Laser Pegs Multi Models Review

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

As the darker and colder nights are drawing in we have been looking for things to do inside where it is warm and cosy. We recently received Laser Pegs Multi Models which provided us with hours of fun last weekend as we created a Bobcat (similar to a JCB) and a Sparhawk aircraft. 

Laser Pegs building bricks are perfect for those who like to create models and can follow instructions. Each set comes with a booklet of step by step instructions to create each model. There is a variety of bricks included and also light up bricks too adding to the fun. 

First we made the SparHawk with over 170 pieces. The instructions were easy to follow, however the bricks were sometimes hard to place and did need a little wiggling or adult help. The SparHawk took just on a hour to build and has three light up bricks and spinning propellers. 

The Bobcat has just short of 100 pieces and didn't take as long to build but was equally as fun. The Bobcat  which is similar to a JCB has 1 light up brick and a moveable digger feature at the front. 

The Sparhawk was our favourite to build even though it had a lot of smaller pieces and took longer. Now that we have made them we can add to the fun and break them up and build another model as each set has different models that can be built from the kit. 

The Sparhawk can be built in 5 different ways. The instruction booklet shows just one model but you can scan the code in the booklet with your phone and different model instructions will pop up. So as well as a Sparhawk you can build a Warthog, Chinook, Bi-Plane and a L.P.A.H-1.

The Bobcat also has more models to build with a total of 4 different designs. Again there is a code to scan inside the instruction booklet which will bring up the building instructions for the other models including an Excavator, Forklift and Grader. 

There are hours of fun to be had as the Laser Pegs bricks are also compatible with other building bricks so the creations you could make are endless. If you don't have access to a QR scanner you can check out all the model instructions at Laserpegs. 

Laser Pegs Sparhawk and Bobcat are to buy online at Amazon, Very and other independent toy stores. 

We are looking forward to building the other models over the next few months. For now little J wants to display his Bobcat and Sparhawk in his room so may be a while but I know we will enjoy making them when we do. 

Michelle

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Christmas Fun and Games For All The Family

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Disclosure - We were sent the below items. The idea for this post was my own. Any thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Christmas is about spending time with your family and friends. However there is nothing better than getting all the board games for some fun around the Christmas tree. Here are a few of our recommendations this year. 

The Very Merry Christmas game brings the whole family together as you all compete to grab the most lavish set of presents for your stocking. Presents might be really nice or really naff and you may not find out what the other players have dished out to you until you open them at the end of the game.

Humm Bug is a game for 2+ teams of humming old songs, new songs, love songs and the blues with no whistling, singing or even a la-la-la. It's a race against the clock for your team to guess the song, perfect for a family game night. Features all your favourites from the 1960's to the 2010's and beyond, with a few theme tunes thrown in for good measure.

Sit down and turn on your thinking caps with this TV version of the popular Tension board game. TV Tension covers everyone's television favourites. As with Family Tension its a race to name ten examples to a given 'TV' subject and it's against the clock.

No more waiting around while one person draws - everyone plays at once in this fast-paced party game! While playing Six Second Scribbles you all have ONE minute to draw up to TEN things from your card. But not every doodle will do! To win points, your friends and family must be able to guess WHAT you drew.

Chimp! is the perfect pick-up-and-play anywhere game. If you are a word-lovers, shrewd guessers

 or anyone who delights in spotting the truth from the twaddle then this game is for you. Definitions to wacky words are read out one by one... but are they the truth, false or a Chimp!... a dastardly deception by one of the players?

There are 8 unique Christmas themed family card games in this one festive box. Included inside is Xmas charades, Santa's sack, Xmas lists, Santa says, Bah! Humm bug, Under the tree,  Silent night and Xmas trivia - and a full set of rules for each game. Christmas fun for all the family. 

It's the battle between old school vs new school in this ultimate trivia game! Test your knowledge about your rival generation's pop culture trivia by playing in teams based on generations. Who will win and knows more about the other generation?

Unsolved Case Files puts you in the shoes of a cold case detective tasked with solving a murder that happened decades ago with only the original investigator's case file. Think you can find out who really killed Jamie Banks on November 20, 1992? Unsolved Case Files will let you find out once and for all whether you’re as good as the detectives on TV.

Bring home the nation's favourite game show and battle head-to-head with your family and friends in the race to reach £1 million. Relive classic moments from the show and tackle the iconic money ladder using only your wits and digital lifelines. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is fun for all the family.

