Toys On The Brain

Archive for the ‘Play Sets’ Category

The Soopsori Wood Play Fishing Set is a rarity among toys these days. Soopsori makes toys with all natural wood and linseed oil - and without any chemicals or paints. I am impressed with the look of this set as well as its apparent durability. The pole and all eight distinctive fish are very well made, and I suspect they won’t be easily destroyed by the most active of young children.

The fishing set works by attracting the fish to the magnet at the end of the pole. All magnets are internal (built inside of each piece), so there’s no risk of swallowing. And I love that the magnets are strong: no weak connections between “bait” and fish.

At just over 10 1/2 inches, the pole is pretty short. It could be double that size and would be a lot more effective and easier to help the child “catch” the fish. The string used to reel in the fish could also be twice as long, as it only hangs down a few inches from the top of the pole. The knob a child grabs onto to reel in the fish needs to be a little larger in order for little hands to get a decent grasp.

My three year old basically holds the fishing pole magnet piece over the fish and works on catching one and moving it over to another location without being able to reel it in by turning the knob. But he does enjoy pulling out the game and working diligently on transferring the fish from here to there via fishing pole. This fishing set is certainly good for fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, as well as for developing patience and perseverance.

Something every good fisherman needs.

• Soopsori Website

A couple of months ago the kids’ mom made the mistake of bringing into the house a catalog from Playmobil, a German-based toy manufacturer. Well, that catalog quickly became the preferred bathroom reading material of Small Person #2. With his birthday coming up, he started begging for many of the toys, including the water zoo sets, which included a caiman exhibit, a penguin exhibit, and a larger (and more expensive) dolphin exhibit. After listening to him beg and beg and beg and beg and beg and beg and beg, I finally decided to get him the penguin one for his birthday.

Now, keep in mind that, for a short period of time, Small Person #2 was absolutely convinced that these were life-size sets. He truly thought he could get in and swim with the dolphins (which he also thought were alive). You have to admit that the pictures in the catalog were very well done and looked very lifelike. After much explaining, I finally convinced him that they were small sets, the same as his other toys, and that he might be disappointed. Well, he was still adamant that he wanted them, so his mom went ahead and ordered other sets. (Look for those reviews soon!)

Yesterday was his birthday, and he finally got the chance to see his brand-spanking-new penguin zoo. In fact, it was a bit of a revelation for all of us. Turns out, it’s not assembled. In any way. So after opening it, he had to go away so I could assemble it and get it ready for him. Now, keep in mind, I actually LIKE assembling things, so this wasn’t a minus for me.

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Toys on the Brain is thrilled to have another writer to join in the mayhem. I’m overjoyed to present Rhonda (you can read more about her on our About page) in her inaugural post!

No flashing lights, no batteries, no music: hey, some toys never get old. The Lego-Duplo Brick Bucket is the perfect tool for kids to segue into the world of all that is Legos. Bigger than Duplo blocks, yet smaller than traditional Legos, these blocks are truly the right size for young children from 1 1/2 to 2 up through age 5, but may be quite addictive for parents of all ages.

The size of the bricks are perfect for creating just enough of a challenge for little hands to manipulate while developing fine motor skills. This bucket set includes various shapes to create simple buildings, walls, towers, airplanes, and rockets. It also includes one Lego-Duplo boy, a swing, a trailer with a hitch and wheels, ladders, a couple of parts with “doors” that swing open on hinges, sloped blocks, and one curved attachment, allowing kids to create parks, steps, bridges, and entry ways.

My toddler plays with these for quite some time: enjoying the act of putting together, taking apart, building up, and (of course) knocking down.

If I were to change one thing about this set, it would be for Lego to add a few more pieces with wheels and include a least a couple more characters. Of course, then the Lego folks would miss out on selling additional pieces one of the numerous “add-on” sets that can be purchased.

• Lego Website

Buy Lego Duplo Products Online:

• at Amazon.com
• at Target
• at WalMart

After the debacle I had with buying the Lost Temple of Akator Playset from Amazon, I finally found it for a slightly discounted price from Target. As you can imagine, I ordered it right away and it was delivered well in time for Christmas. Was it worth all the trouble? I’m going to go with yes on this one.

