Wicked Sports Equipment to keep you Active through Lockdown

Having Fun Indoors

Check out all these fabulous items from Wicked Mania to help you stay active during this lockdown, bot in the home and in your garden. 

Indoor Booma (Foam Bomberang) - £6

We were sent an indoor booma and I must admit I thought the idea was nuts, I had visions of cracked vases and mess everywhere, but I need not have worried as it is made of foam, but apparently, it isn't just any foam though, it is 'memorang' foam. When the booma is tuned correctly (slightly bent) and thrown right it will fly 4-6 metres and return to the person. I first started out in my kitchen and the instructions on the packaging are useful for getting you started, but it soon became obvious my kitchen was too small and a larger room is needed. I wasn't much better in my lounge I have to admit but my son had a more natural talent for it than me!

Have a look at this clip and see the experts fly the booma, neither myself or the kids have got to this level of expertise as yet!

Mega Jump Rope - £8

This can be used both indoors or outdoors and my girls are loving their new jump rope each. We're lucky that we have a courtyard right outside our door and they can get out and play to let off all their energy, but if you live in an apartment and can't get out, or just have a balcony then this might be perfect. You might have to adjust the length being aware of the ceiling height, and ensure no-one is around as you skip, but it is such a fabulous form of exercise, very high intensity.

It was easy to adjust the 300cm rope length to ensure it fitted my daughters perfectly, and it feels nice and solid to hold on to and skip with. The handgrips are also easy to hold and comfortable. It's definitely worth checking on the Wicked Vision TV channels for tutorials for use with this jump rope too, and there are three levels - beginner, advanced and pro. 

UKick - £8

This was another one I was totally useless at. I'm just not fast and agile enough, but I was very impressed with how good Miss E got in a short space of time with some perseverance and practise. The idea is that you keep the UKick flyer off the ground for as long as possible, either playing alone or with a friend. You can use your feet and hands, or even other parts of your body and face to keep it off the ground. The possibilities are endless.

There are 6 little discs that you can add or remove from the bottom to adjust the difficulty of using the UKick and I like how it is super light and won't damage anything in the home, even if it does end up where it is not supposed to. Check out the advert and see how it is done by people with far more skill than us.

Having Fun Outdoors

Sky Rider - £10
There are various styles of this high-performing flying disc. We have the 175g ultimate one, which meets competitions specs, not that we are going to do any competitions, as we've all been pretty useless with our attempts. I'm blaming the wind and really should have got thee things out earlier this week when the weather was much better. I'm praying for some nice still weather next week, with minimal wind.

Mega Bounce XL - £20

The Mega Bounce XL ball has a circumference of 2.51 metres, it is huge and we haven't even blown it up completely yet, as otherwise, we can't get it in and out of the house, and it isn't warm enough to just leave it outside at the moment. 

It comes with a foot pump, which Miss E used and found the ball easy to inflate. It is a pretty flimsy pump and I'm not sure how long it will last, to be honest, but we'll just switch to our electric one when we need to. I like that you get a plastic tape measure so you can see when the ball has hit full inflation.

The ball has the wicked graphic all over it and this slight protruding text gives it good grip-ability for catching it. I can confirm that it really is a super bouncy ball and for us so far it has worked on cobbles, paving slabs and grass. It's not something I'd recommend for inside play, for obvious reasons! lol The actual ball itself feels really durable and I'm sure we'll get lots of good use out of it. 

Our Thoughts

In conclusion, we love the Sky Roider, the Mega Bounce XL and the Mega Jump Ropes, I think all these things will be used loads, especially outside and as the weather gets better. All three kids used to love creating a sports club together, so I can see this coming back as a feature during these times when we have to stay home. I think each of these is good quality and worth the money, so I am hopeful they will last a very long time. 

I think we'll use the indoor booma and the UKick less, basically because we do not have the skill for them. Miss E has vowed to practise with the UKick and to get much better at it, and it is good she has something new to enjoy and try to master over the coming weeks.

