Arts Reviews

I played this game one on one with another person and we had a fairly good time. Even though we could not answer over half the questions, they were multiple choice and we learned a lot. But once we took the game to a party with about 6 players, the game lost its luster. Not only did we all not know the answers to most of the questions, we weren't guessing correctly either. Couple that with the fact it seemed forever before it was your turn again, the game was a flop.

Maybe if we played in teams it would have been better, but it just didn't work out for a group.

I have collected all the Trivia games out there. And boy am I happy I have added Wit's End to my collection. It's smart, it's fun, it's entertaining and oh, did I say it was smart, because it is! This is the best type of game to take out at parties. The game generates conversations and exercises some mental stimulation. I had to give it my thumbs up in public....it deserves the press! Don't be without this one in social gatherings.

What can I say. This is a fantastic game. You know when you keep seeing movies and are often disappointed and keep waiting for the blockbuster. Well, WIT'S END is the blockbuster. I can't tell you how much fun we had playing this game. It is a trivia and knowledge based game but with a twist. Not only are you challenged by the questions, but the question types make the game even more interesting. There are four different card categories which ask different types of questions. The TEASER category, asks you to figure out the relationship; the SEQUENCE category asks you to put people, places and things in sequence; the ODD-1-OUT category asks you to decide which thing does not belong and the WILD CARD category has many different types of fun question types. As if the great categories where not enough, the questions cover a great range of knowledge; including pop culture, music, literature, geography, history; science....just everything! Better yet, there are detailed answers to every question. So you are not just left with a one world answer, but an explanation. You actually learn a thing or two of interesting facts and details. The questions are smart (real smart!), not the dumbdown version in other Trivia games. I cannot stress to you how fantastic this game is....that is if you are up for the challenge!

My 2 year old just got this for Christmas and I was suprised at the size of the key....a definate choking hazard for kids under 3 who put everything in their mouths--which is why I only rated the toy 3 stars. I called Fisher Price, and they didn't seem too concerned, just offered my money back. I didn't want the money, I just want to make sure nobody chokes. So my son plays with it without the key. It snaps shut okay without it. He has a ball and is such a big Blue fan, it's great. He plays with it at the table while I cook dinner and it keeps him entertained.

My daughter (2 1/2) just loves Blues Clues and this toy has become a favorite of hers. She can easily handle the little figures and has fun making them go down the slide.
Great toy for the price.

A friend bought this for my one year old for her birthday because Blue's Room is the only show she watches. I put the key up (choking hazard) but she enjoys the rest of the crew. Her 4 year old brother also enjoy it. It's not exactly educational but does help him use his imagination. It's a good companion to the show which is very educational.

I got this for my daughter for christmas. We have used it three times. Each time I wash it before use and it still does the same thing. The paint always clumps. It is a real mess to clean up. I did not like it at all.

We have blue-green fingers after fiddlin' with this masterpiece. Nothing but globs of paint. Papa isn't smart enough to make those fancy patterns... maybe Grandma should try with her magic touch. Avoid this one unless you want to waste paint and whatever you decide to put in the spinn' tray. The happy little girl in the picture obviously isn't helping to clean up the mess.

My 11-year-old daughter bought this at KB Toys for $10, using her own saved-up allowance money. She was all excited about it. Mom had to help her with set-up. The paint sprays globs over the 6" pieces of paper that are included in the kit. Paint gets used up rapidly, requiring you to disassemble the paint canisters and refill fairly frequently.

My best advice, if you buy it, is to use a VERY light touch on the "paint speed" button. My daughter's skills did improve with each paper she tried, however. I'm not sure how you'd paint a t-shirt unless you use transfers.

I'm rating it 3 stars because that's what my daughter rated it, but I'd give it about 1.5.

In shopping for puzzles over the last few years I've noticed that the manufacture's age recommendations seem to be a bit off. When puzzles are too advanced, the simple solution is to put it up for a later date; however, when they are too simple, they're a waste of money. Unfortunately, the Alphabet Art Puzzle was one of those disappointments.

The puzzle encourages thinking, and matching, but I'm not sure it helped to teach the alphabet. In addition, some of the images are too goofy for this age group. For instance, a piece of Rope is shaped into the letter "R," but a 3-year old don't associate with such a thing. Another example of this, is the letter "Y" for Yarn. Wouldn't a Yo Yo be a better solution? The raised pieces do offer a new motor challenge from plastic knobs, but they are too shallow for the board. I can't seem to move this puzzle without dropping several pieces on the floor. My son found this frustrating as well.

What's more, I think the age recommendation needs to be adjusted. I purchased the Alphabet Art Puzzle when my son was 2-years and 4-months old. It's recommended for children 3-years and up, so I thought it would make a good choice. It didn't challenge him at all. The second time he worked it, he completed it in less than 4-minutes by himself. That said, my son has benefited from the puzzle. He likes working it, and continues to ask questions about the pictures. I recommend it for children 18-months and up, as they will find it more challenging than a 3-year old.

