Ripe for the Pickins! The Big Fat Tomato Game and Elephant’s Trunk by Gamewright (review)

Ceaco/Gamewright has lots of games and puzzles.

Here are the two I want to tell you about today!

The Big Fat Tomato Game – Competitive tomato farming in this hilarious family game, complete with mini tomatoes and a shelf-popping tin package. This game surely is " Ripe for the Pickin!", read more about the game and it's inventor Casey Grove on Gamewright's GAMEBLOG


The concept of collecting produce in competition works well, and it is taken to new heights with the ability to impede the competition with attacks. Cards carry agrarian titles like “Bumper Crop” and “Troublesome Weeds”, and a few are named with Gamewright’s cartoony touch that gives unique flavor to their games, such as “Remote Control Mole” and “Hey, Look! It’s a Flying Hippo!” The cards were the cutest part of the game, and I love that it encourages thinking skills and is a brain exercise in and of itself. 

Sink your teeth into this juicy game of fierce tomato farming! Try to harvest the most tomatoes while defending your patch from a garden variety of intruders like weeds, varmints, and even the dastardly tomato zombie. Oh, and did we mention flying hippos?! Haul the most tomatoes to market by the end of the game and you're a slice above the competition!

We knew this game was ripe for the picking from the moment we opened the prototype and saw the little fuzzy “tomatoes” that came inside. Between the whimsical array of tomato-themed cards and the hilarious artwork, you’ll never think of tomato farming the same way again! Hopefully this will become a new kind of family heirloom. By the way, it shouldn’t surprise you that the game’s creator, Casey Grove, is actually a farmer!

Fine Motor Skills Visual Discrimination Strategic Thinking Parents' Choice Recommended Dr. Toy's Top 100 Children's Products Tillywig Top Fun Award

Of the two games, we personally liked this one best! It was extremely engaging and held Giana's attention the entire games. Giana, being so smart for her age, can get discouraged by the child-like nature of some board games. She is quick to proclaim that they are babyish. But she never once said that about either of these games!! We loved that it came in a tin box, as boxes getting damaged with board games by kids is a serious problem, in my opinion.  The pieces are quality designed and built to last. Games are such an important part of a child’s education. It is a wonderful vehicle for teaching how to take turns, as well as how to be a good sport. 
The games is challenging enough that it is seriously addictive. I feel at the price of this game at: $17.99 is more than reasonable. BUY now on Shopatron - Gamewright: Big Fat Tomato Game
Ages 8+

The next game was called Elephant's Trunk 
Elephant’s Trunk – A cute pre-school game with nice wood pieces and mini tin “suitcases”.

Elephant's Trunk is a whimsical looking game that starts out innocent, but can get pretty charged!
 We love it. She especially loved opening and closing the cases. Super cute game that worked really well for us. Gamewright has been bringing out the hits!
BUY now on Shopatron - Gamewright: Elephants Trunk Game ($14.99)

Elephant’s Trunk, published by Gamewright, is comprised of 24 Clothing tokens (6 socks, 6 shirts, 6 boxers, and 6 hats), 4 Trunk tins (1 yellow, 1 blue, 1 green, and 1 red), 1 Emmet the Elephant figurine, and 1 wooden six-sided die. All the game components are very durable and colorful too! 
 The object of the game is to help Emmet (the elephant) pack his trunks for vacation.   The first player to pack all of his/her clothes wins….but there’s a little mouse just waiting to mess up your packing plans

Getting Organized

To set up the game, set out the 4 Trunk tins and arrange them in a circle, making sure they are empty. Now separate the Clothing tokens into four different stacks, one stack per item of clothing. Depending on the number of game participants, give each player a number of Clothing tokens. Any tokens not used are discarded for the duration of the game.

Last, hand the Emmet the Elephant figurine to one player to place in front of any Trunk and hand the six-sided die to the first player.

Let’s Get Packing! 

The game is played with each player rolling the six-sided die and taking an action based on the die roll result. Once the action is resolved, the die is passed to the next player to the left. This continues until Emmet is packed.

The die results will require the player to do one of the following on their turn:

Rolled Result is a Color

If the rolled result is a color, it will match one of the 4 Trunk tins. The player now selects one of their Clothing tokens and places it in that Trunk, closing it and placing it back in the circle when they are done. Which token is used is not important and the token color need not match the Trunk color.

If the Emmet figurine is in front of the Trunk color rolled, the player can place 2 Clothing tokens in the Trunk instead of 1.

Rolled Result is the Mouse

If the rolled result is the mouse, the player will take and open the Trunk that the Emmet the Elephant figurine is in front of. If the Trunk contains any Clothing tokens, the player will take and add them to their currently unplayed tokens. Then they will place the Trunk back in the circle and move the Emmet figurine to the next Trunk, going clock-wise.

If the Trunk is empty, the player will place the Trunk back in the circle, but will still move the Emmet figurine to the next Trunk, going clock-wise.

All Packed!

As soon as a player places their last Clothing token in a Trunk, they win the game! Emmet is packed and pushed into a cab to be rushed to the airport.

Game Variant

If a shorter game is wanted, a player can take and place a complete clothes set comprised of 1 sock, 1 pair of boxers, 1 shirt, and 1 hat into the game box for the duration of the game. Not a Trunk! A player can do this at any time during their turn.

For more information on Elephant’s Trunk, see the game’s web page .

Parents' Choice Approved Dr. Toy's Best Vacation Products Tillywig Best Family Fun Award

Emmet the elephant is late for a trip and needs your help packing! Take turns rolling the die and placing a piece of clothing into the matching colored trunk. But watch out for the sneaky mouse who will try to dump out everything you just packed! Be the first to pack up all of Emmet’s clothes and he might just take you with him on vacation!

It’s a pachyderm packing game! As you help Emmet pack his trunks, you’ll reinforce such valuable early learning skills as color identification, pattern recognition, and fine motor development. Also, with every roll of the die, you’ll get a little taste of the anticipation you feel before leaving on vacation. Will you get a color and be able to pack your trunks, or will that pesky mouse mess up your plans? Bon Voyage

Fine Motor Skills Visual Discrimination Color Identification

Before we go, let me leave you with a thought! You all know I love Lalaloopsy sooo much (ok,   .... so the kids too!)  Anyway, I just noticed tonight that Ceaco make a bunch of  Lalaloopsy Puzzles!! and they are sooo stinking cute!!! 

HOW TO WIN one of these games. 2 winners, one will win Elephants Trunk one will win Big Fat Tomato Game. us only  18+.

The highlighted entries are mandatory please.

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18+ entries!!!  Giveaway period is over on 8/31 at NOON Eastern!

Good Luck!

Winner will have 48 hours to confirm win by email before another winner is chosen! Winners name will appear on this blogs Facebook Wall as well. Thanks so much for reading and entering here, come back soon!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Your experience with the product may differ from mine. The sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment and will be shipping the winner(s) their prize(s). For more information read my rules/disclosure policy.