Home » Archives for December 2013

Cards Against Humanity: Third Expansion

Posted by pafawz Thursday, December 26, 2013 0 comments

Cards Against Humanity: Third Expansion









CUSTOMER REVIEW



As long as there are new expansion packs filled with cards with phrases I have to explain to my wife with filthy diagrams, I'm going to buy them. You should too.

LEGO Minecraft The Nether 21106

Posted by pafawz Saturday, December 21, 2013 0 comments

LEGO Minecraft The Nether 21106









CUSTOMER REVIEW



This "micro" set is a great combination of Lego and Minecraft. It's different from regular Lego sets, it has mostly simple 1x1s and is a much smaller set once assembled (the box is only 3" in length, width, and depth). We bought the Nether and the Village - both sets are great. You can customize modules once constructed, this gives great flexibility with the set. The sets are simple yet don't feel as repetitive as some other Lego sets. Once constructed, the modules are remarkably stable given the smaller frame.



It would be great to have the entire collection, but at $35 a set, it adds up to be quite expensive. Price and availability of these sets seems to be varying quite a bit. I did a fair amount if research and it seems $33-$37 is the range in which these sets typically sell. If they are out of stock, they come back in stock pretty quick, so it might be better to wait for stock rather than pay higher prices (I have seen these selling for as much as $60!).

Perplexus Maze Game by PlaSmart, Inc.

Posted by pafawz Thursday, December 19, 2013 0 comments

Perplexus Maze Game by PlaSmart, Inc.









CUSTOMER REVIEW



First off, my whole family loves Perplexus!



I won't drag on with a description of the product, as other reviews have done this. But I will offer some updates regarding some of the previous reviewers' concerns about the construction of the toy.



1: The "watermark" stamp seems to have been changed. There still is one, which now reads "Perplexus," but it is not frosted; it is clear like the rest of the ball. Granted, there is some distortion looking through this from some angles, but it does not seem to impeed play.



2: The swing arm on ours works fine.



3: The hemispheres are screwed together tightly and look as though they will hold up to abuse. (But I will admit here that we have only had this toy for 2 days. If it breaks, I'll post a revised review).



4: The numbers along the track are still very difficult to see without very bright light, and even then you may have to tip the toy in a direction you don't want to in order to see the numbers. However, most of the pathways are easy to follow without the numbers, and once you've followed a path, it's unlikely you'll forget the way, so you really only need the numbers once.



Overall: my whole family (including the 5 year old) is in LOVE with this toy. We've had to set up rules about how long anybody gets to play with it, just to make sure the rest of us get our turn. I'm buying several as Christmas presents.

Cards Against Humanity: Second Expansion

Posted by pafawz Monday, December 16, 2013 0 comments

Cards Against Humanity: Second Expansion









CUSTOMER REVIEW



I held off on buying Cards Against Humanity, as I wasn't sure about their political stance on dolphin safety. Now that this second expansion solidifies their views, I am more than willing to purchase. Thanks Cards Against Humanity.

Fisher-Price Little People Disney Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs

Posted by pafawz 0 comments

Fisher-Price Little People Disney Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs









CUSTOMER REVIEW



I got this set for my daughter who is 14 months old. She loves little people & I think this set is really cute!



As with all little people, the characters are one piece and big enough that they won't be swallowed.



My advice to you on this set is SHOP AROUND! I bought this in a store for $19.99. At the time of this review, Amazon is offering it for $32.

Barbie and Her Sisters in a Pony Tale RV Vehicle

Posted by pafawz Sunday, December 15, 2013 0 comments

Barbie and Her Sisters in a Pony Tale RV Vehicle









CUSTOMER REVIEW



Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (What's this?) When I was a little girl, I had a Barbie camper and remember spending hours playing with it. In fact, I still have mine! I wished there was a camper for my own daughters because they still love their Barbies (at ages 10 - 12) but I didn't want to give them mine to use, they're a little rough on toys and my camper is a (little bit) old!



So when I saw this one, I knew we had to try it out. It's marketed as an "RV" now-a-days and also includes a horse trailer.



First of all, this is one HUGE toy. It's like the size of six typical sized shoe boxes, stacked two high and then laid end-to-end. And that's when it's folded away! Secondly, it took a long time for us to put it together. There weren't really any directions on where the stickers were supposed to go, so we had to use the photo on the box and a lot of guesswork. There was a bit of assembly, for which there were directions, but it wasn't too big of a deal.



Now to the fun part: Is it fun to play with? Yes! Even me, being a woman of a certain age, still enjoyed playing with this for a little while. It's really cute because instead of it being a solid single piece like from when I was young, it's more like a tractor/trailer type deal. So you can detach the tractor part off and the back folds down with some seats and the Barbies can go cruisin' the town. It folds down even further to include the horse, but I don't know how the girls sitting in the back feel about having a horse bu-t in their faces. I know I'd not be too keen on that.



