PLAYPER CURIOUS KINGDOM CASTLE

Does it bother you that a lot of the toys we get for our kids aren't very environmentally friendly based upon issues with the plastics they are made of and the amount of them that end up in landfills? With that in mind and today being EARTH DAY, I wanted to give a shout out to a fantastic new line of eco-friendly, sustainable toys for preschoolers and kindergartners from Playper that won this year's NAPPA [National Parenting Product Awards] Sustainability Award. Playper toys encourage children to explore a Curious Kingdom and engage in imaginative play both hands-on and through augmented reality. 

Playper Curious Kingdom Castle is a buildable DIY castle playset with moving parts that sparks imagination and creativity. It includes a multi-level castle with locking drawbridge and secret trap door, 6 colorful characters (featuring a royal family, knight in shining armor, galloping horse, and a goofy dragon) props & accessories and reusable “magic stickers." Aimed for children three to six years, Playper Curious Kingdom Castle is plastic free made from a durable, high quality recycled material decorated in vibrant colors with soy-based ink. 

I appreciate this toy has both a traditional physical play aspect as well as a tech angle to it too. Watch as characters like King Ketchup and Snuffles the Dragon come to life when scanned using AR-enhanced features via Playper's free app. This fun, whimsical playset is currently available on Amazon for $34.99.

Here are some nice pros for picking up a Playper Curious Kingdom Castle for a youngster in your life:

• Eco-Friendly Materials: Playper toys are made from recycled gray board and chipboard, ensuring that no new trees are cut down for production. Each toy holds an FSC certification, guaranteeing responsible forest management. 
• Biodegradable and Recyclable: After providing hours of creative play, these toys can be responsibly disposed of, reducing landfill waste and teaching children about environmental responsibility. 
• Non-Toxic Ink: The vibrant colors of PlayperBoard® playsets come from soy and vegetable-based inks, which are safe for children and the environment. These sustainable inks are a great alternative to petroleum-based inks. 
• Durable and Spill-proof: All pieces are coated with a water-based, spill-resistant finish, making the toys durable enough for rough play and multiple assemblies. Plus, it makes recycling easier!
• Tool-Free Building: Each Playset comes with picture-based instructions that require no reading, making them easy for young kids. The assembly is fun, colorful, and doesn't require scissors, glue, or tape.

For more information about Curious Kingdom toys, please visit playper.com

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SNAP SHIPS REVIEW

My son is in those tween aged years where kids are beginning to outgrow playing with toys, but that hasn't kept him from being absolutely delighted by SNAP SHIPS from PlayMonster. He has spent a lot of hours building these sci-fi themed spacecraft and engaging in imaginative adventures with them. His enjoyment of SNAP SHIPS has put them at the top of my family's list for favorite new toy this year. And we are aren't alone in appreciating SNAP SHIPS as they've been named a finalist in the "Construction Toy of the Year" category for the Toy Association's TOTY awards.

The heroic Forge battle the villainous Komplex for interstellar superiority within the SNAP SHIPS universe. Construct a variety of impressive vessels to combat one another ranging from patrol craft, troop transports and battleships. These sharp looking models are a snap to put together and my son really likes them because they look great to display in his room. 

In fact, I think he has more fun constructing these model spaceships than actually playing with them. Though I have caught him having some space battles in his room with his SNAP SHIPS so they do have a lot of playability for even tween aged kids. He has liked them enough to ask for some more SNAP SHIPS as Christmas gifts this year.

Here is a build through video with my son demonstrating how to put together a SNAP SHIP. PlayMonster has done a nice job making it so that the parts to these toys are easy to snap together yet durable enough that they won't fall apart when being played with. The constructed products look so good you'd think a lot more effort than actually is necessary was put into assembling the toys. 

And while they look nice for displaying these toys can be played with too without worrying about them easily breaking. In fact while we were taping this video, one of the assembled SNAP SHIPS got knocked off the table and when we picked it up after wrapping up filming this build through not a piece had separated or broken apart from it. As you'll see in the video though, if you make a mistake putting a toy together or want to make rearrangements it is no big deal to pop out parts and move things around.

Easy to assemble yet durable for play are sure to make SNAP SHIPS a hit! Also taking advantage of the blind bag collecting trend in toys, each SNAP SHIP has a mystery accessory included with it that you won't know what it is until the package has been opened. Maybe it will be a turbo boaster, laser cannon, or missile system to give the toy an extra edge. You can buy multiple of the same SNAP SHIP style and get all sorts of different mystery accessories which adds some extra excitement to constructing them.

Also PlayMonster has added some out of the box elements to help bring SNAP SHIPS to life. There is a YouTube animated series that adds some personality to the mini-figures that come with each SNAP SHIP and provides inspiration for imaging space battles with the toys. Additionally there is a free app for Android and Apple devices that provides augmented reality features that can enhance the experience of playing with the physical toys.

