Grab a bug and spread the stink

What is it with boys and stuff thats just plain gross? they love it.......sticky, dirty, smelly....which is probably why Character Toys thought that the concept of Stink Bugz would be a good idea.

Yep these delightful creatures are part of a collection of what they call 'the most disgusting collection of bugz ever'........just fills me with joy!!

Yes these lovely little guys are basically gross smelling bugs......and i mean gross. There are currently 4 characters to collect at present...the one above being lovingly called Muck Maggot. They each come in a sealed jar.......and when you break that seal you can understand why.......they stink, really bad.....and as if that isn't bad enough, they are squeezable which means you can squeeze the stench in peoples faces.......fabulous!!!

Each bug has its own unique stench......
Muck Maggot - Rotten fish
Swampy Skeeter - Swamp water
Skunk Mantis - Skunk
Trashy Turdmite - Garbage heap

And thats it.....thats all they do, they stink, parents will hate them and kids will love them.......can't really go wrong. The only saving grace is the jars they come in, thankfully they provide a lid so you can seal the delightful characters up when your kids are not chasing you with them!!

Each little bug is £4.99 and you can buy them direct from the Character toys site or various other major toy retailers.

Oh but the stink doesnt stop there.....oh no, in addition to the lovely bugz you can also complete the set with a Parasites pack.

The Parasites Pack contains 4 mini parasites and a stink blaster......you simply load a parasite into the blaster, pump the handle and it blasts the stench.......again each Parasite comes in its own little pot for safe keeping......don't be fooled by the size, these are equally as stinky as the bigger versions.....and this pack is priced at £9.99. 

My youngest found it hilarious chasing me with these around the house with these......the smells are just so bad, but the boys loved them. With xmas rearing its ugly head around the corner these would be ideal stocking fillers.....and perfect for the kids to scare off your 'not so favorite' relative on xmas day!!

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Stay cool with the Chilli Factor

Now im pretty sure alot of you mums and dads bought a Chilli Factor Slushy Maker for one of your kids at xmas....i certainly did and its been a firm favorite with both of them since it was opened. Moving on from the success of that product, Chilli Factor have come up with an Ice Cream maker.....same concept but this time allowing you to make yummy treats such as ice cream, frozen yogurts and sorbets.

How to use

The Ice Cream maker is basically a soft rubberised cup and lid which resembles a giant ice cream. When you take the top off you will notice the interior of the cup....these are the cooling chambers which when you put it in the freezer employ rapid freeze technology. 

All you do is place the cup without the lid in the freezer and leave for several hours until the interior chambers are frozen (they will feel crunchy when squeezed). You then simply add your ingredients into the cup...for example we used :

100ml single cream

choc chips

2 tbp of toffee syrup

But there's loads of other recipes you can do (some included in the pack).

Anyway once all the ingredients is in, put the lid on, shake it up, take the lid off and then start squeezing the cup...should take you about a minute but as you squeeze you should start noticing the ingredients getting thicker...

Its then simply a case of using the special spoon to scoop out your treat.....

Does it work.....well yes, but you have to be sure that the cup is properly frozen before you attempt it. My kids absolutely love it and you could put in all sorts of ingredients such as fruit, berries, syrups, biscuit etc. Such a simple concept but such a winner with kids of all ages. Mine are 7 and 13....and both use this and the Slushy maker all the time.

This is the perfect kids gift at just £14,99 and is available from various supermarkets and online retailers including Character Online

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Prehistoric fun with Rivetz

So way way back in August last year i was asked to review Rivetz which is an alternative type of contraction set using cardboard and a rivitz gun. Well seeing as the run up to xmas is starting....(i know scary) Rivetz have a released a new range of bugs and beasts to build. 

Every kid out there loves dinosaurs so who couldn't resist making your very own Pterodactyl!!

The kit comes with:

A Rivetz Gun

Rivets to fix the model together

Multiple card pieces

An Instruction Manual

Age range for this set is 8+ and the model itself once built will have a wing span of 920mm.....so make sure you have plenty of room in your bedroom to display this badboy!!

Again i had my trusty assistant Jake who is now 12 to tackle the monster! The rivetz gun is quite straightforward to use however, and same as last time, it is a bit fiddly to hold the bits together to rivetz them with the gun. 

The shape of the bird means that alot of pieces are gently folded adding to the complexity of putting the pieces together......with that in mind this is the type of kit that is ideal to do with parent and child as i think a child of 8 would really struggle tackling this on his own.

Once constructed the finished model should resemble the above.....how could any child resist!!

Frustration with the pieces means that Jake didn't complete it in one session....and is still yet to finish it!! The overall fiddlyness of it got the better of him....but he's determined to finish it!!...Patience is the key with this as you will end up with a fantastic looking model.....its over halfway finished and already looking really impressive.

All in all these sets are really good...though you need to be prepared to be patient and lend a hand with the tricky bits. The rivetz are also easy to remove...so if you do make a mistake along the way simply just pull out and start again.

The set above retails for about £15 from all the major toy retailers. The series also includes a Giant Hornet, Dragon, and a Stealth Fighter.