The back of the trailer part folds down into a horse stall for Buttercup (that's the name of the horse my daughters have) Which is right next to the fold down eating area for the girls. I guess that's pretty convenient because then they can easily share their scraps with Buttercup. Unless Buttercup gets really aggressive and starts biting at their hair to make them get up so he can just eat their entire breakfast. I questioned them on their prudence on the decision to continously choose oatmeal for breakfast when you're eating right next to a horse, but they just gave me the "ugh" look and rolled their eyes. Of course, nearly every day Buttercup bites their hair, they run, he eats their oatmeal and apples and they go hungry.



There are enough beds for everyone, some fold down from the wall and fold away later for TV watching and travel. The pool flips over and becomes a fire-pit, complete with teeny little marshmallows and sticks for s'mores. She shower is in the same room, separated by just a curtain, of the head Barbies bedroom. So I guess it's up to them to work out a shower schedule. The toilet is also in that area, so.... A design flaw in that room is that the toilet paper roll is behind the toilet seat when it's up. So if they are using the toilet (which frankly, I think they do a little more often than is normal, if you ask me), they can't reach the toilet paper. That may explain the constant requests to stop at the nearest laundry-mat when traveling.



When packing up camp to head on out to the next rodeo, everything (in theory) folds up into the one neat 6 shoebox sized package. But we had a really hard time trying to figure out where to put all of the accessories (and there are a lot of them) while it's fold AND where to put the pool. It doesn't seem wise to strap a pool/fire-pit to the top of a moving vehicle, that's just asking for a lawsuit. So my girls had to resort to magic to have it appear wherever they're going. As for the stuff, we just crammed it all in there. We haven't figured out what to do with two of the four girls when they travel either, or Buttercup. I guess they ended up using a sort of "Star Trek" transport method and all is well.

Learning Resources Teaching Cash Register

Posted by pafawz 0 comments

Learning Resources Teaching Cash Register









CUSTOMER REVIEW



My daughter got this for her birthday (3 years old). Even though she is not old enough yet to really count the money she has had a blast "ringing things up" on the scanner and paying with the credit card. She also really likes the coin slot. When she puts the money in it tells her what the coin was. She has done this over and over again. She is also having fun going around the house collecting items in her shopping cart and then ringing them up.



I can see this being a toy she will play with for many years. It has math games that seem like they will be fun and educational. Very nice, oh, and my dad observed that the coin slot works with real coins too!



The negatives... The drawer shoots out quickly and the plastic coins tend to slosh out. Also the weighing tray comes off easily. I'm going to put that away till my daughter gets a little older.



Overall- a great toy!

LEGO Green Building Plate (10" x 10")

Posted by pafawz Sunday, December 8, 2013 0 comments

LEGO Green Building Plate (10" x 10")









CUSTOMER REVIEW



My son has at least four of these boards, and he uses them all the time. I agree with the reviewer from Virginia that these should be included with every major set because the Legos do fall apart when they have to be transported from one place to another. I also think the boards are somewhat expensive, but at least they're sturdy and you can connect them with Lego blocks to build bigger scenes.

Spot It

Posted by pafawz Thursday, December 5, 2013 0 comments

Spot It









CUSTOMER REVIEW



I just bought the game and played it several times with adults and with 2nd, 3rd, and 5th graders. It is great fun and very simple to understand and play.

The goal is to be the first to identify a match on a pair of cards and to call out out the name of the figure in common. It is exciting to spot the match, frustrating to know there is a match which one cannot see, and disappointing when one is beaten to the punch. The game keeps everyone engaged. All the children laughed as we played, and all wanted to play again and again. And the youngest (7) and oldest (65) of us were winners. What more could one want for a summer game at the beach?!!



If you lose a card or two the game is still just as good.

Little People Fun Sounds Farm

Posted by pafawz Tuesday, December 3, 2013 0 comments

Little People Fun Sounds Farm









CUSTOMER REVIEW



Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (What's this?) My 3 year old and almost 2 year old sons love this farm. They played with it non-stop after opening it and more than three weeks later, they continue to go back to it as a favorite toy. The farm comes with a few starter animals (sheep, cow, horse) and a farmer. As other reviewers have commented, the plastic is a bit thin, and, overall, the toy seems cheaply made for the price. We have other Little People products that seem to be of higher quality than this one. However, it's still intact and unbroken after three weeks of a lot of play time (more than I can say for other toys, so it's obviously more durable than it appears).