My kids (6,5 and 3) all love this puzzle. We all enjoy the art work on the letters being different than the normal examples ( Y has yarn, N has nuts). My daughter just leaves this puzzle out on her shelf because she likes to look at it. My 6 year old still likes it because it is not as babyish as most alphabet puzzles. We have had this puzzle for 5 years and have had no problems with wear and tear issues.

This puzzle is one of my favorite gifts to give all the youngsters in my life. I've given it as a shower gift, a birthday present, and a Christmas present, and the kids have all loved it. It has held up very well, even with a few pretty destructive types. It's very visually engaging, and most kids can figure out what most of the pictures represent. Only a few are tricky. Overall, I highly recommend this puzzle!

My six-year-old daughter chose this as a Christmas present, and she has loved it. The kit comes with all items separate; you must glue on the individual flowers, decorate the larger ones, and put the flowers and streamers together. My daughter enjoyed all of it. The whole thing was very easy to use and put together and has held up for several months now without a single flower coming off.

My daughter has a queen-size bed, and the streamers in this kit are narrow enough that we could not achieve the wrap-around look shown on the cover of the box. They were wide enough, however, to cover the head of the bed.

My daughter is 5 yrs old and loves arts and crafts. When I saw this at Amazon for the price I had to get it. I had my doubts about what it would look like when it got here. To my surprise!! It is the coolest room decoration. My daughter loved desingning it and it looks so elegant and girly hanging above her bed. And to top it off was really easy to assemble. It also comes with sizable flowers. A lot bigger than i expected. Really cute and durable.

My name is Elizabeth and I'm 8-I loved painting my own Bird Diner because my whole family likes to feed the birds. I especially made it for my grandparents because they get alot of birds in their back yard all the time-I hope the birds will like their new house!

My mom had bought this kit as a rainy day project. Since it rained this weekend I got to do the kit. I loved painting it with all the different colors. Having stencils helped me to decorate the bird house. While it was drying we went to the store and got some wild bird seed. We filled up the bird house and hung it from a tree outside. Now I can watch the birds come and eat from it. It is so cool to paint a birdhouse and then watch the birds. I am going to go to the library and get a book about birds so that I can identify the birds that come to eat. This was a fun project and I like that we hung it up and I can see birds.

KOMO TV (Seattle): Government Investigating Safety of New Magnetix Toys (4/27/06)
April 27, 2006