Disclaimer: We received the Mega Bounce XL and the Sky Rider at Christmas and last week Wicked Vision sent us the other items for use during the lockdown time, in exchange for an honest review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest. 

Review - Azul Board Game: Great Fun for all the Family

{This is a collaborative post & as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, 

any affiliate links will be marked with #ad)

During this Coronavirus lockdown, we have been so lucky to have a new game to play. I was first introduced to the board game, Azul (#ad) in February when I played it with a few friends and I was hooked from the start. It seems to retail for around £32 - £35 but I came across a brand new copy on eBay for £12 so I was very chuffed with that. Read on for our Azul review -

Azul is suitable for 2 - 4 players and adapts well to whichever number of players we've tried it with. I think 2 player is probably my favourite though as the gameplay is quicker and feels more exhilarating. It says it is suitable for ages 8 plus, but our friends have it too and they play with their 6 and 8-year-old daughters, so the concept is quite easy to grasp, but they may just need a little help with the scoring.

The box contains:
100 Resin Tiles
4 Player boards
9 Factory displays
4 Scoring markers
1 Starting player resin tile
1 Linen bag
1 Rulebook

The aim of Azul is to score the most points by placing various coloured tiles onto your game board, over a number of rounds. It sounds simple but there is actually a little more to it than that, the skill is in deciding which tile/s to pick up each turn and where to put them to gain the advantage against your opponent/s.

Set-up is super easy and the instructions are clear and give all the details you need. My 12-year-old twins had it mastered after one game and have played it dozens of times since. My 16-year-old has also joined them a few times to play and he plays a more cunning and devious game, as he likes to strategise and project where others might want to go. It is certainly more challenging when he is playing.

The quality of the board and tiles is really good. They are sturdy and feel like they will last a very long time. You get a large bag with the tiles, to hide them whilst you deal them out at the beginning of each round and that it is a bit flimsy and has already lost one of its strings in the first week. I really can't moan though, given the £12 price tag I paid.

Azul has only been on the board game market since 2017 and in 2018 it won the Spiel des Jahres award, making ti the board game of the year, a highly coveted accolade in the board gaming world. This seal of approval means that board gamers the world over agree with me and find it a fabulous fun game for all ages. That engages but is easy to learn and play.

Gameplay takes about 30-40 minutes and again that makes it very easy to play, or you may get hooked like us and still be playing 3 or 4 games down the line. There is also a more freestyle version of the game on the back of the game boards, but we haven't tried that as yet.

As I just had a look on Amazon I was pretty excited to see there are two newer versions of Azul as well - Azul Stained Glass and Azul Summer Pavilion, so I know what I might be buying if this lockdown goes on for too long!

(#ad) Azul is currently for sale on Amazon for £37.36

If you want a good instructional video on how to play Azul, rather than reading the instruction booklet, have a watch of this one, it is clear, concise and very accurate.



Why not pin this post for later?

Review: Dobble Card Game - Fabulous Fun for All the Family

Back in 2013 we were sent the card game Dobble to review. I said yes to reviewing it as I thought it would be good to take on holiday with us and I was right. In fact over the last four years Dobble has been so many places with us, it is our game of choice when waiting in restaurants for our meal to arrive, we've played it on the plane going to Spain and it has been out with all number of friends who've been here to play.

Dobble is such a simple game, but not so simple it is boring. I really love it as it levels the playing field and the youngest kids can beat the adults in the family, which is such a good feeling for them. It takes just a couple of minutes to explain and in no time at all my 5 year old twins had picked up what they needed to do. The first time we played it was JJ (age 9) and my husband and I sat with one of the twins each but they really didn't need us once they knew what to do. So the next game it was straight on to the 5 of us playing together as frankly the girls could easily cope with it. Here we are playing out in the fresh air back in 2013 -

Dobble is 55 quality cards in a 10cm tin and on each card are 8 different symbols of differing sizes. There are 50 different symbols in total and every single card has one matching symbol.  All you have to do is be the first to spot and name out loud your matching symbol and it sounds so easy but there are sometimes I am sat there scratching my head - I just can't see for looking!

