you why.
“Forest First” is the youngest of the lot, with a box recommendation of age 3+, so we sat down to try it out with the youngest of the Bailey crew, Henry. The game itself is really simple but has enough depth and strategy to make it a worthwhile play for the older kids—and even me!
You start by setting up the board as a jigsaw, creating four tracks where your four forest friends are getting ready to race. All the tiles then go into a bag. These tiles are split into two types: a coloured tree or a snack.
On your turn, you draw a tile from the bag, and it’s either a movement tile or a snack tile. If it’s a movement tile, the player who drew it chooses which side to use, as all tiles are double-sided with a mix of red, green, and yellow trees. The interesting part is that it’s not just about picking the best colour for your own marker—when you pick a colour, every player moves to the next matching tree. So, sometimes, it actually makes more sense to pick a colour that isn’t ideal for you if it means stopping another player from getting too far ahead. It’s really nice to see this extra layer of strategy in a game aimed at this age group. Many games for younger children—”Orchard Toys“ being the most obvious example—are often just roll-and-move with little decision-making.
The other thing you can pull from the bag is a food tile. If you draw one, you can place it on a matching tree on any opponent’s track. When that player moves along their track, they will stop at the food tile, essentially acting as a way to slow down the leader. But it’s not just a catch-up mechanic—it can be used strategically to manage your own movement as well. Of course, you can ignore the strategy entirely and just pick colours randomly, which would work fine with a two-year-old. But Henry really enjoyed trying to work it out, and even though he might not have fully grasped it, this definitely added an extra dimension. Importantly, it kept seasoned gamers Jack and Toby entertained.
The first player to reach the end of the track wins. If there’s a tie, the player with the most food tiles wins.
The component quality is solid. Everything has a nice linen finish, the characters are adorable, and the game comes with a lovely fabric bag for storing the tiles. The artwork is gorgeous and will definitely stand out on shelves. As you’ll see when I look at the other games from this publisher, they have a really strong and consistent graphical style.
As is often the case with games like this, I do wish there was a bit more of an insert, but with the included bag, it’s not really a big deal. And at this price point, inserts aren’t particularly common anyway.
If “Forest First” is anything to go by, we’ve got a new contender in town for games aimed at really young children. If you’re looking for a game to play with a two or three-year-old—or even a slightly older child who’s new to board games—this is a great pick. And if your child is still at the “Orchard Toys” level but you want something with better quality and a bit more engagement, this is definitely one to consider.
Disclaimer: “Forest First” was kindly provided by “Hachette Games” for review. Flavien Loisier is the General Manager of Hachette and is a active member of our community. Our thoughts and opinions are, however, our own.
