PLAYMONSTER FUN

For the last few years I've been making an annual summer trip in July to New York City to spend a day immersed in toys. The Toy Insider's Sweet Suite provides influencers with the chance to get a preview of what will be the hot toys for the upcoming holiday shopping season. This blogger bash is really like having Christmas in July when participating in Sweet Suite.

With the current pandemic it wasn't an appropriate time for people to be traveling to New York for a networking and promotional event, so its hosts made this year's soiree an online virtual toy expo instead.  So last night I interacted with a number of toy brands via the Internet getting an insider's look at products that are hitting store shelves now as well as some that will be arriving for the Christmas shopping season during Sweet Suite @ Home. My kids also joined in on the fun by providing some live demonstrations for attendees of two new toys that Play Monster sent our way to try out.

SNAP SHIPS

My son spent a half hour building Snap Ships from Play Monster on a live video stream from our kitchen counter. He is a big fan of these toys which let you snap together battling space ships in a variety of configurations.  What is great about these toys is that not only do they look cool and are easy to snap the pieces together but the completed toys are also very sturdy so they won't fall apart while being played with.

A nice touch to the packaging is that the top of the box each toy comes in can serve as a display stand that provides a decent presentation for showcasing your completed Snap Ship. Another interesting aspect of the packaging is that each box has a blind bag component to it where one of ten different accessories is randomly inserted providing a surprise factor every time you get a Snap Ship. Which bonus feature will be included with each Snap Ship is a mystery until you open up its box!

There are two sides battling it out in the Snap Ship toy universe: THE FORGE and THE KOMPLEX. Forge snap ships have a silvery "good guy" vibe to them while Komplex have a more menacing dark side to them. Both sides have a nice sci-fi look that makes them fun to both display and play with. My son is already asking for me to get him some more of these snap together science fiction themed space ship models to build!

DRONE HOME

Combine Hungry Hungry Hippo and Angry Birds then mix in a drone and you have this fun new game called Drone Home. My son and daughter competed in a live match of this game from Play Monster so attendees could check out how it works during Sweet Suite @ Home. They had a blast playing this game! Drone Home absolutely gets a Geek Daddy nod of approval for playing during a Family Game Night.

Drone Home has a simple premise yet is challenging and exciting to play. You are trying to launch your aliens one at a time into a drone situated in the middle of the game board. Once a figure lands inside the drone it automatically takes off into the air flying your alien home. The first player to get all three of  their aliens flown home win the game.

Of course that is not as easy as it sounds. Up to four competitors are all trying to do the same thing as the same time. So they might knock your alien out of the drone before it can take off or hitch a ride alongside you. This fast paced game is all about knocking the other players out of the way so your aliens can fly home. Because it is suitable for all ages to play makes for a great game for the whole family to play together as well as a great activity for kids to do along with their friends.

The drone really takes off and climbs very high in the air adding a wow factor to the game. With a ten minute charge of the drone using the included usb charger you can get about a half hour of playing time. A dad blogger alert though, note batteries, which are not included, are needed to activate sensors in the launch pad of the game which determine if aliens have triggered the drone for takeoff. So make sure you pick up some batteries before unboxing this game.

We had a lot of fun with Drone Home and will absolutely be playing it over and over again. Recommended for ages 8+ this game has brought out the competitive spirit among my wife, I and our kids during some energetic bouts playing Drone Home together. An entertaining way to spend some family time together or to keep kids amused when they are sticking around the house.

WONDER CREW BUDDIES FROM PLAYMONSTER

Growing up with a twin sister my son's best friend to play with of course was a little girl and playing dolls with her was no big deal just as pretending to race toy cars was something she regularly did with him.  We haven't stressed gender specific toys with either of the twins letting them play with whatever age appropriate things they expressed an interest in.  My son has a boy American Girl doll that is a twin to the one his sister has that they played with together quite a bit when they were in preschool and kindergarten. On the other hand, my daughter has her own fair share of Star Wars action figures and Hot Wheels toy cars that she and my son still play with a lot together.  So from our family's own experiences, I understand the value there is in kids engaging in imaginative play with dolls and also the stigma out there against boys playing with them.

Playing with dolls has been proven to help children develop important social skills when it comes to communicative, nurturing and empathetic behavior.  With all the problems being reported in the news lately regarding women dealing with physical and sexual abuse on college campuses (according to National Sexual Violence Resource Center 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted while in college), this dad of a young daughter believes we should be providing more of a focus on our sons at an early age to assist them with developing some of the social skills which I just mentioned to help head off bad behavior later in life.  So when I learned about the new WONDER CREW dolls from PLAYMONSTER, I wanted to give them a great big A Geek Daddy nod of approval!

