Quadrilla Wooden Marble Run Construction- the Xcellerator, by Hape

Nature/ Type:         Construction and Building / Marble Run

Rating:                    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended age: 4 year-old ++

Who would love this: Marble Run fans who don't mind some packing up at the end of day

This toy has a very fancy long name- it’s called the Hape Quadrilla Wooden Marble Run Construction - The Xcellerator. To play this game, you need patience and perseverance: First, build up the impressive tall structure (there are a few different marble run structural designs in the instructions booklet, or you can design your own). Next, throw in the marbles and watch them go spin and spiral and completely out of control! 

Why I love ❤️ this: 

(1) Fantastic Wooden Materials: Perhaps the most unique feature of this set is that all pieces are made of birch and rubber wood, so they look natural, colourful, and long lasting. 

(2) Quality Time with Family. Let’s face it, a four-year-old is not going to build the structure all by himself, so parents, yes, you do need to help! The structures are kind-of complicated, with marbles spiralling, dropping out, and spewing out everywhere, and scattering around the entire house, while creating rain-drop noises. It's one fun game that makes us giggle, shriek, and laugh like a bunch of little kids again. 

There is no catchment tray for the marbles for this set, so expect to get messy and search for the marbles all around the house right after. But that’s probably part of the fun of the entire game, agree? 😊

Enjoy the videos below for some crazy, insane, thrilling, and very messy marble run action! 

Gobblet Gobblers, by Blue Orange

Nature/ Type:         Board Game 

Rating:                   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended age: 5 year-old ++

Who would love this: Tic-Tac-Toe fans who love some modified challenges  

Gobblet Gobblers by Blue Orange - how I wish my childhood Tic-Tac-Toe could have played in this way! Don’t be fool by these cute-looking gobblers; they “swallow” each other up, and “spew” the other out in no time surprisingly, ultimately deciding the fate of the outcome of the unexpected game! 

This is a classic game re-modification, except in a better and cleverer way! You need to line up your three funny-looking Gobblers in a row to win, but here’s the twist: you get to gobble up the other player’s smaller Gobbler, and you also get to change your mind and move your Gobbler to another spot. The outcome is one messy, unpredictable, hungry-eating “Gobbly”-fun! 

Why I love ❤️ this game: 

(1) Modified Tic-Tac-Toe in a Smart Way: it is tricky to reinvent a nostalgic game like Tic-Tac-Toe, you don’t want to overcomplicate it, and you don’t want to lose the essence of it. This game has done it just right: simple enough for kids to understand, and smart enough for adults to do some tactical manoeuvre. 

(2) Cute Gobblers: the design of the Gobblers themselves, just look at how irresistibly cute they are!! 

Enjoy the video below for some crazy gobbling up action. 

Where to buy this: 

https://www.leisurelearning.com.au/ (Australia) 

Concept Kids, by Repos Production

Nature/ Type:         Board Game 

Rating:                 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended age: 4 year-old ++

Who would love this: Guessing game + animal lovers 

Concept Kids Animals by Repos Production - this is a spin-off children version of the award-winning Concept guessing board game. I didn’t expect much of this game when I first got it. After all, it’s just an ordinary game where a person names the unique features of an animal, and get the other players to guess the answer, so, nothing too special right? But little did I know, it became such a big and popular hit in this household, and we ended up having so much fun. 

Why I love ❤️ it: 

(1) Great Game For Really Young Kids: it’s a game for kids that have yet to learn how to read. Once they identify the features of the animals, they place a ring around the icon indicating the clue; Is it a tiger with spots, or a panda with black and white colours? It is an engaging game that can be played by the entire family with young kids. 

(2) Beautiful Illustrations of Animals; 

(3) Different Levels of Difficulty: the animal cards are grouped in two different levels of difficulty, and a separate category for mystical animals. So we can plan ahead depending on the players. 

(4) Educative Game- kids can ask questions and learn. 

I must say, I am impressed. Enjoy the video below for tips on how this game works. 

Starter Set, by SumBlox

Nature/ Type:         Mathematics Wooden Blocks 

Rating:                   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended age: 3 year-old ++

Who would love this: Parents and Kids who love numbers and stacking 

SumBlox starter set- this is by far the best mathematics educational toy I have ever seen. They are sturdy, durable, suitable for playgroup, childcare centres, schools, kindergartens, homeschooling, or playtime at home with kids. I love that it can be used for learning purposes, or just stacking and building tall structures. 

