Games Reviews

I bought this because my Daughter loves the wiggles. My husband had problems trying to play the games. It is no way suitable for the age 3-5. It should be more like age 5 - 8. Oh but most children that age don't like the wiggles. Why didn't they just make it number recognition instead of addition. I frankly do not no any 3, 4, or 5 year olds who can add numbers beyond the 1 + 1 = 2. Game is just way to hard for the age recommended.

Game Play: 4 out of 10
Graphics: 7 out of 10
Replay Value: 5 out of 10
Learning: 7 out of 10



This was suppose to be released at least 1/2 a year ago, so the expectations are of course high on the highest paid Australian act today, The Wiggles.

The Vsmile system is a brilliant learning system that works to enhance + teach children in several areas, the one true strength of "The Wiggles: It's Wiggle Time!" is it's excellent teaching of Numbers, Math, Letters, Vocabulary & Colors.

The one true downfall of "The Wiggles: It's Wiggle Time!" is the difficult game play. First, the game is in NO WAY designed for a 3-5 year old! There is math involved here (addition) + the Learning adventure are near impossible for children 3-5 years old. Each of the four courses are long & involve careful thinking, otherwise you have a game over quite quickly.

Also a slap to the fan is the music, as the musical 'sound' is similar, but it is in no way a good substitute to the cheerful & quirky songs as played on The Wiggles TV shows or movies.

Still, this game is important to own as it teaches effectively for children, just not children 3 or 4, perhaps 5 and above.

My 5 yr old daughter loves this game!!
She says it's almost as fun playing the game as she had when
she saw them in concert! She just loves Greg,Jeff,Anthony,
Murray and their friends. She quickly taught herself how
to play and really loves the games and silly songs that she sings along with! We only have a few V-Smile smartridges.....
but because they are very good quality...I see our collection
will have to grow...and soon!

I bought Cadoo one Christmas for my nephew because he thought it would be fun. He was wrong. I played it one time with him and while we were playing he got bored. There is no real point to this game.

This is a great game. My 2 1/2 and 6 both play it together. It helps the little one to learn colors and shapes and identifying pictures and most importantly to listen to instructions. Its a fun action game because the speaker calls out the new location to find and tells the players how to get there -- spin to a red, crawl to a square. It is even fun to play alone. I definitely recommend this.

I had this game on my Amazon wish list, and a good friend purchased it as a "big brother" gift for my two eldest when their baby brother was born. Since they had lots of toys already, I kept it hidden in my closet for the right day... when the baby would be awake, the downstairs neighbors would be gone, etc.

Well, I pulled it out today, popped the batteries in, and voila! Like magic, my normally squabbling 3 1/2 and 6 1/2 year olds were giggling, bouncing, and leaping all over the place. The great thing is that it's an active game, but they have to listen to the game's instructions, so they don't get overly wild. This is a terrific game for a small birthday party (though you can order spare game pads from Cranium and use it for bigger groups or classes), or just to bring out when the kids are bored and can't go burn off energy outside.

The game is really simple; it comes with the battery-operated pod and 16 pads that you scatter on the floor. They vary in shapes, colors, and emblems (things like animals, instruments, and food). The players have to listen to the pod's instructions (ie "spin over to a circle! Touch your nose to an animal!"), and after a certain number of instructions, the game will tell the players to freeze, and announce that if anyone is standing on a certain pad, they're the winner, and should take a bow or do a funky dance.

I was thrilled to have a game that's active and something that both my kids could play together -- since it's essentially a listening-to-instructions game of luck, one wouldn't necessarily beat the other.

This is a terrific example of how well-thought-out the Cranium games are. I'm sure we'll get lots of use out of this!

My son received this toy for Christmas and he has found it captivating. The screws have a place on the side of the toy for him to screw them into. The hammer he uses with another workbench toy but also has lots of fun with it. I can see how the screw driver could be a hazard if the child was running and fell on it. It would easily pierce the skin. He only plays with this around his work bench were he is supervised. If you are watching your child play it would be a safe toy. I would only purchase it if you are willing to watch your child during play time.

Actually I gave this toy as a gift, but it looked like a great hit with the 4-year-old boy I gave it to. Not only did the boy like it, but so did some of the older kids as well. I think this toy is great for the imagination and I liked the tool box carrying case the blocks came in. The case is good to keep the blocks together and to play with as well.