There are 5 different suggested games that you can play and we took a good 30 minutes the first time just playing the simplest game, which is pretty much like a glorified snap game. Over the last few years we've played the other games but truth be told we always go back to the original game and enjoy it immensely. I have even started to use Dobble in my coaching sessions were I go into a local school and met a young lad who needs a champion. He really loves it when he beats me!

Every one of us in the family commented that we love Dobble and the best thing is it is small enough to stay in my handbag and whenever we are in need of something to occupy us it is there and ready. Back in 2013 I awarded Dobble 9/10 and the only reason being is that I thought the cards could be a little thicker and thus more durable. However I am now willing to change that to a 10/10 as we have played the game a lot over the last 5 years and they are still as good as when they were sent to us!

You can play Dobble with 2-8 players and a game takes about 15 minutes.

Overall score: 10/10 

Dobble retails for £12.99 but I have spotted it on Amazon for £9.99 including postage.

Boom Blast Stix - What A Fun Game!

We've been playing a new game at our house and I can tell you one thing, it has been keeping us on the edge of our seats. The first time the stix ever went boom I screamed so loud my neighbour told me she heard me!

I love the fun and simplicity of Boom Blast Stix. My son described it as a modern take on Buckeroo and I suppose it is, a little! The game play is simple and as such any age can probably play, although the manufacturers recommend it for upwards of 6 years.

You receive the large tub. 32 springs and an instruction booklet and that's it. All you have to do is take turns to lock the spring and then add it to the pile. The red lid of the storage tub is used as the base to stack on and you can either use this alone so the game is closer to the table or floor and is slightly less explosive or you can use the red lid on top of the storage tub and then when the stix go boom they literally go everywhere. We were playing in our dining room and I had to get the kids to crawl round and collect up all the springs.

The springs are pretty easy to lock together and my kids had no problem doing it, I suspect it is this aspect that means there is a 6+ years recommendation on the game. It felt as if different springs had different tensions, so you could never know when they were going to pop open and explode the pile everywhere.

You have to have strong nerves with this game, as it is a waiting game of suspense. You can't be of a nervous disposition to play this game as it is startling when it goes boom! Watch this short clip to see Miss E building up the stix and waiting for the inevitable boom!



I'm really looking forward to taking this game into school in the coming weeks as I know the boy that I coach will love playing this with me. It only takes around 5 minutes to play and it is high intensity with lots of laughter resulting, so it will be just perfect as a session starter when he is having a low day.

You can buy Boom Blast Stix from Character Online for £14.99. It is a good sturdy tub and springs and I think it ill last a long time and provide a lot of fun.

Why not pin this post for later?

Disclosure: We received the Boom Blast Stix game free of charge for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

You have to see Sing Movie #SingMovie

My girls doing karaoke to the Sing soundtrack on Saturday night before we saw the movie on Sunday

Don't let your fear stop you doing what you love!

This is probably my favourite line from the movie and to be honest spending £37 for the five of us to see it will be well worth every penny if my kids take this sentiment with them into adulthood. I think we often miss out on things we would enjoy and even love as we allow ourselves to be held back by a fear or the unknown. We all need to embrace the unknown sometimes and remember 'what is the worst that can happen?' The worst case scenario is never really that bad, is it?

You don't expect to come out of a family movie with a big life statement like that but that is what I love about films aimed at all the family nowadays. They have the innocent story line, the fun characters, the amazing graphics but also the humour and depth to reach the adult audience too.

SING is a fabulous movie, with a rating of U and a run time of 1 hour and 50 minutes. If you like watching things like The Voice, Britain's Got Talent and the X Factor then you'll love this movie. The singing talent in it is amazing, who knew that Reese Witherspoon could sing like that? And I had no idea who the American singer Tori Kelly was before watching this but now both my girls and I are mesmerised by her stunning voice.

I think my favourite character had to be the very dapper koala Buster Moon as I have a not-so-secret crush on Matthew McConaughey who voices him and whilst I might not be able to see Matthew in the film, that beautiful southern lilt is so unique to him and makes my heart melt.