The play set is actually fairly large and contains a number of “traps” for Indy and the temple guard figure to fall into. Among these are boulders that can be launched out of the top, a breakaway door, and a sand pit. By far the most entertaining feature was the boulder launch. Small Person #2 quickly figured out that he could make Indy straddle the flipper that made the boulders fly out and cause Indy to fly across the room. Of course, having toys hitting the ceiling (and the ceiling fan, windows, Christmas tree, etc.), isn’t exactly ideal from a safety standpoint, but it’s great fun for the kids. By the second day, Small Person #2 had even figured out how to lean the play set over and aim the launcher so the toys flew where he pointed. Good stuff.

The other features are also fun, though the breakaway door doesn’t stay put very well and I imagine we’ll be losing those pieces rather quickly. Making Indy slide down the side into the sandpit is also a favorite activity. A few Star Wars characters even seem to have made the trip to Indy’s time, so all in all it seems to have been a popular purchase. I guess it was worth all the trouble after all!

Buy Indiana Jones Lost Temple of Akator Play Set Online:

• at Amazon.com
• at Target

When I saw this in Target I thought it would be a perfect toy for the boys to share. It was Scooby Doo (which the boys are obsessed with), it was a board game (they love playing board games), and it was a haunted house (they also love anything to do with ghosts/headless creatures/booby traps). Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to expectations.

The idea behind the game is that, after putting it together (which can take a decidedly long time if you have small people trying to “help” you), you spin a little built-in spinner and move along the spaces, occasionally pushing down on the ghost at the top of the house to make the various traps spring and either trap your character or knock it off of its space. There are numerous different consequences for getting stuck in a trap or knocked down, and it’s nearly impossible to remember all of them. You never know which traps will be sprung with each push of the ghost, so I suppose that’s relatively interesting, but that’s pretty much where it ends.

The mere effort of pushing the ghost down inevitably causes all of the characters to fall over, which means that you’re constantly trying to remember where you were or where you should be or what to do next. The traps only work so-so, and the entire thing feels pretty flimsy. In terms of gameplay, there’s not a lot that’s more boring in a game than just spinning a (boring) spinner and moving along (boring) spaces. We only played this once before I decided that I would never, under any circumstances, play it again.

Having pretty much completely panned the game up to now, I will say that it’s actually kind of fun as a play set. The traps that work can be amusing, and if you just ignore the game aspect, it’s a fun haunted house for kids who like Scooby Doo. As a game, it totally sucks, but as a Scooby Doo-themed haunted house, it’s pretty good. So, if you have a small person who is obsessed with Scooby Doo, this one might actually be a hit. Just do yourself a favor and throw out the instructions and the spinner before the kid sees them.

Bonus points for not needing batteries!

Buy the Scooby Doo Haunted House Game Online:

• at Target
• at Amazon.com

As a rule, I hate Matchbox toys. I loathe those stupid little cars, I despise those tracks, and I’ve never thought highly of the quality of the toys they produce. Well, here’s a toy from Matchbox that I actually can’t find (much) fault with. The Matchbox Mega Rig Space Shuttle is one of the toys Small Person #1 has been begging for ever since he first saw it in toy catalogs. Well, today was his birthday and he finally got his shuttle!

The first thing you notice is that the shuttle is HUGE! It has tons of little pieces (bad) and can be assembled in many different ways (good). Of course, the favorite pieces for both Small Persons #1 and #2 are the little green alien (he’s squishy and has tiny suction-cup feet) and his purple flying saucer (it shoots missiles and makes really loud annoying sounds).

The best thing for Small Person #1, of course, is that most of his Star Wars Galactic Heroes figures fit in most of the areas that open up (and there are a lot of them). Luke has already been seen flying to rescue Leia from an odd-looking green creature, and Darth has stowed away on another part of the ship while holding Han Solo hostage.

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Ok, so, I’m a bit irritated today. You see, Small Person #2 has been talking about the Indiana Jones Lost Temple of Akator Playset every time he goes to the bathroom (that’s where we keep the toy catalogs - perfect bathroom reading!) and I decided to get it for him for Christmas. I saw it on Amazon for the fabulous price of $25 and added it to my shopping cart. I still wasn’t sure what to get for Small Person #1, though, so I didn’t purchase it. Today, when I went back to finally buy it, the price had increased by $15! Now it’s $40 and I’m one very testy nanny. sigh

So, from my misery is a lesson for you - when you see a great deal, take it! The suggested retail price for the Akator playset is $42, so the $25 Amazon had it for was pretty darn good. I should have bought it then and there instead of dilly-dallying. Well, here’s hoping we can find it on sale somewhere else, because I’m not sure I can afford $40!