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Ravensburger Games Reviews: Labyrinth and Just in Time

Following on from my last Ravenburger Games review 2 more games from their extensive range have recently landed in my lap. Firstly:

Labyrinth

This is a board game geared towards children from ages 7 and over. For 2-4 players, the main aim of the game is to find all the treasure in a moving maze. 

The board itself is a series of pathways. You have a set of additional maze cards and also a set of object cards. Before playing you shuffle the maze cards and then place them randomly onto the board thus creating a random pathway. There will be one card left over...this is to be used when playing the game.

With the object cards these are divided up between the players and these are kept face down in front of you.

Gameplay

The basic aim of the game is to find treasure, you look at the first object card in your pile, and your aim is to get to that object via the maze. You do this by inserting the spare maze card into any one of the side slots on the board. When you do this it will push a piece of the maze out of the other side (this piece is then used for the next move). You then make a move with your piece through the maze as far as you can go to get to your treasure. Play continues this way, once you reach your treasure you just place your card face up and move to the next one. The winner is the first person to reach all the treasure on their object cards.

Is it easy to play? well yes...simple gameplay makes this great for younger children who will love the race for treasure and zipping through the maze.

The boardgame is available for £14.99 in Tescos and would make a fab pic for xmas this year.

Just In Time

Just In Time is a game geared towards ages 8 and over. Id describe this more as a game of skill. The aim of the game is to place the tiles on your playing card faster then anyone else, but leaving enough open spaces with numbers showing to enable you to get a high score.

Gameplay

Each player has a set of gameboards and tiles. The scoring board is place in the middle with each players counter at the beginning. A set of challenge cards are included and these are sorted by number and placed face down next to the board. 

Gameboards

The game boards have a shaped area which includes random numbers. On the back of the card is a number and a symbol. The number tells you how many tiles can be used to solve the puzzle and also which challenge card stack.

Challenge Cards

On the front of each card you will see which tiles are to be used during the game. The other side displays numbers and symbols. The number matches the number of tiles on the other side and the symbols are also on the other side of the gameboard.

The game is played over 10 rounds, each round uses a different gameboard. For each round you simply:

Pick a gameboard and challenge card

Put the shape together

Award points based on the amount of numbers visible

Everyone plays each round at the same time. The aim is to fit all of your tiles 

(which are reminiscent of Tetris shapes) within the shape on the card. No pieces can stick outside of the edge and the aim is to leave as many of the numbered squares exposed as possible. These numbers are where your score will come from. The more numbers exposed, the higher your score.

After 10 rounds the winner is the one with the highest score...simple!!

This is a frustrating and fun race against time game. Trying to fit the shapes onto the gameboard is not as easy as it looks...and if your go is against the clock its even tougher.

Both my boys played this one and really enjoyed it....my youngest (whos 7) did struggle and needed help but my eldest (aged 12) really enjoyed it.

So if your a fan of boardgames and fancy something a bit different then this is your game. Great little family game and great in the fact that gameplay doesn't take forever!!

Just in Time can be bought over at Amazon for £19.99

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Illuminate your building with Lite Bricks

Now if your combining building with LED lights you just know your going to be onto a winner......and that's just what Lite Brix has done. Lite Brix is a brand new construction set that combines multi coloured flashing LED bricks that once constructed and all connected will light up the finished piece.

The sets are geared for ages 6 and over so my boys were the perfect ages to try this set (6 and 12). There is a huge range of themes from cars to planes to buildings....the 2 we tried were the one above which was a Rescue Copter and also one you'll see further down a Lumi Star Racer.

Each brick has multiple plug in ports plus there is a range of connectors that hold the bricks together. The packs also come with a battery power pack (batteries not included).

Construction

We firstly started off with my 6 year old, who with the help of daddy tried to make a start on the Rescue Copter. Well it sort of started well but some bits started getting tricky which meant daddy was doing all the building and Lewis was just watching.....what with the ports and connectors etc it was just all a bit too tricky to follow for our 6 year old and it literally meant that daddy had to take over and complete the whole thing (between you and me i don't think he minded that much)....anyway after a few choice words and sorting out the bits that had fallen off, the Rescue Copter was complete......

.......and one happy boy was created. The finished creation look pretty damn good and the added LED functioning is really impressive in the dark.......no kid could fail to be impressed. 

I am a bit baffled as to why they market this as a 6+ toy as there is no way a 6 year old on their own could construct or complete this without assistance......even daddy found it tricky in places!! The end result it worth it though and Lewis has it pride of place in his bedroom showing everyone that comes round his 'flashy copter'. 

I would place this range more at age 8 and over but saying that if you love building with your child then age doesn't really matter to be honest.....as the LED concept will be loved by all.

The set above retails for £39.99 from the Character Building Website plus other well known toy outlets.

We did also try another set which was the Lumi Star Racer. A smaller set than the rescue Copter and this time my eldest tackled it.....which he did enjoy and managed to complete it in about half an hour. The Lumi Racer is priced at £29.99

Conclusion

If you have kids that love building but fancy something a bit different then these are the sets for you. Although a bit tricky for the younger kids the end result is really impressive and the LED element makes them totally eye catching and desirable for most ages groups. 