Combining the adventure element of an action figure with the emotional connection of a stuffed animal, 15" WONDER CREW buddies are dolls meant for boys to play with.  The WONDER CREW toy lineup is targeted to boys ages 2 - 5 and consists of four buddies of different races that are wearing super hero gear.  Each individually sold doll comes wearing a super hero mask and  cape with a matching one for a child to wear as well when playing with it.  Additional "Adventure Packs" in the themes of builder, explorer and snuggler (for bedtime) outfits for the dolls and matching gear for the child will be sold separately.   PlayMonster is turning the table on the conversation about gender stereotypes and toys by encouraging boys to play with a WONDER CREW buddy.

Laurel Wider, a psychotherapist and mom, came up with the idea for WONDER CREW after her son came home from preschool one day and announced that “boys aren’t supposed to cry." Frustrated by many of the messages boys were (and weren't) receiving and inspired by the way play influences child development, Wider created WONDER CREW to encourage kids to connect emotionally and be their full selves.  Launched as a successful 2015 Kickstarter campaign, WONDER CREW led to  an invitation to Wider from the White House about speaking during a conference on breaking stereotypes in media and toys.  Now PlayMonster has licensed the toy rights from Wider and will be distributing the WONDER CREW at retail outlets across the United States starting this year.

"We are thrilled to bring WONDER CREW into the PlayMonster portfolio,” Bob Wann, Chief PlayMonster of PlayMonster LLC communicated to A Geek Daddy. “We know from consumer research that boys ages 2 – 5 are already playing with dolls, yet there is a distinct hole in the marketplace for them. PlayMonster believes it’s the perfect time to introduce this important toy line to mass market as big retailers and our industry are together breaking down gender stereotypes to help boys develop their emotional maturity including compassion and kindness."

PlayMonster is generously providing A Geek Daddy with a WONDER CREW doll to giveaway. One lucky winner will be able to select their choice of Will, Marco, Erik or James from the WONDER CREW doll collection.  For a chance to win you must follow @Geekdad248 on Twitter and retweet our original contest tweet embedded below before February 3, 2017 @ 11:59 pm ET.  Must be a US resident over 18 years old to participate.

Follow @Geekdad248 & RT before 2/4/17 for chance to win a WONDER CREW buddy courtesy of @PlayMonsterFun https://t.co/XhcbVCzJbU #ad pic.twitter.com/vxQaONbTHt

— A Geek Daddy (@GeekDad248) January 27, 2017

 A Geek Daddy has not been financially compensated for this endorsement or hosting the giveaway. The prize is provided by PlayMonster and A Geek Daddy is hosting the promotion as a benefit to our readers. Must be a US resident over the age of 18 to participate.  One entry per person and winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries.  If you have already won this prize through another blog participating in this promotion, your entry will be disqualified.  By participating in this promotion you waive any liability of any kind against the publisher of this blog. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. No P.O. Boxes allowed for delivery of the prize. PlayMonster will be responsible for shipping the prize to the selected winner.

My Fairy Garden Magical Cottage from PlayMonster Toys

** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**

The little girl in my house was a gasp with excitement when PlayMonster Toys sent her a My Fairy Garden: Magical Cottage™ to try out.  This playset at first glimpse appears to be a flower pot but take a closer look and you'll find out it is the enchanting home of Freya the fairy.  This toy combines a doll house with a garden. Kids can plant a real garden around Freya's home and when its seeds have sprouted they'll have fun pretending the included fairy figurine is frolicking about her cottage.  With opening doors and furniture for the inside, children can play with the Freya both in her cottage and around the garden that surrounds it.  My daughter couldn't wait to dig in and get her garden started.

My Fairy Garden: Magical Cottage includes a flowerpot cottage, tray, cottage furniture, rooftop trim, toadstool, Freya the fairy, a figurine of her chipmunk friend Hazel, and gardening accessories and tools. Also included are soil and quick-germinating seeds to setup Freya's garden.

To get started cultivating the garden take the 3 included disks of soil and place them in bowl or bucket.  Add some water and stir up the mix so that it can be distributed evenly throughout the gardening trays along the base and roof of the doll house.