Why I love ❤️ it: 

(1) Fun Mathematics: Doing mathematics in a visual and fun way. Each block represents a number; the bigger the number, the higher the block (apart from number 1 where you always need to place horizontally in order to get the right height). Stack the blocks up, and if the numbers add up, the heights will match. So if you place 3, 2 and 5 right on top of each other, it will have the same height as the number 10 block. 

(2) Wooden Design- it’s lovely to look at, and make beautiful decorative piece for any living space. 

(3) Stacking Game: even if a kid is too young to know about number, she can still stack them up and get some hand-eye coordination training. 

One warning: the blocks are made of hard solid wood, so they are heavy, loud, and painful if the stack of blocks collapses on you. So be really careful when you have young kids around. Watch the video below to see the SumBlox stacking in action. 

Duplo Steam Park Building Set, by Lego Education

Nature/ Type:         Construction & Building Toy 

Rating:                   ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Recommended age: 3 to 5-year-old

Who would love this: Lego Duplo lovers 

We know Lego is awesome. But what if we can combine the joy of building and creating, with the fascination in the world of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics? That, is Lego Education, a whole new level of awesomeness. This Duplo steam park building set has been a big hit in this household. The kids love building all sorts of structures according to the idea sheets or simply creating their own unique inventions of crazy rides. They are as usually, colourful, fun, and amazingly versatile when it comes to building and creating. 

Why I love ❤️ this Duplo steam park building set? 

(1) Entertaining Amusement Park Theme: who doesn’t love amusement park with their crazy rides, fast and furious, games and winning? This set has all the pieces for kids to create an entertaining park of their style. 

(2) Engineering Skills: it combines education with creative build; a long crazy ramp that allows car to speed down in full velocity, a canon that shoots, spinning gears and cogs, pulleys and some crazy rides that swing and circle around. Each has its own little knowledge and engineering wisdom to impart. 

(3) Independent Play. Yes, both of my kids spend almost an hour creating and recreating. This is an absolute value for money investment. 

Enjoy the video below and see how we can utilise the different clever gears and duplo parts to create an amusement park that actually comes “alive” with rides moving around! 

Penguin Pool Party, by SmartGames

Nature/ Type:         Brain Teaser 

Rating:                   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Recommended age: 6-year-old and above

Who would love this: puzzle-solving / penguin lovers who like dealing with irregular shapes 

Penguins Pool Party- this is another of my absolute favourite from SmartGames. We have great fun time moving the ice pieces around trying to fit into the empty spaces to solve the puzzles. The irregular shapes add on to the challenge, but we love those “trials and errors” moments. Solving each puzzle is a little accomplishment on its own! 

Why I love ❤️ this: 

(1) Visual Challenges: As usual, Smart Games is all about brain puzzle in a fun and visual way. We have 4 cute penguins, 4 ice blocks, and a booklet of 60 challenges of different difficulty level. This is another great investment where adults and kids get to train up our puzzle-solving skills, a fantastic game that can be enjoyed by a 4 year-old or a 99 year-old. 

(2) Easy Instructions: This game has simple instructions that make sense to young kids. First, set the penguins’ locations according to the challenge booklet, then arrange the 4 ice blocks around the penguins. The fewer the penguins, the harder the challenge. 

(3) Easy Storage: The game board, penguins and ice blocks can be compactly fit into a container. This is a game that can be easily thrown into a bag and brought along on the road. 

Where to buy this: 

https://www.leisurelearning.com.au/ (Australia) 

Enjoy the video below and see the puzzle solving in action. 

Bamboo Building Set with House, by Qtoys

Nature/ Type:         Construction and Building Toy of Natural Materials

Rating:                   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Recommended age: 3-year-old and above

Who would love this: Montessori-inspired parents who love toys with natural materials; kids who love building houses and structures  

It’s no secret that I love Qtoys - its unique and earthy design, using natural materials, in line with Montessori-inspired educative concepts. Bamboo Building Set With House by Qtoys is one of my other favourites. There are something special about toys made of natural materials: they are pleasing to the eyes, each set is slightly unique on its own, and crafted with so much love and care. 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Creative Design: It comes with 40 pieces of bamboo and acacia wood of all sorts of heights and shapes. Houses, ladders, stilts, walls. It encourages flexible play and story-telling. 