Lite Brix has a range for both girls and boys and the prices range from £9.99 up to £49.99.

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Bin Weevils Collectors Set

 

Im not sure there is a collectable toy that has passed that both my boys haven't bought into...and now to add to that ever growing list Bin Weevils have just launched their brand new 'Bling Collection'.

 

I remember Go Go's doing a similar thing in the past with 6 shiny gold coloured collectable GoGos all in a tin...well this is pretty much of the same vain!!

 

 

 

 The box includes:

2 x Bin Weevils character figures

6 x Bin Bots Collectable Figures

6 x Plinths ( to stand them on)

1 x bling label sheet

 

 

 The 2 main characters Tink and Clott are blinged in a gold colour whilst the smaller Bin Bots are crystalised and clear. The set is absolutely perfect for any fan of Bin Weevils and the sheer fact that they come in a collectors tin will make this set highly desirable to any fan. Its full of little goodies that any kid would love to play with, and the accompanying plinths make them ideal to display.

 

The set is available for ages 5+ and is priced at only £12.99 which is excellent value.

 

This set will appeal to both boys and girls and would make the ideal gift/birthday present.

 

The box is available from all major toy retailers so grab one whilst you can.

 

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Mum Review - Casa Grande Boardgame

Ravensburger Games has just launched a flurry of brand new boardgames and Casa Grande is just one of them. Casa Grande is billed as a strategic building game.....has a hint of monopoly, but with this game you actually build structures instead of just placing little houses.

The game can be played by 2-4 players and its geared for age 8 upwards, (though we did have our 6 year old play with us, but ill let you know how that went shortly)

The game has a main board and each player has a set of blocks and bases. The first 15/20 mins i have to say were a bit frustrating. Obviously with a brand new game you have to read the instructions.....to say it took a bit to get the hang of it all was an understatement. We discussed it for a fair while before we started to get the real gist of what we were doing....so don't expect to be able to play this straight off as you need to know the game play before you can get anywhere with this.

This was a bit of drawback at first as my 2 boys did get a bit frustrated whilst we were trying to work out what was going on. My youngest almost gave up.....but we stuck with it, and once we got the hang of the game...we actually all started enjoying it.

The basic aim of the game is that you compete against each other to build the biggest buildings across as large an area as possible. You get money for each new building story and payment is dependent on the area and height of the building. The strategy is to take over as much of the board as possible, build as high as possible and make as much money as you can.

Game play continues until everyone runs out of blocks.......and the winner is the one that made the most money from their constructions.

After the initial 'instructions' frustration this is actually quite a good game. The boys enjoyed constructing their buildings and they actually got quite competitive and really thought about their game play.  I do think the instructions need to be a bit clearer and set out easier as you tended to jump from one section to another to work out what you needed to do.  That aside this is a great 'thinking' game and strategy is key all the way!! The blocks are easy to use and you have different shaped base cards which you use to lay your levels.

I found this game worked really well with varying ages playing....kids versus adults is always going to be competative.....(adults won though obviously!!)

If you fancy trying out Casa Grande yourself you can buy the game from Amazon for £19.99

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Review: Scooby Doo Mystery Machine Playset

Both my kids have what i can only describe as a slight Lego addiction...anything they have to construct, they want it....hence why both their bedrooms are littered with various lego creations. So when asked to review the latest building set from Character Building my youngest (aged 6) jumped at the chance. 

Character Building Scooby-Doo is to be launched this Spring and features all the characters from the show as constructable micro-figures.  The collection also includes playsets enabling you to create your very own Scooby do world and includesThe Mystery Mansion Playset and the one we reviewed above: The Mystery Machine playset.

The set is geared for ages 5+  and comes complete with 2 figures as well as an additional motorbike. Now considering the age range is targeted to a young age group you would assume that the building process would be fairly straightforward......well im afraid it isnt.

For a start each step is in a picture format which is fine to a point, however in certain steps they grey previous blocks out and it is very easy to miss bits or not quite grasp what you need to do......and thats coming from an adult point of view...imagine a 5 year old trying to work it out.

There were literally a handful of stages that my son could do on his own...the rest he just didn't understand the picture and what he needed to do, so much so that it ended up with me just building it, and to say i was frustrated was an understatement!!!....it also didnt help that there was several pieces actually missing out of the box, but also some bits were so fiddly that the van literally fell apart when trying to put them on!!

However i pulled through and finally finished it as you can see below!!

The finished van is quite cool however there are lots of fiddly bits that can come off so you have to be careful with it.  Was this a set Lewis enjoyed.....id have to say no as there wasn't alot he could do which did frustrate him in the end, he did however enjoy putting all the stickers on the finished van and also enjoyed playing with it after. 

I think alot of young kids would struggle with this set so if you were thinking of getting it, be prepared to lend a hand...and a big one at that.  The finished van is fab and looks great in my sons bedroom but damn!!.....it took us a long time to get there!!

The set ranges from about £19-£25 dependent on where you buy it from. Its a great gift for any avid Scooby Doo fan and the Micro characters are very collectible.

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