Heroine Katniss sports a bow and arrow, and does plenty of damage with her accuracy in the UK release of the blockbuster Hunger Games today. Since opening in the US kids (of all ages) have been signing up for lessons at Archery clubs, that's far too faddy for us, just pick up the finest toy bow/arrow kit around in the shape of the fine Z-Curve launcher and have yourself some grin inducing fun. A couple of round-nosed projectiles that easily reach 80 feet and a sucker dart that'll pretty much latch on to any flat surface (foreheads not included), we ...
We are, according to the Guardian, running low on Helium and one scientist in particular is putting the blame squarely on the party balloon industry and, that'll now include our favourite flyers the Air Swimmers. Pressure on stocks aren't likely to let up anytime soon from our end, we're eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Bass and Whale version of these surreal R/C's - Air Swimmers are the only brand that'll not have you trying to cancel your credit card transaction. Here's an Angry Bird version too (pictured) selling only in the US righ now, looking forward to a video ...
ARCHOS have shown their hand in the Tablet market for kids this morning wading in with this, the Child Pad. It joins the MEEP and Kurio although it could well steal a lead as it is launching at the end of March, the others have a TBC date and late September. In the looks department all seems perfectly acceptable, it 'll run on the 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software has 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM - And it'll be just £99. Kids friendly features include access to the Kids App Store powered by AppsLib which is filtered down to ...
Yup, the licensing wagon rolls out once more for the Angry Birds mob and this time we're treated to a quadruplet of the crew, red bird, yellow bird, king piggy and white bird as USB flash drives. They're each able to carry around 4GB of your precious data and we think hat wanting to fling them into a structure of Jenga bricks or LEGO will be overwhelming, so buy one (or more) and get on with it. £14.99 a piece from FIREBOX
When Mattel took on the board game last year it was met with shrieks of delight from bird lobbing fans, within just a couple of months version two was amongst us, we eagerly await the next installment. From iPod docks, PC speakers, noise producing plushes and a raft of other beak based accessories nothing new or very exciting to see here, it is with unbridled enthuisiasm that we bring you Angry Birds, The Outdoor Action game from Tactic. From May and for about £25 you get the main game, that's a playmat, blocks, pair of Angry Birds, a pig and ...
Lets face it, until just now you'd never realised how much you wanted a solar powered waving minature figure of Her Maj, did you? Pick yours from either pink or blue or buy both - Head THIS way for your purchase and to pick up some interesting facts about this great lady, our favourite is that she has opened 15 bridges in the UK!
We're unlikely to see the veritable amount of tat that surrounded the Royal wedding last year, we're hoping that celebratory and commemorative kit will all attempt to be as classy as this chess set (over optimistic perhaps). Each piece is handpainted, it truly is a glorious piece of kit that's certain to find favour with those who refer to parts of their abodes with terms such as East and West wing. It'll set you back almost £300 HERE for those interested parties.
We've been treated to a fair few Scalextric licences over the years, James bond ones were pretty good, Toy Story didn;t float our slot-car racing boat, this pair of beauties has us grinning from ear to ear. Why we've had to wait for so long to get Star Wars and Scalexctric to tema up Darth only knows, and frankly we don;t give a Yoda because it's finally happening - Exactly when we're no sure. So, we have the Micro 1:64 scale Death Star Attack set with a Lord Vader Tie Fighter battling a Luke Skywalker X-Wing, the spaceships have working ...
Hype
Paladone’s 4 multiplayer choice Shocking Quiz is designed to test your general knowledge. Answer correctly in the time given and you’re laughing, get it wrong however and you’re in for quite a shock – high or low voltage at the quiz master’s discretion.
Hype
Tyco’s Rapid Assault looks like the ultimate fighting machine, decked out in army colours with a menacing truck style bonnet and a tank style design. Mattel tells us the Rapid Assault is the ultimate in remote control firepower featuring a rapid-fire 12 shot cannon that fires foam darts with a long range attack capability up to 20 feet and full functioning steering.
The Air Hogs Mini Storm Launcher, like the name suggests is a smaller version of the full sized earlier model. At just under a foot long Spinmaster tells us this hydroplane boat look-a-like – much like the original – can drive around on the ground like a car and then take off like a plane or fly by using the hand launch method.
Remember Bop It? Yes the highly addictive and frustrating 21st century Simon Says designed to bamboozle your brain and whip you into a ‘flick it’, ‘twist it’ frenzy each time you try to challenge a friend or beat your high score. Well the evil gaming genius is back and it’s new and improved…Introducing Bop It Download. The clue is in the name as the Bop It Download allows you to download new music, sounds and voices from www.playbopit.com and even record your own commands. It features the same game-play as before, but now allows you to customise your Bop It whenever you fancy.
Hype
Remember when we told you about the Furreal Friends family a while back? This week the latest edition flew in through the window – it’s the all talking all dancing parrot. Hasbro tells us Squawkers Macaw can repeat words, be “taught” to speak, respond to touch, make cheeky sounds and even dance, just like a real parrot.
Toyologist Test – 2 hour Trial
Well shiver me timbers, it actually does sound and act like a real parrot – that is apart from the breaking wind, demented laughter and of course the fact you can control it with a remote. Once you have removed the Mensa challenge that is the sellotape and wire fastenings from the box and assembled its perch (which doesn’t take very long), you are free to dabble with your new furry friend at will. Involves anything from making it dance to music or its own version of Arrow’s “Hot, Hot, Hot”, training it to obey your command and say certain words phrases and sound effects to making your plush friend coo kiss and flutter his wings and not forgetting to feed Polly his plastic cracker.
Verdict
The Squawkers Macaw Parrot is great for all ages. It is however your year that will determine your tolerance to this product. The range of features will be too much for kids to grasp, so adult supervision is definitely recommended, although we’re certain children would be entertained for hours with just the 45 words phrases and sound effects already installed. It’s the kind of toy you buy for your kids which you then sneak to the office to show your colleagues to get a few laughs, only to give it back when the novelty has worn off or you were close to shoving that cracker down Polly’s throat to shut it up!
Overall the Squawkers Macaw Parrot earns a silver badge from us at the Toyolgy Towers. It’s got a high entertainment level and has enough features to prevent boredom, however it misses out on making it to gold due to the complexity of its features and the tendency to annoy if left on for too long.
Over 200,000,000 copies of Monopoly have been sold since 1935, and this book celebrates its status as the cultural icon it now is. This book written by Monopoly expert Philip Orbanes looks at the history of the game, all the secrets, twists, turns, tragedies and triumphs. I had no idea the game played a role in building and preserving morale during the Depression and World War II and that it was banned in Communist countries. Did they ever imagine the number of variations that are on offer today or indeed the amount of board rage "flipping" and family feuds it would create. Yours at Amazon
Could there be a more traditional party game than "Pass the Parcel"? We think not, the competitive spirit of this classic game can only be compared with the mayhem that musical chairs invokes. An electronic version doing away with the wrapping invoked our interest. Fill the box with goodies and, using the supplied remote gain total control of who opens the "wrapping" to collect the booty on board. If parental control is in question the box can be set to stop randomly on its own. Save the earth, lose the paper and use this box of tricks over and over. £14.99 from Upstarts
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