I'm a sci-fi geek so this dad blogger couldn't resist getting some of these spaceship toys for my son. That worked out well because he really loves them. As a parent, I appreciate not only that he is enjoying the toys but also they provide repeat playability, durability and originality ensuring that we are getting value for the money spent on them. That is complimented by a very reasonable price range of $12 to $50 dollars that gives you a lot more bang for your buck than some other construction toy brands. So SNAP SHIPS have earned a Geek Daddy nod of approval based upon the affordability, innovation and entertainment these toys provide.

SWEET SUITE AT HOME

The other day we participated in a virtual toy expo hosted by The Toy Insider. I met with industry reps through online chats learning about what hot new products brands will be having hit store shelves soon while my kids provided some live video demonstrations of some fun new games and toys from our friends at Play Monster. Sweet Suite @ Home was a fun evening for the whole family and we learned about a lot of interesting stuff that we will be sharing with you on ageekdaddy.com over the next few months.

Plus we were sent a big box of swag full of toy samples that just arrived! Time for an unboxing! Let's see what is inside:



So what were some of the favorite things my daughter found inside our Sweet Suite @ Home swag box?

BLIND BAG FIGURES

My daughter LOVES Calico Critters and was excited that one of these figures was included in our toy samples. The brand will be releasing blind bags that each contain a cute animal figurine with a camping motif this Fall. Playmobile will also be releasing a blind bag assortment of characters from Scooby Doo cartoons that are a hit with my kids! Blind bags show you the characters that could be inside on the outside of the packaging but you don't know exactly what toy is inside until it is opened up. These mystery packs have been a popular trend with the toy industry in recent years and the sense of mystery and excitement in opening up bling bags provides some extra fun in these toys for kids.

SHOULDERKINS

My daughter has been walking around the house with a sea lion on her shoulder. She thinks Shoulderkins from Aurora are adorable! These cute plush sit on kids shoulders and stay on thanks to a magnet that slips under a shirt to keep the toy attached to your body. In addition to Sammy the Sea Lion there are also a bunny, octopus, unicorn, giraffe, tiger, turtle, and flamingo to choose from in this stuffed animal collection.

POKEMON BATTLE ACADEMY

My kids were most excited about this coming in the Sweet Suite @ Home swag box. They collect Pokemon trading cards but really don't know how to play the game. Pokeman Battle Academy uses a board game to teach people how to play the card deck building game. You can just have fun with this table top game or use it as an entryway to playing the card game. Pokemon Battle Academy looks to be a fun way to spend a family game night!

Check out our YouTube unboxing video to see what else arrived in the Sweet Suite @ Home Swag box. Stay tuned for more updates as this dad blogger continues to provide updates on fun games and toys my kids, and this kid at heart, enjoy playing with.

HEXBUG nano SPACE COSMIC COMMAND

Imagine out of this world adventures with the nano SPACE COSMIC COMMAND playset from HEXBUG.  This fun playset that was a finalist for the 2018 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards combines three of my son's favorite things ... bugs, robots and outer space.  Blast off to adventure with the nano SPACE COSMIC COMMAND which includes a space station, explorer rover and rocket ship along with a pair of robotic nano HEXBUGS.

HEXBUG nanos are tiny, collectible, robotic creatures that use the physics of vibration to propel themselves.  Powered by a tiny motor and 12 fixed, angular legs these critters traverse about the environment around them.  Watch as they explore the maze-like layout of the SPACE COSMIC COMMAND buildings.



Features of the SPACE COSMIC COMMAND  include air lock tunnels, an elevator, gravity trainer, communications and scanning dish, along with an ion cannon.  This playset isn't just for watching nanos explore it but also to get kids engaging in imaginative play.  Pretend a nano is getting accustomed to the stresses of rocketing into outer space by spinning it around in the gravity trainer. Protect the base from invaders with the ion cannon.  Explore alien environments by entering and exiting the space station through its air locks.

There are also a number of accessories that come with the playset that compliment the space station.  Snap on one of the included space suits to a nano to give it an astronaut looking appearance.  Put a nano underneath one of the explorer rovers that can be customized with snap-on parts for a variety of different looks to have the creature drive the vehicle across the ground.  Pretend to fly the rocket ship with a nano placed inside the cockpit.

Designed to spark kids' interest in the science behind space exploration, HEXBUG nano SPACE COSMIC COMMAND provides hours of entertaining playtime that promote an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) topics while children are having fun.  My son has been having a great time playing with the nanos and all the accessories, structures and vehicles that are included in this playset.  This toy has captured his interest and imagination so the HEXBUG nano SPACE COSMIC COMMAND playset has earned A GEEK DADDY nod of approval.

