Colour Match: First Colours Card Game for Toddlers

A first colour game for toddlers: 30 cards in 6 colours to sort, match and name

Colour Match teaches toddlers their first colour words through simple grouping games. Each card shows a friendly creature, such as a crab, an octopus or a dinosaur, with a matching coloured border. The same creatures appear in different colours, so children can sort the cards by colour or by creature, and start to understand that "red" or "green" describes something, whatever it is.

At a glance

• 30 jumbo cards, 14.5 × 10 cm
• 6 colours (green, red, yellow, purple, orange and blue), 5 cards each
• Each card: one creature with a border in the same colour
• The same creatures appear in different colours, for sorting two ways
• Blank backs
• Rules left flexible, so very young children can play their way
• Builds colour words, attention, matching and turn-taking
• Sturdy glossy laminated card with rounded corners
• Ages 2+
• Designed by speech and language professionals

Why sorting helps children learn colours

Children often learn to say colour words before they understand them. Sorting the same creature into different colours, and different creatures into the same colour, shows them that colour is a property that can change while the thing stays the same. That idea is the starting point for all describing words.

Ways to play

• Sort by colour: make a pile for each colour. "Where does the red octopus go?"
• Sort by creature: put all the octopuses together, then name each one's colour.
• Find the match: hold up a card and ask your child to find another of the same colour.
• Take turns: each player picks a card, says its colour and adds it to the right pile.
• Give me…: lay out a few cards and ask your child to give you "the green one".

Start with two colours and add more as your child gets confident.

Who it's for

• Toddlers learning their first colour words
• Children who can say some colours but mix them up
• Children with speech or language delays, including children with autism
• Children learning English as an additional language
• Parents, preschool teachers and speech and language therapists

Where it fits

• Use alongside: Which? Verbal Reasoning Part 2, describing objects by how they look and feel, including colour
• Use alongside: Super Talker, functional language games, including a colour game, for ages 4+
• Next: Everyday Objects Level 1, first words for everyday things

Who made it

Brainy Bug Resources decks are designed by speech and language professionals with extensive clinical experience in mainstream schools, special schools and community clinics. Each deck follows how children's language actually develops, from single words to two-word phrases, sentences and reasoning.

Frequently asked questions

What age is it for?

2 years and up.

Which colours are included?

Green, red, yellow, purple, orange and blue.

Are there rules?

The game is kept simple and flexible, so you can adapt it to your child. Grouping by colour is the main activity.

What's on the back of the cards?

Nothing. The backs are blank.

Does it have audio?

No. It's designed for an adult and child to play together.