My son couldn't wait to get to the car to play with this toy and has played with it almost every day since I purchased it over six months ago. When he finds something to "fix" he will run to get his "tools" and hammer, screw & wrench until he is done. This is a very durable toy and has held up to a two year old surprisingly well. It has been pounded to death (seems like it) and thrown all over the house. It has been to Grandma's house and back and still has all its pieces. The nails and screws are easy for him to use by himself but he still has trouble with the nuts. But he's two.

My 5 yr. old son just LOVES this! He loves playing LEGO Star Wars on the Gamecube and loves to pretend with these. We are always rescuing the princess and fighting Darth Vader. We even consult Yoda for instructions. These have a button you slide so you can wave the base and the "light" saber flies out...lots of fun! Then it retracts with a little pushing/tapping and snaps into the base so you can wear it around using the clip (slides into a pocket or over the waistband of pants). The handles look really cool, too. This is a great deal at $5.29 and free shipping since the little figures are $6 for a 2-pk. at Target.

I bought this for my grand daughter's 4th birthday and was so disappointed at the look on her face when she opened it. "It's green!" with quite a pout. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was when my daughter called me later to tell me that this is now her favorite game and she loves watching the video that is along the same line that I had given her at the same time. Needless to say, it made me a happy grandma!

We purchased this game for my just-turned 5-year-old. He loves to play both levels. His almost 4-year-old friend enjoys limited play, and a 2-year-old loves just looking at the cards, calling out the letters, and playing with the plastic figures.

A couple of the letter sounds are very similar, but it is teaching Alec to listen carefully and not get discouraged if he gets an answer wrong the first time.

It is also nice that there is no one "winner." Anyone who reaches the "winners" square is a winner.

My son sometimes just randomly calls out letters and the sounds they make. Very good for getting him ready for school in a few months.

We got this when my kids turned 3, however could have gotten it when they turned 2. We play it every day. It tells you which player's turn it is, it also counts the number of spaces you are suppose to go with you and then it says "you're on the 'yellow' space" as a double check. There are 2 modes and we can play on the "difficult" mode (the difference being with the easier mode you only have to know colors, with the more difficult mode, you have to know the alphabet). The characters are REALLY cute to. Best of all, EVERYONE is a winner - yeah! A concept that is difficult to teach a 2 or 3 year old, but this games does a superb job. The computer chip knows what space you are on so it makes sure that everyone wins within 2 turns (that I've experienced), so those with little patience can "wait it out".

I've been waiting for this item for almost one month. Why advertise if you do not have it? I missed presenting tihis to the child because of this delay. I like the ideal of the toy therefore I'm still waiting patiently.

This toy is wonderful. The item description provided is exact. It teaches letters, phonics, spelling, and writing. It even teaches BOTH lower case and upper case letters! Especially neat; when your child presses a letter, for instance D, it says the letter D than the phonics sound (if you have the switch set to phonics) and then the little screen clearly shows just how to write the letter properly.

While this toy seems very useful, parents are advised that children should be learning how to spell and write lower case letters BEFORE they learn the capital letter symbols. When children read books or see words in print in most places, they will NOT see words printed in all capital letters. The younger the children, the more important it is to learn first words in lower case letters because that will transfer more quickly to reading words in books.

This particular toy offers upper or lowercase letters, and shows you how to write both. In fact, the early levels show you both versions for identification. My 4 year old son uses both upper and lower case letters (he mixes them randomly) but has no trouble understanding that there are two different ways to write one letter.

My only complaint would be wishing for more Writing Area. I think it would be easier for the children to stretch out their words especially once the get the hang of it. And I would also leave off some of the sounds. My son enjoys more learning and hands on activities instead of having to listen for "instructions, correct and incorrect" and having to figure out what the toy "said" through its little speaker.

This toy has proven to perform durability, as well, surviving several falls down the stairs and drops off the couch without any problems.

My son helped him learn the ABC when he had this and I liked the product so much I had to purchase it for my niece to help her learn the ABC. This is a great product not just to teach the ABC, but to help them write and the sound of each letter and to know the difference between Capital and lower case. This is a great product to purchase for any young children.