(2) Beautiful Set: it looks pretty in any toy rooms and makes instagram-worthy pictures. 

(3) The Materials: Safe and eco-friendly natural materials. 

(4) Building Skills: to balance and build a structure that can withstand weight, that’s our little engineers in the making! 

 Love this!! Enjoy the video below and watch the building in action! 

Bosch Breakfast Set, by Klein Toys

Nature/ Type:         Pretend Cooking & Tea Set 

Rating:                   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Recommended age: 3-year-old and above

Who would love this: Cooking + kitchen lovers

This is Klein Toys’ Bosch Breakfast Set - I am super impressed with how real and mechanically-clever toys are these days! The kids love this set. My older boy loves preparing toasts with egg and coffee for mumma, and the baby is obsessed with pouring imaginative tea for everyone with her stylish new kettle. I guess you can’t really go wrong with kitchen and tea set, especially when it’s cleverly designed, looks real, and has “functional” buttons and sounds. 

Why I love ❤️ this: 

(1) Realistic Design: The set has realistic design with smart mechanic function- press the toaster down and watch how the toasts pop-up within seconds with a magical “ding” sound. (Breakfast is done!!) And if you don’t mind a bit of messy play, pour some water into the battery-operated coffee maker and watch the water “brews” and flows out. Really clever. 

(2) Trendy Colour- bright red is the right colour for any modern kitchen! 

(3) Buttons & Clicks: Pretend play that actually feels real. I’m loving all the little buttons and clicks. Very thoughtful design, this toy is taking the words “imaginative play” to a whole new level. 

Enjoy the video below to see how the clever set works! 

Brownie Match, by Educational Insights

Nature/ Type:         Board Game

Rating:                   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Recommended age: 4-year-old and above

Who would love this: Our mini brownie lovers with great memory 

Brownie Match by Educational Insights- any games involving foods (especially fudgy chocolate brownie with rainbow sprinkles) get a BIG tick from this foodie family! This is our kids’ latest favourite and is a highly demanded playtime item. It’s lovely brownies time, with spatulas, spinner, and tray. What can go wrong really? 

Why I love ❤️ this game: 

(1) Spatula & Brownie: the brownie is so realistic I swear I can smell the baked chocolatey aroma! Love the spatula flipping idea. Although it’s not the easiest thing to do, holding the spatula while spinning the spinner gives us some silly giggles! 

(2) Matching Game in a Creative Way- we are not turning over picture cards this time, but delicious-looking brownies! How good is that? 

(3) Little Twists Here and There- Spin your spinner and see what adventure awaits you- You might get to steal a brownie from your opponent, get a “spilt milk” and missed a turn, burnt your brownie and needed to throw one away from your plate, flip over a star or spin a bonus chance. Clever, fun, good old family game. 

Have fun enjoying the video below for some spatula tossing in action! 

Smart Farmer, by SmartGames

Nature/ Type:         Brain Teaser

Rating:                   ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  

Recommended age: 5-year-old and above

Who would love this: Farm + puzzle lovers 

Smart Farmer by SmartGames is one of the smartest things I have ever seen. It’s fun to look at, fun to play with. Farm theme as usual is highly popular in this household, and the puzzles itself is as usual, challenging both for kids as well as for adults. 

Why I love ❤️ this: 

(1) Farm Theme: smart logical game in a farm theme, with daintily crafted animals - 2 horses, 2 pigs, 2 cows, 2 sheep, and 3 water troughs. 

(2) Simple Concept and Instructions. First, place the animals at the position as shown in the challenge booklet. The aim is to divide the meadows using three fences, so that the same type of animals would be grouped together within the closed area. 

(3) Different Levels of Difficulty. Young kids can easily accomplished the first few challenges, from Starter Level and move on to Junior Level. The adults can continue up to Expert and Master levels with the more challenging tasks of separating animals with their own water trough. 60 challenges, good value for money! 

(4) Individual Or Group Play: This is one cool game that can be played alone or in a group. 