The beloved international classic is now in 3D. In a labyrinth of soaring tower and deep vaults, witches and wizards scramble to find coveted treasures. They cast powerful spells to teleport and shift the maze in their favour. Whoever collects their treasure first wins in this contest of minds and magic! As with the classic, treasures must be found by skilfully moving the rows of towers to clear a path, but with 3D Labyrinth you have to take into account the tower heights too.

What games do you like playing at Christmas time? Do you have any favourites?

Michelle

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Osmo Coding Starter Kit

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Disclosure - We were sent the product below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

You may have read a previous post where we have written about Osmo and the various sets and kits you can get to use once you have a starter kit.  We have recently been sent another starter kit - this one based around coding to try out and this is probably going to be our most favourite Osmo set to date. 

Osmo works in conjunction with an iPad or Amazon Fire tablet - so you must already own an iPad or Fire table in order to be able to use Osmo sets. Its a fantastic way of allowing your child to have screen time while learning and enjoying themselves either on their own, with friends or with you to be able so spend some screen time with them.

The Coding starter kit includes everything you need to get started. Included is the Osmo Base for iPad, access to three coding games, 31 coding blocks, storage for the blocks.The games themselves include over 100 coding puzzles and over 300 musical sounds. 

Setup is easy enough - you just need to find each of three games on the apple app store, download them to the iPad and then set the iPad in the base with the connector on top of the iPad. Each game guides you through a guided demonstration of how to use each of the coding blocks and then throughout the games teaches your chid how to include more complex coding instructions in a really simple and enjoyable way. The more you code, the further you get in the game and the more rewards you are given in game to use on unlockables. 

We started with Coding Awbie which is the recommended starting point to learn basic concepts. Little J really loves this game.  You control a character called Awbie who needs to make his way through the outdoors in order to collect items to build a nice big, well decorated campsite. You move Awbie by giving coding instructions using the blocks which the Osmo setup will recognise when you place them under the iPad. You start with a direction, then a number of steps in a direction, followed by more complex strings of instructions with movement in different directions and numbers of steps.  You can even move up to grabs, jumps and bounces as you go.  Little J managed a string of 7 instructions which the Osmo was able to pick up and follow perfectly which gave lots of rewards and really helped Little J understand how to plan a route and set instructions.  The coding blocks are easy to use, well designed and have a quality feel to them too which really supports a good learning and playing environment. 

Next it was time for Coding Jam, this is a more intermediate app which allows you to compose your own music using patterns and loops. This one has a much more detailed practice mode which teaches you how to line up coding blocks to make beats, rhythms and layer these over each other to make songs.  The more you progress the more musical sounds unlock and the more you can overlay your creations.  The app will remember creations and allow you to layer new ones over them to make intricate sounds.  This game felt more 'open' than Coding Awbie and has less of a clear path through the game. You can be more creative with this game and really see how different code strings affect the songs you can make.  Little J preferred Coding Awbie this game, but he did enjoy making his own songs and naming them. 

The final app is Coding Duo which is a more advanced Coding challenge, setting puzzles to be solved using the coding blacks.  This can be played solo or two player and we have decided to save this one until we have all mastered Coding Awbie and Coding Jam.  It looks like the more practice you have had at the previous games, the better this one will be to play. 

All in all, we really loved this new addition to our Osmo collection. It's really clever how the app is able to your coding instructions. It also feels as though the 'reading' capability has been improved from some of the previous games we have played using Osmo. 

You can find out more about  Osmo by visiting Play Osmo online.

Michelle

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Kids Against Maturity Game Review

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Disclosure - We bought the below product for the purpose of this post. We were paid for our time. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

We love playing games here and as there is an eleven year age gap between the two boys it's sometimes hard to find games they both can play and they will both enjoy. Kids Against Maturity ticks all boxes for us. Not only is it age appropriate for both boys, it's simple to understand, easy to play and is based around toilet type humour which the boys love. 

Kids Against Maturity is so simple to play. Each player gets 10 white cards. White cards have possible answers on them. Blue cards have a partial sentence on them. When a blue card is flipped over each player has to choose a possible answer card from one of their ten white cards that they think would get the most laughs. 