There is something in the film for everyone, our whole family went to see it and my 13 year old son said he was surprised how funny it was and 'so much better than I expected Mum, a bit like Shrek as it has loads of adult funny bits in it'.

SING is certainly one of those films that we will be watching again when it comes out on DVD, it is sure to become a classic family movie like Toy Story, Happy Feet or Madagascar.

SING has gained a 70% fresh tomato score on Rotten Tomatoes and all the critics seem to agree that Illuminate Pictures (the film animators behind Despicable Me, Minions, The Lorax and Secret Life of Pets to name just a few) have again made a fabulous tale

Have a look at the trailer yourself and see if this film might be for your family. I'm sure it will!

Have fun, Mich x

Oh and just in case you are interested here are my couple of loons having fun with Taylor Swifts 'Shake it Off'.



Disclosure: We wee sent a karaoke pack for us to enjoy as a family to celebrate the release of SING at the cinema.

Fun Preparations for Easter

My family really enjoys Easter. It is the biggest event in the Christian calendar and as such we throw ourselves into it. Yes, there are some of the more modern, or some might say commercial activities such as giving and receiving chocolate eggs and Easter egg hunts but there is also a lot of activity around the real meaning of Easter and why we celebrate it.

One of the activities that we tend to do each year is create an Easter garden from natural materials. The girls love collecting moss, stones, twigs and such to create the scene of the three crosses where Jesus died and the tomb which he rose again from.

We also enjoy making hot cross buns and this year we have bought some Easter biscuit cutters, so I think gingerbread might be on the agenda too. I seriously cannot wait for school to break up so we can have the time to do some of these activities, its going to be a bit of a squeeze though as Good Friday is the first day of their holiday, so that will be a day for the kids and I to get busy. I pray for some nice weather.

The girls have also enjoyed some Easter crafts, they have made Easter bonnets, decorated eggs and painted decorations and we will go and search out a branch that we can make an Easter celebration tree with.

Many thanks for the chocolate eggs and craft kits that have been provided courtesy of Ollie and Leila who make divine personalised beds for children.

Review - Scotland Yard board game

As a child I recall a friends big brother having the Scotland Yard board game and we always wanted to play it but he used to tell us we were too young and it was not for girls, so I never got to play sadly.

I then don't recall seeing the game anywhere else for quite some years so you can imagine my glee when I was offered the Ravensburger re-released version just recently.  Would we like to review this?  Easy, yes please! JJ was super pleased when it arrived as he knows what Scotland Yard is and he is a little obsessed with cop and spy programs, he seems to be think he is a bit of a super sleuth.

He announced that he could not wait for me and he would start to unpack the game and read the instructions and get on with it himself.  I did of course advise him one person could not play this game alone so he roped in his 6 year old sister. Now this game is aimed at children of 10 years plus and whilst she is a bright little thing it was a bit hard as a first attempt with a bossy 10 year old trying to teach a bossy 6 year old!

Getting Ready
Getting the board and pieces ready for play was easy, all the transport tickets had to be popped out and they are a nice thick laminated cardboard so I think they will last well. The board itself is really up to date and has all the popular London landmarks like Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, the London Eye and even the Shard. It is probably the thickest and most durable board to a game I've ever seen. I'll certainly say that for Ravensburger they know how to produce something that will stand the tests of time.

The Instructions
For some reason you get two instruction booklets and it really was not clear to me why this is. The English text is buried at the back behind 5 other languages and even the main writing on the box is in German, which feels a bit odd when the game is being sold in England and is about our capital city.

You need to prepare yourself to take some time to read these and absorb. As someone is playing Mr X and then others are playing the detectives, there are two different sets of instructions to grasp, so this is not a game you can pick up in 5 minutes.

Objective of the game
Notorious criminal Mr X is on the run in Central London. Can Scotland Yard’s finest detectives track him down, or will he escape forever? One player takes on the role of Mr X, whilst other players take on the role of detectives and work as a team to try to find him. Mr X only reveals his location every 5 moves, but the detectives can get clues as to his location by looking at his travel log, which reveals his chosen method of transport. The detectives also move around the board using taxi, bus and underground tickets, and must try to surround Mr X, and then move to his hidden location to catch him and win. But the detectives don’t always win and Mr X can escape to any of the 199 locations shown on the detailed map of Central London!

