Activity Toy Reviews

My wife bought this for her 7 year old nephew. All of the kids played with it on Thanksgiving Day for a few hours. Squirting camera, false teeth, whoopee cushion and hand buzzer. How could kids not get a kick out of these items. It actually took the kids' attention off of television for a few hours. You could probably get all of the items cheaper in one of those toy stores that sell these items individually but it is nice to get them in one box. We are getting one for this Christmas.

*Negative rating*

Magnetix Xtreme Combo Flashing Lights Castle
Magnetix Xtreme Combo Flying Saucer

A toddler named Kenneth Sweet, Jr. died on November 24, 2004. These two toys had been given as gifts to an older boy in the family's home just 10 days earlier. The Kroger Co., which owns Smith's Food & Drug, Fred Meyer and other stores across the United States, has voluntarily recalled Magnetix products from their shelves. In March, 2006 another boy, this time a pre-school child, almost died from swallowing magnets from a building set. The King County WA Medical Examiner has issued a warning about Magnetix - http://komo1000news.com/stories/42442.htm.

There are several tiny cylindrical magnets in each of the flat pieces of many toys in Rose Art's "Magnetix" line, including the flat pieces (triangles and squares) in "Magnetix X-Treme Combo 250 Piece Case: Triangles, Squares & Bars".

There may be a danger of these tiny magnets coming loose. Serious health risks are posed by "multiple magnet ingestion"*. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a statement saying that the agency is currently conducting a serious investigation.

* "Don't Swallow Your Magnets!
A recent article in Radiology alerts parents to the swallowing of magnets. "The problem is not the toxicity of the magnets, but rather the possibility that two or more magnets can attract each other through adjacent intestinal walls and become lodged there indefinitely. Over time, the magnets can perforate the intestinal walls." Check it out here http://www.magneticmicrosphere.com/no_swallow.htm.

My 8 year old daughter loves these! She is able to build more complex shapes and designs. I would not recommend them for someone younger unless they have a lot of patience as it takes quite a bit of time to get the pieces aligned to build something elaborate. The different shaped pieces have made building more interesting for my daughter.

I have triplet granddaughters - age 4 - and they love this! Add a cookie sheets and it can keep them occupied for quite awhile. Keeping the balls from getting lost is the only problem.

It's stores easily and with the case, keeping all of the little parts together is easy.

I thought the whole darn thing was horrible. I have recieved this game for Christmas years ago, and I still hven't understand the rule. They should clarify the instruction. At least the deck is really cool to look at.

As you can tell from other reviews the instructions that come with this game are incredibly complicated, but once my wife and I had plowed through it a couple times, we figured out the secret: the game is really simple; the rules just make it look complicated!

Contents of the game --

Deck One: Pitch Cards, which put various balls into play
Deck Two: Hogwarts Player Cards, for player one
Deck Three: Slytherin Player Cards, for player two

Basic flow of the game --

One player turns over a pitch card, and the players use their player cards to act upon the pitch. It's always up to the pitcher to determine the play. If the pitcher plays on the ball, the other player must also. If that player cannot, he or she must discard a card and forfeit the ball. If the pitcher does not play on a ball, the other player cannot.

Amidst play, if there's a tie, you discard those cards and draw a new card to play.

If you keep those items in mind, plus the fact that any Quaffle must be played on until it is resolved, and that you can only have two bludgers in force at any time, you should avoid most problem situations.

Play it through once, bearing it mind that it's not as convoluted as the instructions make it seem, and I think you'll love it!

It was a rough start, but this game is definitely worth it.

The rules are horribly written. I cannot understate that. It took me a day of reading the rules without understanding them, a day of not looking at them, and then a final read of the rules before I finally 'got' it.

Now that I understand the rules, my 6 y/o daughter and I are having the time of our life in this quick-paced game that truly does have the 'feel' of Quidditch.

It's difficult getting started, but I believe that the fun is worth the initial headache.

I love this puzzle! It is fun and challenging. I believe that it is a good puzle for anyone who wants a challenge. However I find that there is one problem with it. THERE ARE NO DIMENSIONS TO TELL YOU HOW BIG THE PUZZLE IS AFTER YOU PUT IT TOGRTHER!!! I would appreciate it if dimensions were added to the box. I am sure that anyone else who purchases this puzzle would appreciate it to so that they know if they are going to have to purchase a puzzle mat as well if they order this puzzle. If you like puzzles that are not your everyday puzzle I would recommend that you purchase this puzzle because it would make a worthy addition to any puzzle collection.

This is an amazing puzzle. The detail and specifics to this puzzle will wonder the mind. It doesn't matter how many times you look at this puzzle or how long you look at it you'll never see the same thing twice. There are so many different ways to look at this amazing puzzle. The creator paid extreme attention to detail and the idea of the old century dragons and the idea that they were the ultimate warriors...You can see everything from castles to soldiers, to many smaller dragons on the inside of this puzzle. If you love dragons or mystical creatures this puzzle is a must have.

We bought this for Christmas last year for my son when he was 3. I couldn't stand to pay for the Thomas one when they look so similar and serve the same purpose. He didn't notice the difference last year, but does now. He doesn't seem to care though. He knows it's not Thomas, but he's not asking for a new one. The only thing he keeps asking is why it doesn't have a turn table. You don't need one with this item, but he likes to play with the turn table when we go to stores that have Thomas tables for kids to play with. Overall, I am very happy we purchased this item rather than the Thomas one. We try to buy Imaginarium items whenever we think we can pass them off as Thomas items without any trouble! The prices are just so much better for basically the same things.

When I received this item, it was even nicer than I expected. And a great value, given how expensive the train components for Thomas trains are.

Per my 3 year old with an imagination "It's great!" I had been a little worried after reading one of the reviews, but I must say that it is working fine for us. Instead of a turntable it has the area where the trains break off to their own garages. My son does not compalin. He would spend hours playing with it if I would let him.

When I was in Elementary School we always looked forward to parachute week. Everyday for a week we would play a different game with the parachute. I loved this thing even though it was exhausting, hint to parents! ;D This is one of the best group toys you could possibly buy hands down, no questions asked. I was about 8 when we had this at school, I'm 16 now and still visit my old elem. school and play the games with the kids and my old PE teacher!

This is an AMAZING TOY! It is so much fun to play with!
You can make up many games with it...It is also very durable.
This thing made going to school FUN! We always played with it during gym. I love this toy! It is the best toy we had ever had at my old school! It comes with lotsa stuff too! 5 STARS!
I may even ask for it for my B-day and all my friends and i can play with it! An AMAZING deal for an AMAZING toy! I recomend you buy it for a day care or a school! The kids will have a BLAST!