My 17 month old son loves to push the button on this toy and dance away! At his young age, he is able to push the button all by himself to make the music start and he spins and bounces to the music! Great Toy!

My 6 year old daughter loves this thing! I thought it might be too young, but NO!! Her favorite game is freeze dance and she uses the jukebox again and again.
If I would change anything, it would be the volume setting. The volume is okay (I've replaced the batteries because I thought that perhaps they were low and it was making the jukebox not as loud)but I would prefer actually a "louder" setting for when she's dancing or playing Boogie Woogie freeze dance with her friends.

Both kids, 3 and 5, love this. They love the music and love dancing to it. I love anything that gets them up and moving.

I am a mother of 3 little girls and thought I found the perfect slide/pool combination for them to have hours of fun. WRONG!! Straight out of the box one of the seams had and inch long opening in it making it impossible to inflate part of the slide. I called the 800 number on the box hoping to exchange it. Ammee had me fax in the packing slip (receipt) and explain the PROBLEM! After doing that she said she would exchange it out. HOWEVER a message came from her the next day that they didn't have any to exchange it out with. She suggested exchange at Toys r us or online. Called Toys r us and they will not in any way accept a return from Amazon.com (my box has Toys r us orange price sticker on it). I simply want an exchange but online that is not an option. So called toyquest again they said return it online and repurchase. What a great solution YAH RIGHT!! Price online 29.99 + Tax 2.74 + shipping (standard rate) 15.72 = 48.45. So if I return it I'll have to pay another 15.72 for shipping a new one that may be as big of a disappointment as the one I have now. Buy the way tried to patch it but since the rip is in the seam it would not hold!! The hold time to speak to a real person at toyquest was a lest 30 minutes each time I called.

We bought this Splash slide in hopes that it would give our kids (ages 9,4, and3)lots of fun, but unfortunately,it only lasted so little time. first, the slide part ripped so we had to use it as a regular little pool. then, the pool ripped where the thin plastic is joined. I am talking in about 2 weeks period. honestly, it is made out of cheap, thin plastic that it is not mean to last.

We bought the Splash Bomb Water Slide locally last Spring. The 7 year old and 14 year old had such a great time with it, we kind of splurged and got 3 slip `n slides to replace it when it finally tore after about 10 hours of hard use.

The first one we put up was the Aqua Leisure Spray and Slide Family Pool. The design looked great, and if it could have only held air, it might have been really fun. But the air plugs wouldn't hold and we were forever adding air to all the bladders, and it tore quickly. Nice design, horrible fabrication.

Shark's Revenge Water Slide was our next slide to assemble. The slide is long, but didn't have the comfort advantage of an inflated slide. Plus, it had this odd shark head part that 1) had an odd sized port for adding water, and 2) wasn't stable enough to stand up so the kids could slide through it. Bottom line was that while it looked fun in the pics, it wasn't worth the money for just a long piece of vinyl.

Our third replacement took us back to the Splash Bomb, and it was the hit of the birthday party last weekend for the now-8-year-old. We had kids from 3 to 30 jumping in and loving it. And it was sturdy enough to go through that without getting torn. Splash Bomb gets my heartiest endorsement.

This is by far the best floatation device I've run across for small children. Unlike arm floaties the "sweater" hugs your child's body snugly; leaving their arms free (which does not impede their stroke.) This is a great floatation device but like any device I feel it's only an aid! I highly recommend this product for its brilliant, durable design! I'm very glad I found it.

I brought this for my 15 month old daughter, after she no longer wanted to be confined in a float. We tried arm bands but she kept rolling forward, and we tried the bathing suit with the built in floats but it wasn't boyant enough. This was just perfect. She has her independence and the tube keeps her face from going in the water. Getting in and out of it was very easy and she never complained (unlike the other floats)! The summer is almost over and the float is like new. She is now 18 months old and not only is she very confident in the water, she is a wonderful swimmer. Worth every penny!

This was purchased for my son who began using it when he was 1 1/2 years old and he LOVED it. It gave him independence(with mom or dad very close) and mobility and made him feel just like his older siblings. He's now 3 and becoming an excellent swimmer and now he's passed the sweater down to his little brother. Only one thing, the innertube tends to rupture and we've repaired it over and over so we're giving up on the old one and buying a new one for our baby.