Did we enjoy it?
In a nutshell, yes. Once we had got the hang of it but it did take us a few goes to feel as if we knew what we were up to. We have also only played the beginners version of the game so far and we have yet to move to the more advanced or the two person game.

I love the fact that this game teaches kids to strategise and really think about what moves Mr X has made and how they should go about finding him and it also encourages team work as the detectives which is super and well needed in our house!

Another plus point is that no game is ever the same and that keeps it really fresh and means the kids want to come back to it again and again. I'm told that next time Miss M wants to try and be Mister X, so I think we will be roping Daddy in to help her.

How long does it take?
It took us about 5-10 minutes to set up the game and then with 4 players it was about an hour long and that is a real bonus as games like Monopoly can go on forever and ever.

Where can I buy it?
Scotland Yard is available from Ravensburger on Amazon and the price is just £17.99 currently.  I think this is a fabulous deal and real value for money. You can also watch a short video about how to play Scotland Yard on there too.

Disclosure:  We received this game free of charge for he purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Get ready for an Adventure with Mothercare and ELC

I was so pleased to learn that Mothercare have launched a range of clothes this year to encourage our children to get outside and to explore the world around them. They say the Adventure range captures the world of summer camps and caravan holidays, of children enjoying life's simple pleasures, like nature watching and the rediscovery of small everyday things through the spontaneous eyes of a child. Sounds great doesn't it? Certainly the kind of childhood I want my kids to be enjoying.

Earlier this weekend the kids and I grabbed the ELC explorer kits we were sent and headed out round the lake to see what creepy crawlies we could find and to watch some birds. We had a whole load of fun.

Mothercare sent the girls some clothes and they will be great when the weather is just a bit hotter. 3/4 length leggings and a couple of t-shirts. The coral coloured one is Miss M's favourite (s it says 'sweet as a strawberry') and I was amazed to see it was such a fabulous price at £2.50 for a 100% cotton top.  Miss E took a fancy to the white one which has the slogan 'pretty as a peach' on the front (very appropriate) and this is £7 in her size, the largest that Mothercare do - age 7-8 years.

They also received a 3 pack of leggings and these retail for £11.00 and I can imagine how cute my twins will look in them. One pair is the deep coral colour, another a coral gingham and the last one have little strawberries all over them. The girls did a bit of modelling for me, naturals aren't they?

The girls did end up wearing the outfits as the sun shone and I've washed them since, I was super pleased that the leggings did not really crease up at all and the tops just needed an light iron to make them look smart again. All items kept their shape well and were tumble dryer friendly. We have had Mothercare clothes before and I always find them to be good quality.


Disclosure: We received the clothes and activity packs for the purposes of this review. I have not been insctruted what to write and I remain honest. Many thanks Mothercare.

Clarks 100 things - writing to a penpal

You might have seen my recent post introducing Clarks new initiative '100 things to do before you are 10'. The first 50 things have been launched for summer and the next 50 will follow in the autumn.

We are busy working our way through some of the suggestions and having great fun as we go.

Our latest venture has been to get JJ to write to a pen pal (number 38 on the list), to be honest this is something we said we would start doing a few years back but it seems to have got forgotten. No better time to make it happen than now!

Back in 2005 my husband and I attended Spring Harvest, a big Christian conference held at Butlins each year and this was when we found out about Compassion, a Christian charity that helps people to sponsor individual children abroad. We knew straight away that we wanted to join in and the £21 per month was pocket change to us and could mean such an amazing amount to a child abroad.

At the time our JJ was just two years old and we said that is was really important for him to understand how fortunate he is and to know about the difficulties children in other countries face. I'm very pleased to say that we still sponsor Carl-Henri, the little boy from Haiti that we made a commitment to 8 years ago and we now also sponsor Priya, an Indian girl that we took on a couple of years back after dh returned from a mission trip to the country.

