Toys & Games reviewed and tested
With so much parental concern about the amount of screen time children are spending in front of computers, phones and tablets, it is refreshing to see just how Osmo have taken this into account for their Genius Starter Kit.
A truly unique educational gaming accessory for the iPad, Osmo have made sure that the experience is more about physical interaction and less about staring at the screen.
This is a great nostalgic item to be released. Firstly it has Street Fighter 2 champion edition, as well as Street Fighter 2 Turbo, so it is two games in one. It also included a bonus mini fight stick for 2 player competition. There are two USB ports on the back to add the extra controller into the game. It also offers a nice touch with 2 coin slots with replica’s coins that also come with. The game play is brilliant with the buttons/joystick being very clear and self-explanatory.
What a fantastic interactive product.
We’ve reviewed a few coding toys in Gadget Head, and the concept behind all of them is fantastic – get kids engaging with coding ideas now, to prepare them for what is bound to be a highly digital future. We had simple coding toys when I was a kid, but they were heavy, clunky, and didn’t do an awful lot. Today’s versions are fantastic, and Coding Critters are bringing something to the table that I haven’t seen before – props, story books, and a whole bunch of new reasons to get coding!
We’ve all seen dozens of Monopoly revamps over the years. Themed for every major fandom and license, there’s a novelty Monopoly for everyone, but it’s far less common for the actual gameplay of this household classic to get switched up. First patented in 1904, Monopoly was originally called ‘The Landlord's Game’ and was created to show the harms of the rent laws at the time. In 1933, it settled into the version we recognise today, and it’s continued to set families against each other ever since.
We had a Swingball set when I was a kid. It was a simple set-up – you stuck the pole in the ground and whacked the ball as hard as you could (or, with a bit more precision, if you were actually trying to play). The rackets that came with that game were pretty much the same as this set has now, but this upgrade has a few key differences that we were lacking back then. The obvious one is, of course, the wobble base.
Forget the average, flat-to-the-ground toy keyboard – your kids can be Schroeder from Peanuts with the Deluxe Grand Piano from Hape. This mini piano is part of a series of designs from Hape, which include mini black and pink baby grands and a mini red upright piano. However, looks-wise, the Deluxe Grand Piano in white takes it that extra bougie level.
The Deluxe Scientific Workbench is part of the Hape Junior Inventor series, along with the ‘Three Experiment Kit’, the ‘Science Experiment Toolbox’, and the ‘Discovery Scientific Workbench’. As you can probably tell from the names, these sets offer a similar experience in a growing scale, with more potential experiments and fun gear with each level. The set-up itself grows, too, moving from a small box to a full double-layer work station that your child can stand at as they enjoy science.
The Cable Guys series by EXG Pro pulls together a whole host of franchises to offer you themed phone and gaming controller stands designed like a range of characters. These figures are 8” tall, and as well as holding your device, they come with – as the name suggests – a cable for charging it.