(5) Brain Game: keep your brain active! Perfect Covid-19 lock-down and prevent idleness game! 

Oh, sooo loving it! Enjoy the video for some puzzle solving fun! 

Where to buy this: 

https://www.leisurelearning.com.au/ (Australia) 

Symphony in B, by B. Toys

Nature/ Type:         Music

Rating:                   ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  

Recommended age: 3-year-old and above

Who would love this: Musical instruments lovers

Symphony in B by B. Toys - This set is simply ingenious. It’s a music learning toy of a whole new and insane level. The kids love it, the adults are enchanted by it! I think this is one that can be kept for a long time where kids and adults can spend time playing with it, or simply just enjoy the beautiful music demo recorded. 

Why I love ❤️ this toy: 

(1) Educative: Fun way to learn about musical instruments. Simply move the instrument token one by one to the orchestra pit at the middle, listen to the beautiful piano melody, join in some sweet gentle sound of guitar, kick in some tempo with the drum, and elevate the liveliness with a woodwind clarinet. Sometimes, we play “guessing” game with the kids, asking them to shut their eyes, listen, and take a guess of the instrument’s sound. It is super fun! 

(2) Clever Design & Functionality: we can change the tempo, volume, press the buttons to learn about instruments belonging to the “brass” or “strings” family, listen to the demo and so on. It’s a toys jam-packed with surprises! 

(3) Shape & Colour Sorter: apart from playing amazing music, this is also a shape and colour sorter toy. 

In short, this toy is a real keeper. Enjoy the video below to see some music making in real and exciting action! 

Monkey Bingo Game, by Popular Playthings

Nature/ Type:         Board Game

Rating:                   ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️   

Recommended age: 4-year-old and above

Who would love this: Bingo lovers (and anyone who loves cheeky monkeys) 

Monkey Bingo Game by Popular Playthings. This is a bingo game with a funny and interesting twist. It’s full of action with exciting cheeky monkeys, and lovely creative game. 

Why I love ❤️ this: 

(1) Clever Push-able Banana Crate! The bingo caller or the players can take turn to push the little cheeky monkey towards the crate dispenser, and “pop” - out comes a card with two animals! 

(2) Animals Learning: it’s a great fun way for young kids to learn about animals: panda, owl, elephant, bear, horse, lizard, cow and so on. When I’m with the baby, we used the tiles like educative flash cards.

(3) Quick Game: This can be used as a quick game before bedtime (each game takes around 3 to 5 minutes for the 16 tiles to be dispensed out from the crate). But beware, kids usually want to play this again and again! 

(4) Neon Green Chips: I love the neon green chips as a way to “mark” the bingo card. 

Enjoy the video below for some banana crate pushing action. 

Wooden Scoop and Serve Ice Cream Counter, by Melissa & Doug

Nature/ Type:         Pretend-Play 

Rating:                   ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  

Recommended age: 3-year-old and above

Who would love this: Ice cream lovers (and anyone who has a dream of becoming an ice-cream vendor)

I always have the special soft spot for everything coming from Melissa & Doug! It’s the quality, and little touch of cleverness. This set of Wooden Scoop and Serve Ice Cream Counter brings the game of pretend ice cream vendor to another exciting level! It is a hugely popular item in this household, where both of my kids (1 and 4 year-old) love immensely. We had loads of amazing pretend play time together with ice cream ordering, scooping, and creating. 

Why I love ❤️ this: 

(1) Clever Ice Cream Scooper:  really cleverly- designed and realistic ice cream scooper (each colourful scoop fits nicely into the scooper, and easily “released” with a press at the top). Watch the video by swiping left! 

(2) Yummy Menu - ohhh chocolate chips, strawberry, coffee, vanilla, cookie dough, rocky roads.... and saliva-inducing toppings caramel fudge, more strawberry, rainbow sprinkles..... slurp slurp slurp 

(3) Mathematic Skills- each scoop and topping is $1, so how much should I pay for this giant ice cream? Oh free for you mummy! “Dollar bills” included. 

(4) Wooden Design - sturdy! 

(5) Family Time: kids spend loads of time playing this, and adults get to join in the fun too (just need to sit on couch and pretend to be bossy customer 😂). Quality time at home! 

Enjoy the video below for some real scooping and creating action!