Carl-Henri is now 14 and we have watched him grow up in photos, the pictures he draws for us and the letters we receive. The children are read these letters and know about our sponsored children as there are photos on display in the house but now it is time for them to take their relationships to the next level. Today I sat JJ down and asked him to write to Carl-Henri to tell him what he has been up to and to be sensitive about what he shares, as Carl-Henri will not have access to all the privileges JJ has.

JJ chose to share that we had been on holiday and he had enjoyed playing in the sea and making sandcastles with his Grandad. He then talked about our move to a Christian centre in the countryside and his new love for football, something he shares with Carl-Henri. We then added a photo of JJ and his sisters having fun on the beach.

JJ tells me he enjoyed writing his letter and he is looking forward to receiving a reply back from Carl-Henri and one day he hopes to meet him - how awesome would that be?

Disclosure: I was provided with Clarks vouchers to take part in this initiative. I have not been told what to write and I remain honest.

Great family offers this summer at Cineworld

This summer boasts a great line up of films the whole family can enjoy. To celebrate all the great films out this summer, Cineworld is introducing a whole host of Big Family Offers to make the cinema experience even more exciting, from 20% off family tickets booked through mycineworld to prize draws and lots of other giveaways. 

They are also continuing to run the Movies for Juniors £1 screening offers to ensure that families can afford to watch a movie together. We do these lots and have seen a number of great films, just a few months after they first release. £5 on a Saturday for us all is a screening we can afford.

A nationwide survey of over 21,000 film fans* revealed that Despicable Me 2 is the most hotly anticipated family film of 2013 with 34% saying they’re looking forward to seeing Gru and co back in action this summer. Monsters University claim second place in the poll with 29%. Other films to feature in the top 5 include, Jurassic Park 3D 19%, The Smurfs 2 8% and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: Revenge of the Leftovers 7%. We went to the Cinema on Saturday and saw Monsters University (I can happily recommend it and my JJ was super excited to see there is a new Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs film - apparently he is going to save up to take me!

This summer’s must-see family films:

Already released: Despicable Me 2

The follow-up to the 2010 original hit, Despicable Me 2 sees Gru’s yellow, goggle-wearing minions return for more mirth and mayhem.

Already released: Monsters University

Much-loved Monsters, Inc duo Mike and Sulley scare up a fun-packed prequel to the Pixar hit.

July 31^st: The Smurfs 2

The popular little blue funsters take on the nasty Naughties in this fabulous new adventure.

August 7^th: Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters

Percy and friends return for another epic, fantasy adventure as they set off to find the Golden Fleece.

August 16^th: Planes

From the same garage as Cars comes the hilarious, uplifting tale of a plucky crop duster who must find his inner hero.

Big Family Offers:

·         20% off family tickets for summer films when you book online with mycineworld

·         Win the Ultimate Sony gadget pack when you buy a ticket online for The Smurfs 2

·         Book online for Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters and you will be entered in to a draw to win one of five tech goody bags worth £4K each

·         Win a BA family holiday to Florida when you buy a ticket online for Planes

·         Movies For Juniors from £1, our discounted weekly screenings of kids films at Cineworld Cinemas²

·         Special snack deals, including the Family Special for £9.95 and £3.25 munchbox³

·         Book a ticket online for Monsters University and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a Monsters University bedroom makeover

·         For full details of all these offers and more, check http://www.cineworld.co.uk/bigfamilyoffers

About Big Family Offers

All competitions and prize draws run until 6^th September 2013. Terms & Conditions apply.

¹ Cineworld surveyed over 21,000 Cineworld Unlimited card holders

² £1 Movies For Juniors when booked online with mycineworld (£1.50 in cinema). The Movies for Juniors offer runs throughout the year with daily performances during the school holidays

³ The Family Special snack and munchbox deals run throughout the year

Disclosure: We received complimentary tickets for Monsters University for the family and I thought I'd share this information as I know it is useful. I have been a Cineworld customer for some time and often benefit from the £1 Movies for Juniors deal

Review: UNO Roboto game

Have you ever played UNO before?  Because if not I seriously recommend it, JJ and I have been playing it for a couple of years or so and we have great fun.  He particularly likes it as it seems to be a game that he wins, often!