By Michelle Esteban

SEATTLE - A KOMO 4 News investigation helped lead to a nationwide recall of Magnetix toys after magnets from a popular toy killed a local boy and hurt others.
Now, we've learned the feds are investigating the toymaker's new and improved version of the same toy.
Kenny Sweet, Marcel McNeil, William Finley, and Kyle Booke -- their parents says all of them were hurt by a toy.
"He was hours from dying," says Joe Booke of Oak Harbor, Washington. His son Kyle was hospitalized for a month.
We brought three local families together.
All of them rushed their children to the emergency room with what they thought was stomach flu.
"He was hours from dying, we're just like, we have no clue. I almost lost my son, Kyle," says Joe Booke.
"We're in constant agony that our son is gone," says Penny Sweet.
The King County Medical Examiner ruled that tiny magnets from a Magnetix toy building set killed Penny Sweet's son, Kenny, on Thanksgiving Day. He was just a toddler.
"When I think of how they could have saved my son's life, and how they turned their back on our children, it's unforgivable," insists Sweet.
All four children accidentally swallowed small magnets that came loose from the Magnetix construction sets.
Their parents told us that in each case, the magnets sealed in the toy's plastic rods and panels came fell out.
The magnets were so strong that they attracted to one another and twisted the small intestine, caused an obstruction and that ruptured the intestine. Deadly bacteria leaked into their bodies.
Our report on Kenny's death triggered a federal investigation.
And, in March, KOMO's findings helped persuade the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall nearly 4 million Magnetix toys nationwide.
New Version On The Shelves
But Magnetix toys are still on store shelves. According to the toymaker, they are a new and improved version.
Toymaker Rose Art and parent company Mega Bloks said they didn't think there was a problem with the original toy. But, they say they made improvements just before and after Kenny's death.
They insist the newest version -- in stores after the recall -- is different and safer.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating that claim.
"I'm making a big pyramid," says 9-year-old Isaiah Padgett of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He loves the toy.
His mother, Jennifer Padgett bought a set of those "new" Magnetix for Isaiah.
"The first time I got them only a couple fell out so I thought maybe that's just the way they are, maybe we'll get a new set. As I played with them more fell out, I kept wondering why?" asked Isaiah.
Jennifer bought a second set of the new version. "The second set broke as well," she said. She called in a complaint to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
"It bothers me as a consumer I'm thinking that they're putting profits before the safety of children," says Padgett.
The Magnetix toy that was recalled and the new version on store shelves look alike. You can't see the changes.
So we went to Livingston, N.J. to ask the toy manufacturer to show us the difference. But Rose Art turned us down, they say they're just not ready for a sit down interview.
In a written statement, they said the new product has been enhanced three separate times. The first time in late summer, that was right after Mega Bloks acquired RoseArt. The company says quality enhancements are standard procedure for them after acquisitions.
"Is the Magnetix on the shelf now safe?" We went to Bethesda, Maryland to pose that question to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Enhancements Made
"Rose Art has said it has made a better product and the CPSC is investigating to see how much better that product is," said Julie Vallese, spokesperson for the CPSC.
RoseArt said it added glue to the toys and enhanced what they call "magnet welding."
The company also changed the warning label. The information on the product box used to recommend the toy for children age three and up. The new boxes say children playing with the toy should be at least six years.
"If the stuff I've seen on the shelf is new and improved, there is no change," says Mechelle Booke. Her son Tyler swallowed magnets and had emergency surgery in March. "His intestines are severely damaged, they're never gonna be the way they were before," says Booke.
"I'm a dad with my son, I want him to grow up and play baseball and football, and now the doctors telling me he's got a high possibility of having hernias his whole life," says Joe Booke.
A Redmond engineer hired by the attorney for the local families compared the toys and sees no improvement. He says the glue sticks only to plastic and won't hold magnets in place.
Mega Bloks says it can't comment on data it has not seen, but is confident in its own testing methods.
"We take the company's word for it at the onset, but through our investigation we'll have to look or prove whether this product is better," says CPSC's Vallese.
But that's not all CPSC is investigating.
Another Case In Redding
Until I told them, the feds had never heard about what happened to 4-year-old William Finley of Redding, California last August.
William swallowed three of the magnets and had emergency surgery. William's parents said their son nearly died.
On Oct. 31, they sent Rose Art a letter, telling them their son "ingested a magnet."
The company signed for it three days later, but the Finleys say RoseArt never responded.
"It made us feel a lot like my son didn't matter," says William's father, Adam.
Mega Bloks told me: "There was nothing in this letter that raised a red flag... only one magnet was swallowed... it was a minor incident."
"They can't brush this stuff under the rug," says Tod Marks, who writes for Consumer Reports.
I asked, "If you are company 'A' and you know someone has been injured by using your product do you have to tell somebody?"
"Not only do you have to tell them (CPSC) if they've been injured, but if you have an incident report where no one was injured but something was amiss you are obliged to report," says Marks.
The only comment CPSC would make about it, "when in doubt, report," says CPSC Public Affairs Acting Deputy Director Scott Wolfson.
The company got the Finley's letter in November.
Kenny Sweet, of Redmond, died three weeks later.
But RoseArt said that prior to Kenny's death, they had no record or knowledge of "a similar occurrence" involving Magnetix.
"I will never understand, no one will be able to explain to me, how it's OK to allow this to happen," says Penny Sweet.
RoseArt insists the injuries were avoidable.
They tell KOMO 4 News nothing they can do replaces the need for adult supervision.
At the time of the recall, the feds said they had 34 complaints nationwide about Magnetix. Now they say there are more, but they won't say how many more.
We've also learned Kenny Sweet's death could change the toy industry.
The American Society for Testing Materials writes the book on voluntary toy standards. They are now asking if we need warning labels on all toys with magnets.

This toy is NOT SAFE FOR CHILDREN 6 MONTHS - 10 YEARS! The CPSC has issued a voluntary recall for this product due to one death and several seriously injured children who ingested the magnets from a set like this. The manufacturer will not have the product removed from shelves and states that it is safe for children 6 TO 100. I will not let my 6 year old even have them in our house because I have a 2 year old who might find the magnets that come loose. The magnets are not always securely attached and have the ability to connect in a childs intestines if swallowed. They should not be purchased if there is a child under the age of 6 in the home, in my opinion.

My 4 year old son got several sets of these for Christmas and loves playing with them. However, last month we took a trip to the ER after he swallowed one of the silver ballbearings from the set. Initially when he swallowed the ball, he got scared and I was afraid it was lodged in his throat but a few moments after he said it went all the way down. I am not putting blame on the manufacturer, I just think parents of younger children should know that these make very likely hazards. I am really regretting purchasing these for my son at this age. I think the manufacturer should reconsider their "3-10" age and make it maybe 7 or 8years old and up. Also, it should be known that my son has never done anything like this before, which makes me even more sure that the small parts are way too tempting to little mouths. While at the ER, a few of the medical staffers mentioned that he was not the first child they have seen who swallowed a Magnetix part.
Thank goodness everything was fine, the ball passed right through. However, after the recent reports I've seen about children having severe complications and even one death as a result of swallowing Magnetix parts, we consider ourselves to be very, very lucky. |
Since our little episode, the Magnetix have been put up on a shelf and, unless we decide to return them to the manufacturer, we will at least keep them put away for a few years until he and his younger sister are older and more responsible with small parts.