Thomas the Train: All Around Sodor

Posted by pafawz Monday, December 2, 2013 0 comments

Thomas the Train: All Around Sodor









CUSTOMER REVIEW



Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (What's this?) While setting it up, I just went by colours and at one point I couldnt get the tracks to fit and then I realised that I interchanged the position of green tracks. After that the setup was easy. Thomas is a powerful engine. He doesnt even need tracks, he will jut wheel off even on the carpet. The cargo falls off sometimes while going downslope after crossing the bridge. Thomas asks once in a while where would we like him to go. The volume should have been tunable.

This toy will charm kids for some years. My toddler likes seeing Thomas go on track but I have seen the pride of a 4 year old when his father asked him to setup the whole system. Till your kids get onto a real train and beyond, Thomas will fascinate them with his googly eyes.

Crayola Melt 'N Mold Factory

Posted by pafawz 0 comments

Crayola Melt 'N Mold Factory









CUSTOMER REVIEW



Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (What's this?) This Crayola Melt 'n Mold Factory is rated for ages 8 and up with good reason -- younger kids will not have the patience or attention span to work with it. It is simple for older kids to use with minimal parental supervision and designed to make the risk of injury extremely small. When turned on, the lid locks into place so children can't touch the hot wax or other heated parts. The outside stays cool to the touch.



Once the broken crayons are in the melting tray, it takes several minutes for them to melt. You must then wait several more minutes before the unit cools enough to open the lid and remove the mold. Then, you must wait ten minutes before unmolding your creation. My 8 and 9 year old boys enjoyed using the included crayon and ring-shaped molds and have asked for other molds to also try. The swirled crayons do work really well and make interesting color effects.



On the down side, the metal melting tray is not easy to clean. The wax does not entirely pour out of it and into the mold, leaving you with a thin layer to scrape/wipe out. I tried oiling the try lightly, thinking it might help, but that made no difference in the ease of cleanup. I found the best way to clean the tray is to hold it under really hot tap water, wipe, and repeat until you've removed all of the wax.



If you are considering purchasing this as a way to use up old, broken crayons, keep in mind that it holds only 3 crayons worth of wax at a time, takes about half an hour to run, and requires several minutes of rather difficult clean-up time. If you think you're going to create a bunch of custom crayons as party favors or classroom gifts, this is not the way to do it. However, it is a fun project for kids who are capable of waiting.

Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow (Phoenix Design)

Posted by pafawz 0 comments

Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow (Phoenix Design)









CUSTOMER REVIEW



Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (What's this?) After a poor experience with a NERF Full-auto blaster, and then loving the overwhelming power of the Centurion Long-Range Rifle but feeling it's a bit much for close quarters, now my family moves on to the Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow. First of all, yes, it is "girl" colored. Well, the daughters didn't really like the flat orange of their brother's off-brand Nerfer anyway, and they like the design here.



Now, on to the Bow: the accessory rail comes with a NERF rack premounted. This holds 5 elite NERF darts, and the bow comes with five that are not just blue/orange like the typical ones. This is helpful, because there's no way little brother can claim them. They are interchangeable without a problem.



Also, the NERF N-Strike Suction darts work with it.



There is a claim that the bow shoots 75 feet. I'm not convinced the Heartbreaker can be thrown 75 feet, much less shoot a NERF that far. We tried it inside, outside, straight down the road, and came up with a maximum effective distance--NERF hits you while in the air and you feel it--at about 35 feet.



The great thing about this bow is the silent attack. No clicks, no whirrs. Just a twang and a smack.



It is also, due to simplicity of design, more durable. At this point, my middle daughter is practicing her horse archer skills, but with a Rebelle Bow and a bicycle. Works for me.



I like it. It's fun, and not destructive.

Nerf Rebelle Dart Refill Pack

Posted by pafawz Sunday, December 1, 2013 0 comments

Nerf Rebelle Dart Refill Pack









CUSTOMER REVIEW



These darts are a great addition to the ammo of anyone who likes the colors. The colors make it easy for the kids to tell their darts apart. Performance matches our other elite darts. One minor issue is that darts with silkscreened printing are a bit sticky due to the shiny ink. For younger kids, this makes pushing the dart into the chamber a bit too difficult.



The set could benefit from 3 each of pink and purple rather than black and white, but that's just our nit picky opinion. We purchased this set of 12 for $6.99. At the time of this review: Our set of 30 blue elite darts was $7.70, 30 zombie strike darts = $9.99. That makes these expensive per dart, imho. (Although 12 glow darts = $7.12, so it depends on what you value.)



Our family hopes that Nerf keeps the color scheme and adds a 30 pack to the lineup at a price competitive with the blue elite dart refill packs. We welcome the Rebelle designs, but hope it Nerf doesn't just use it as an excuse to justify higher pricing.