As an example - The blue card shows "The _____________ is always greener on the other side." You then need to decide which card to place down which you think is the funniest answer but also what you think others will find funny. Would you choose Poop Emoji, Ding Dong or Diaper Hat

Now as I said before this game has lots of toilet humour so as long as you are ready for talk of farts, poops and butts then you are good to play. 

Once all the white cards have been placed down on that turn the winner is determined by the amount of laughs given for each white card. 

You should always have ten white cards in your hand so you need to pick up white cards after each turn.

There is no set time limit for the game so you can play for as long or as little as you want. It's estimated that five turns will take 45 minutes. 

The game is recommended for players aged 10+ and for 4 or more players however we have played with 2,3 and 4 players and found it funny each time. 

The box does come with a warning saying there are a lot of poopy jokes in the blue box. Simply remove any cards which you would deem offensive. 

We have haven't found any offensive yet and we all found this hilarious and it definitely made us all laugh out loud. 

Michelle

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6 in 1 Solar Recycler Review

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Disclosure - We were sent a 6 in 1 Solar Recycler for the purpose of this post. Any thoughts, opinions or photographs are our own. 

To celebrate British Science Week I have teamed up with Wicked Uncle to give away a 6 in 1 Solar Recycler kit. The 6 in 1 Solar Recycler kit is an eco-friendly kit which allows you to build six moving models using household recyclable items.

Powered by natural sunlight, the models are easy to make up and build using old recycled items with the various kit parts, including a solar panel, motor and instructions. Have fun recycling a drinking can to create an impressive walking robot with googly eyes or make a twin-can street roller. Reuse empty water bottles to build a bottle yacht, drumming robot and flying bird or recycle those old CDs to make the cool-looking CD racer. A great beginners' introduction to solar power technology, whilst having fun stretching the imagination and inventing your own creations. All powered up by simply sitting on the window-sill, a truly brilliant kit.

Unfortunately our giveaway is now closed.

Win 6 in 1 Solar Recycler

Michelle

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Quizzie The Robot Giveaway

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Disclosure - We received a Quizzie for the purpose of this post and also another for a giveaway prize. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

We are now the owners of a Quizzie Robot and he certainly cheered us up last week. Quizzie is a cute little robot standing approx 10cm tall with the cutest of faces however he does have a cheeky streak, so beware. 

Quizzie has three game modes that are all equally as fun and easy to play. 

Yes / No

Record up to five yes / no questions and then pass to a friend or family member so they can answer them. Quizzie will play back your question and the player has to guess if the answer is yes or no and press the corresponding button. If they guess correctly they can move on to the next question but if not then they will be squirted with water. 

Memory Game

Quizzie will change his face and you have to remember which face he was showing you. Was he smiling, winking or sad? Guess wrong and its a squirt of water in the face for you. 

Lucky Chance

This is a little like pass the bomb. You pass Quizzie between players and if he stops on you then prepare to get wet. 

I have teamed up with Wicked Uncle to give you the chance to win your own Quizzie Robot. All you need to do is enter our giveaway below using the form and make you sure you keep popping back as I will add bonus chances to win throughout the giveaway. 

Good Luck

Win Quizzie Robot 

Michelle

Competition closes on Sunday 21st February 2021

Entrants must have a valid UK address. 

Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified. 

All entrants and entries are checked and verified. 

1 lucky winner will be chosen at random by the Gleam application. 

Playdays and Runways will contact the lucky winners within 7 days of the competition closing. 

The winners will be emailed to the email address given at the time of entering. 

The winners must respond within 28 days, if no response a new winner will be chosen. 

This prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative 

The Prize : Quizzie The Robot

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Trapped Escape Room Game. Perfect For Date Night At Home

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are ours unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

Last year was the year of date nights at home. John and I made sure that amongst all the home schooling, late nights in the garden and all the other craziness we got together to have a date night. We would cook for one another, have a movie night, go for a walk or play a game. Playing games is my favourite and last year for the first time we tried out a range of escape room type games that were lots of fun. Just before Christmas we received a lovely bundle of three Trapped games which are family friendly escape room packs. 

Each pack has everything you need to turn any room in to an Escape room. The 3 games we received are from series 1 and included

Room 1 - The Art Heist Trapped Escape Room - Puzzle Level Medium

Room 2 - The Bank Job Trapped Escape Room - Puzzle Level Hard

Room 3 - The Carnival Trapped Escape Room - Puzzle Level Easy

We are no strangers to Escape rooms and have done a few actual games and also played at home but these were new to us so we started at the beginning with easy. Did we escape The Carnival?

