Pictionary Review

Pictionary is the quick sketching, crazy guessing game from Mattel.  For ages 8 and up and for 4 to 6 players, Pictionary is the perfect family game to play together. There are two levels of play with junior cards for the younger players to use so everyone can join in.

Each team moves around the playing board, landing on coloured squares.  Each square corresponds to a category on the playing cards.  Players have to attempt to draw whatever is on the card for their team mate to guess to keep control of the dice.  First time to get around the board wins.  There are three starting points so you can choose to play shorter games.

You don't have to be a great artist, in fact the worse your attempts, the funnier the game.  Being on the same wavelength as other players helps.  You have to sketch against the clock using the timer.  The categories include people and places, actions, objects, difficult words and miscellaneous.  Some words or phrases are really tricky and as the seconds tick by the tension rises...especially when your other half doesn't guess the brilliant illustration that you do for the word "Export"!!!

This game really is a lot of fun and I like the fact that 10 year old Kizzy could play alongside the grown-ups.  As long as the child is a competent reader then they can join in.  We really enjoyed our game of Pictionary and I'd definitely recommend this as a family must-have!

UNO Roboto Review

I have many happy memories of playing the classic card game UNO with my older children and their grandparents.  It is a simple game but really entertaining and very competitive.  We had a lot of fun battling it out to get rid of our cards and become the UNO family champion!

UNO has been given a modern twist in the form of UNO Roboto from Mattel Games which is an interactive way to play the classic game, bringing it to a whole new audience.  We were sent one to try out.

UNO Roboto consists of a pack of 108 playing cards and the robot, who is a cute but unpredictable little fellow who likes to mix up the game play whenever he can.  He calls out random rules and funny phrases.  Players record their own names and some house rules to create customized play.  Freddy and Kizzy really enjoyed recording things and hearing them back in Roboto's voice!!

The aim of the game is to loose all your cards.  Roboto can throw a spanner in the works at anytime by commanding you to swap cards with another player or issuing a challenge with the loser being forced to pick up extra cards.  So fortunes can turn at anytime.

With Roboto addressing players by name, it adds to the excitement.  The unpredictable nature of the game creates an atmosphere of uncertainty right until the end, so everyone stands a chance of winning.  It adds an element of fun to this simple classic game which makes it more interesting for youngsters who want a little more from their games.

Roboto is a funky gimmick.  The kids really do love him and hearing him throw down a challenge to a player by name never ceases to amuse them.  It has brought this card game right into the 21st century in terms of adding electronic entertainment.  And at the end of the day, if the cheeky robot gets too much you can revert back to just playing with the cards, discarding them as quickly as you can until you get to shout UNO!!

The game is suitable for kids aged 7 and up, although younger children will enjoy the interactivity and voice recording ability of the robot.  2 - 6 players can play as Roboto brings the game UNO to life!

It comes with batteries included and requires no set-up so you could be ready to play straight away.  It'd be a great game for Christmas Day when the customized house rules could be themed to the ocassion.  How about making a house rule that says you need to eat cold Brussels sprouts!?

I really like that Mattel have kept the essence of the game the same, and have just added an extra fun element to make it appeal to a whole new audience.  It is a lot of fun!

UNO Roboto is currently £24.99 and available to buy from good stockists such as Amazon.

Molehill Mania Review

Mattel's Molehill Mania is the madcap game that young children will have seen on the TV ads and be asking Santa to bring them for Christmas.  The game based on the Whack-a-Mole idea is fast and furious and fun for little ones.  We were sent one to try out.

The moles are placed into the molehill play set.  There are two levers on the base that need to be whacked using the mallets to launch out the moles.  By bopping the moles with the mallet, they are collected into the head of the mallet.  The one with the most moles wins.

It is easy to play and so little ones can get stuck right in.  It is a game that does not require batteries and comes fully assembled which means you can play as soon as it is out of the box.

However...this is the noisiest game ever invented!  The whacking on the levers and the whacking to pick up the moles is relentless.  The flying moles go everywhere, sliding across the laminate.  We have lost so many under the sofa already.  Also, although the moles are very easy to pick up with the mallet, they are tricky to get out again which can cause a bit of frustration.  Over zealous hammering can also result in bashed fingers.

If you can cope with noise and lost moles, this is nevertheless a lot of fun.  Freddy loved playing it because he is a boy who likes hitting things!  It would be a great gift idea for someone else's kids!!

Our Opinion: It is a novelty toy that will illicit squeals of delight and laughter...just have the ear plugs at the ready!