• Lost Temple of Akator Playset at Amazon.com

This is what you’re thinking right about now: “Oh my god. Another Galactic Heroes thing? What is her illness with these toys?!” And yes, you’re right, I do have a thing about Galactic Heroes. But, they’re really really good! No, really! They’re perfect for small hands, they’re durable, and best of all, the kids love them!

Of course, there are things I don’t like about Galactic Heroes. One is that I hate them trying to get us to keep the packaging sitting around, and the other (which I have really and truly begun to despise) is how they “retire” sets after a short period of time, thereby artificially inflating the price for those of us who have kids who are a bit behind the times. We now can’t get a lot of the sets the kids would really enjoy because, let’s face it, $100 for a toy that a 4-year old is going to toss around the room is a bit ridiculous. Now, I would understand if these were high-quality, solid gold collector’s items, but they’re not. They’re made for ages 3 and up, and there’s just no reason to stifle production and artificially make them collector’s items. So piffle to Hasbro for that!

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No, really, I’m not being weird here. A lot of kids love to play shop, including Small Person #2 (3.5 years). In fact, he sets up an entire store in the living room, including pretend money, products, and in the end he even delivers them. Heck, I get better service from him than most shops in the neighborhood. After our most recent session (which can last for an hour or more), I got to thinking what the best toys for pretend shopkeepers would be.

1. Play Money

You wouldn’t have much of a shop without play money to use. Admittedly, you could use real money, but, well… that’s just gross. And dumb. I mean, you don’t know who’s touched those bills, right? And really, with this economy can you afford for Junior to decide to stick a few under the fridge when you’re not looking?

Buy Play Money Online:

• at Amazon.com
• at Back to Basics

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We’ve actually had this toy for quite some time. And for some reason, unlike most of the other toys, it has never seemed to make its way up to the boys’ room in order to make room for other toys to come down. It’s not that it’s an absolute must-have for them (it can go days without being touched), but I think it’s just sort of become part of the decor of the living room. When you think about it, that’s actually kind of sad…. Anyway, on to the toy itself.

It’s a two-level playset that comes with a little ATV, helicopter, Diego figure, and five animals. Other pieces that come off include a jungle vine (long since lost), a “zip line” that never (nope, not even once) stayed attached to the little hut it was supposed to attach to, and a few sundry pieces of furniture like a telescope, food bowl, etc. None of these detachable pieces have survived to this point - undoubtedly they’re somewhere in the house, but they’re certainly not in any close vicinity to the play set.

The most interesting-sounding features, like the zip line, elevator, and helicopter end up being the most boring. The helicopter kind of swings around if you push down on the bird’s nest… but it also makes an annoying sound and doesn’t move very well. The elevator is nearly impossible to move. As for the zip line… well, that became Indiana Jones’ whip and got tossed in the garbage. It was a hard plastic thing with even harder bits on the ends and that just wasn’t going to stay in a house with two active (and somewhat evil) little boys. Plus, it never stayed attached to the little hut on the ground, and the harness Diego needs to zip down it is very difficult to get on. The boys don’t miss it, and neither do we.

So, with all the bad about the toy, is there really anything good? Well, yes. When you take out the silly (and incredibly annoying) electronic noises and ill conceived design ideas, it ends up being a fun play set to use for make-believe Diego stories. The helicopter (which comes off its little hook and can be used separately) and ATV are fun little vehicles in their own right, and your kids will probably end up conducting quite a few animal rescues with just these toys on their own.

Oh, one last thing. You see that little piece of the rescue center’s floor that sticks out from the rest in front of the annoying talking computer bit? For some unknown reason, it folds up and down. What does this mean for you? It means it will be coming off pretty much every five seconds while your child plays with the toy. Do yourself a favor and chuck it as soon as you get the thing out of the box. 3-year olds simply can’t remember not to lean on it - it’s just a fact of nature. I just wish one of the designers of this toy actually had a 3-year old at home. If they did, it might have been a really great toy instead of just a good-with-modifications toy.

Buy Diego’s Talking Rescue Center Online:

• at Amazon.com