The Carnival is designed for 2-8 players aged 8+

In the trapped game The Carnival it is our lifelong dream to work alongside the fabled fortune teller and jaw dropping performers of Muggins Carnival. Soon after we apply for a job the ringmaster invited us to an interview we will never forget....

Nothing is what it seems as we perform admission tests including a series of baffling puzzles and mysteries. We soon were racing head to head to see who was crowned king or queen of The Carnival. 

The Carnival was very easy to set up. As I said before you can create your own escape room by popping all the posters and puzzles around the room. You don't have to do this you can just spread them out on a table, the choice is yours. 

When you are ready to start you just dive right in and start solving the puzzles. I won't go in to any detail about the puzzles so not to spoil it. Once you think you have solved a puzzle you can check you have the correct answer by checking the arcade machine. If the answer is there you score the points.

You might not solve all the puzzles so you can get clues. Each puzzle gives you the chance to have clues and you can use the red clue reader to help you on your way. 

Each Escape room is designed to give you 1-2 hours of play. Between us we managed to complete the easy room in 40 minutes. We worked as a team to solve the puzzles and it was lots of fun.

I have teamed up with Trapped Escape Room Games to offer 1 reader the chance to win all 3 games. All you need to do is complete the entry form below and remember to pop back daily for bonus chances to win. 

Our Giveaway is now closed but you can purchase Trapped Escape Room games on Amazon 

Win Trapped Escape Room Games 

Michelle

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Family Fun With Spin Master Games

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Disclosure - We were sent the products below for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our unless stated. This post contains affiliate links. 

One thing we have loved this year is playing board games together as a family. Little J is at the age were he has the concentration to sit for longer without being distracted and enjoys the competitiveness of playing a board game. We have had a lot more free time than usual this year so it's been nice finding something that we all enjoy and we can all do together. Our pile of games has grown over the year and the newest games we added to our collection are Grouch Couch, Headbanz and Beat The Parents. 

Grouch Couch

Ever wonder what happens to those little items that go missing? Now’s your chance to find out and maybe get some things back when Grouch Couch spits out Lost Goodies! 

Grouch Couch is a fast paced game that's easy to play and fun for all the family.

Set up is easy. All you need to is pop in the batteries (3x AAA not included) then lift up the middle cushion on the couch to place the counters in. That's it you are ready to play.

To play all you need to do is take turns feeding Grouch Couch tasty treats.On your turn roll the dice. The number on the die is the number of treats you need to feed the couch. You place the treats on his cushions and then press the remote-control and see what happens. He might grumble, chomp, burp and (hopefully) eat your treats.

When he does eat your treats, he’ll spit out Lost Goodies (counters you placed in the under the sofa cushion earlier). 

If you roll the vacuum you collect lost goodies from other players and you’ll want to collect these because the player with the most Lost Goodies when Grouch Couch plays his victory song, wins!

Headbanz

A fun spin on the traditional game 'What Am I?'. Headbanz is a family friendly game that is perfect for games night. 

Each player pops one of the adjustable headbands on their head. When it is your turn you need to ask questions to try and identify what you are. The other players can only respond yes or no so make sure you ask a good question. 

The three 'What Am I?' cards are Animals, Food or Things. There is a quick guide to glance at if you are stuck and unsure what to ask. It gives you questions to ask for the specific categories. 

If you guess right before the timer runs out you win a token and the first player to win 3 tokens will be crowned the winner of the game.

Beat The Parents

The head to head family game of questions and challenges. Beat The Parents is a game of adults v kids. Adults need to answer questions correctly to move up the board however the kids have the chance to answer kids questions too so it's anyones game. 

It isn't just about questions though as there are challenge spots on the board when the game stops and a challenge needs to be done. 

If you land on a challenge spot you must read the card aloud. It could be 1 player from each team or it could be an all play so everyone joins in. 

Once at the top of the board you will reach final challenge you can only advance to the win space by winning the challenge first. 

The first team to enter the win space is crowned the winner of Beat The Parents. 

If you are looking for some gift inspiration this Christmas you can read more about Grouch Couch, Headbanz and Beat The Parents over on our Christmas Gift Guide - For The Kids as well as lots of other ideas. 

Michelle

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