Next plant seeds from the included packet around the cottage. The toy set includes some miniature tools such as a shovel, rake, and hoe to help get everything in place for growing a garden.  Once the seeds have been sowed place in a spot with plenty of direct sunlight and water the soil daily with the included watering can to get the garden sprouting.  From our experience, it appears children should be able to put together the cottage and garden on their own with some minimal adult assistance and supervision.  My daughter was so proud of herself for putting together her Fairy Garden Magical Cottage on her own without mom and dad doing it for her.  CLICK HERE for full instructions on preparing and caring for a fairy garden. My Fairy Garden toys are recommended for children 4 and up.

Everyday after school the first thing my daughter would do would rush to check on and water her fairy garden.  It really is amazing how excited she was about planting her garden and watching it grow.  After a week the first signs of life began popping out.  Within two weeks she had a garden setting to play with the included figurines in.  Her garden developed just in time for her to enjoy it throughout her Christmas break from school.  She spent hours pretending Freya and Hazel were enjoying tea in their cottage or having picnics on the garden terrace. The fairy figurine can be placed on a wire making it look like she is flying over the garden or can placed on the ground or inside the cottage to be played with as well.

To be honest, the garden that sprouted didn't look anything like the one on the box.  In my opinion it looked more like a salad plate than a flowery bouquet.  That didn't matter to my little girl though who loved what grew because she had planted and cared for it herself.  She's thrilled with the garden she grew and has had lots of fun having pretend fairy adventures playing with this playset.

For more information about the My Fairy Garden Collection, please visit playmonster.com

Roominate Cotton Candy Carnival

 ** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**

During The Toy Insider's Holiday of Play event unveiling their annual hottest toy selections, each of the members of the Parents Panel were asked to spotlight a favorite toy from the list.  My selection is Play Monster's Roominate Cotton Candy Carnival.  I'm a big fan of toys that combine educational components with entertaining elements so that kids are learning and having fun at the same time.  Roominate construction kits fit that mark perfectly as they are specifically designed to inspire girls to have an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) concepts through being able to construct doll houses, vehicles and in the case of the Cotton Candy Carnival playset actual working amusement park rides.



Using circuits, motors and modular building pieces, girls can build and create their own unique and original structures or vehicles that can be joined together or taken apart and remade into something completely new and different every time they play with Roominate toys. As the father of a daughter whose aspirations and dreams I want to be limitless these toys that inspire girls creatively and intellectually are appreciated.  Roominate construction kits let girls build the world they want to play in!

I had the opportunity to meet Alice Brooks at The Toy Insider's Holiday of Play event, who along with her Stanford roommate Bettina Chen, created Roominate toys. The two engineers met while earning their Master’s degrees and they found that their interest in engineering had mutually been born out of their love of toys. The two women created Roominate to inspire girls to maintain an interest in building, innovating, and learning about the STEM fields as they grow up.  They pitched their idea on the television show Shark Tank and gained a new partner in their efforts as Mark Cuban invested in their company.  Cuban assisted with selling the women's company to established toy company Play Monster which has established Roominate products as its own designated toy line within the company.

With the Roominate Cotton Candy Carnival, kids can design and build amusement rides for the two included dolls, Bettina and Jenna, to enjoy.  An enclosed motor that doesn't allow its parts to be exposed for safety and durability reasons, allows children to build battery a powered functional carousel, giant swing or ferris wheel for Bettina and Jenna to ride on.  A personality profile for each of the dolls is also included, which features the character’s hobbies and favorite foods, as well as favorite scientists and career aspirations to give girls a nudge towards being interested in a STEM-based field.  Stickers are included so that kids can decorate and personalize their Cotton Candy Carnival that in addition to the dolls and amusement rides also allows for a game tent and snack booth to be built.



While Roominate toys are marketed to girls, my son also really enjoyed joining his sister in playing with the Cotton Candy Carnival.  This fun carnival theme and demonstrates to kids that, while riding a ferris wheel or carousel can be fun, so can the experience of being involved with building these attractions. For introducing STEM topics in an amusing way, the Roominate Cotton Candy Carnival gets gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval.

The Roominate Cotton Candy Carnival is available at Amazon, Fat Brain Toys, Kmart, Toys R Us, Walmart, and through playmonster.com.  It requires 2 AAA batteries that are not included.  The toy is recommended for children 8 years old and up. From our experience parental involvement may be necessary in assisting younger children with building some of the more advanced projects within Roominate construction kits.  In addition to the fun of playing with this motorized toy set, kids will equally appreciate the satisfaction that they built the functioning carnival rides themselves.