It had never occurred to me to get my twins to play as well as I just assumed 5 was too young but it appears not, especially when Daddy is around to give them a helping hand. We sat down as a family to play UNO Roboto a couple of Sunday's ago and I wondered how much the funky little Robot would add to the regular card game but it does add to the fun.  The kids liked recording their name on the robot and the 'house rule' we could add made it a laugh too. We choose to sing a nursery rhyme while hopping on one leg, I can safely say the kids have far better balance than I do.

Roboto takes a good game and makes it even better, every 10 goes or so it will add in something random, like 'Miss M change all your cards with Miss E' or 'all players, touch your nose and the last one has to pick up 2 cards'. The Robot seems to be able to dish out the fun pretty evenly so everyone gets to be involved.

The instructions were clear and easy to read, although there is a quite a few but as we know UNO anyway it was good as we already had some familiarity. The robot is not the loudest or clearest when it speaks so you do have to listen out or you can miss it amongst the raucous of fun. The repeat button comes in handy!

UNO Roboto is perfect for adults and children alike, it is really nice to have a game that JJ can just play with his smaller sisters when I am buys cooking dinner or such. He seems to enjoy taking charge and ensuring all the rules are followed.

I would happily recommend this as a good buy for Christmas and it is currently retailing for £19.99 at Argos.

Game Information
For 2 - 6 players at a time.
Suitable for 3 years plus, recommended for 7 years plus.
Requires 3 x AA batteries, which are not included.


Disclosure:  We were provided with this game free of charge for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.

Review: Pictionary Family Edition

I have such fond memories of Pictionary; it is the game that my first year at University was based on. That makes me sound really square doesn’t it?  I wasn’t. We did all the normal student stuff and had a good time but I was also lucky enough to have been put into a guest house with 6 other people who were great. So many a night after tea we would get Pictionary out and have a couple of hours fun. I probably particularly liked it as my friend M and I nearly always won.  Without any cheating (of course!) we could always seem to tell what the other was thinking and drawing.

Pictionary Family Edition is much as I recall from when I was younger but just simpler than the full version game we played. In case you have never played before I’ll explain.  You need at least 4 players so you can have 2 teams of 2. Then in each round within the team you have one person drawing and one person guessing. The drawer takes a card which has an item on it – this could be coin, eyebrow, apple etc and they have to very quickly draw it or something that will represent it and then the guesser has to do just that, shout out what they think the item might be. But be careful - shout out too loud when the answer is only close and not exactly correct and you might give it away to the opponent guesser as they may just rephrase your answer and snatch the glory! The first team to guess right wins that round and they get to move on a space on the board. First team to the end of the board is the winner.

As this game is pitched at kids aged 8 plus there are 2 levels of play so that all can feel involved and enjoy the challenge. A nice addition to this version is that at the start of a round a theme is announced so that the children are set off thinking in the right direction and hopefully do not go off on any random tangents. There are also two sets of cards, adult ones with harder clues and ones for the you ger players.

We really enjoyed playing this game, the issue for my family comes in that not all of our children are old enough to play and as you need 4 people it is not always easy to get everyone together. We had to wait for Nanny to visit to make up the teams and then when you have 3 adults and just one child it becomes a bit lopsided and my dh and I ended up giving JJ quite a number of chances to get it right. I did see an option for 3 to play and then one person remains as the ‘picturist’ or drawer as I call them and the other two guess. This game would be perfect if it was pitched at a level where my 5 year old twins could join in, but seeing as they cannot yet read fully that makes it difficult. It won’t be long though…

Pictionary Junior is a super game and one we would happily recommend for hours of good traditional family fun. It is a great price at Argos at the moment, just £15.98 - definately a good Christmas buy!

Disclosure:  We were provided with this game for the purposes of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.