GIVEAWAY

To share my future astronauts enjoyment with this playset, A GEEK DADDY is giving a HEXBUG nano SPACE COSMIC COMMAND to one lucky winner.  It has a suggested retail price of approximately $50.00 and is recommend for children ages 3 and up. Batteries for the nano toys are included. Who wants it?!

Just complete the rafflecopter entries below before 11:59 pm ET on Friday, May 11, 2018 for a chance to be our randomly selected winner.  Must be a United States resident over 18 years old to be eligible for the prize and yes we do check to verify that you actually completed the actions requested in the rafflecopter form.  Must reply to notification of winning the prize within 48 hours to accept it or another entrant will be selected. Good luck to all our entrants!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
For more information about nanos and their playsets, head over to hexbug.com

TOY INSIDER PARENTS PANEL

During the last year I have partnered with The Toy Insider as a member of their Parents Panel, a group of moms and dads who make regular contributions to thetoyinsider.com with tips from parents for parents on a wide range of topics including educational tools we've used, our kids' favorite toys, and ways to get children engaged in imaginative play.  Parents Panel members are provided samples of toys throughout the year so we can share reviews of our family's own experiences, host Twitter parties where we give out some really nice prizes while having some witty banter, and get inside access to preview events where we get to see the next hot toys before they even hit store shelves.  This is a really great group of people including James Zahn (The Rock Father), Destiny Paquette (Suburban Wife City Life), Stephanie Glover (A Grande Life) and Charlene DeLoach (Charlene's Chronicles) and myself. 

Here are some examples of my past Parent's Panel posts that you can find on thetoyinsider.com:

Summer Stay-cation: Fun Ideas For the Whole Family

Bringing the WOW Factor to Your Next Family Game Night

Get Kids Bug-Eyed About Learning

Toys to Make Your Kids King of the Hill on the Neighborhood Playground

I'm excited to announce that I'll be continuing as a member of Parents Panel for another year with my new term with the group starting during my appearance at the Toy Insider's annual holiday shopping toy preview Sweet Suite 2017 at this year's Blogger Bash in New York City.  Stay tuned for another year of Toy Insider fun!

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

BLOGGER BASH - July 13 & 14, 2016 in New York City

 **A Geek Daddy has been financially compensated as a BLOGGER BASH Ambassador and affiliate links are included within this post. Opinions are my own**

As readers of A GEEK DADDY know, this blog is all about creating memorable and enjoyable experiences that I can engage in as a dad with my children and share with all of you. Posts with news about upcoming family friendly movies, stories of adventurous road trips to visit entertaining and educational destinations (such as amusement parks, museums, and zoos) and opinions on apps and video games are all part of the normal routine with this blog. Oh! ...and of course we can't forget the toy reviews can we?!

A GEEK DADDY has had some great toy review opportunities recently ranging from an AIR HOGS Batman V Superman official movie replica remote control batmobile to Hexbug's VEX Robotics Gear Racers to a WowWee MiPosaur interactive robotic dinosaur which were made possible through the contacts I established by attending last year's BLOGGER BASH conference in New York City. In addition to having a blast at the third annual BLOGGER BASH by attending an exclusive Blue Man Group performance, getting an advance opportunity to play the brand new Disney Infinity: Star Wars video game before it was released to the public, and attending a lunch with the talent providing the voices for The Peanuts Movie; my attendance at this event provided A GEEK DADDY with the connections to participate in some wonderful revenue generating sponsored campaigns, allowed my family the chance to review some incredible toys at no cost that my kids would otherwise not had the chance to play with, and let me share the fun with our readers by being able to host some great product giveaways that are a direct result of attending last year's event. We're just getting started though because in addition to attending again this year, I'm also going to be sharing my enthusiasm for the event as a BLOGGER BASH AMBASSADOR this year!

CLICK HERE to use my affiliate link to register for this year's BLOGGER BASH and use promotional code BBA2016 to save $30 off your registration fee.

If you are a digital influencer with an established blog you're going to want to join me on July 13 and 14 in New York City aboard the Majesty yacht, docked in Midtown Manhattan for BLOGGER BASH 2016. Don't worry about getting sea sick as the boat will be docked for the entire conference so attendees will be able to enjoy the view from the decks and be able to get on and off at their leisure. You won't want to get off though because BLOGGER BASH consists of multiple themed parties that serve as networking opportunities between digital influencers and big-name toy, tech and household product brands that will keep your attention captured while you are there. My favorite of these is The Toy Insider’s SWEET SUITE, which allows digital influencers to get hands-on with the hot new toys that will be coming out on the market for the upcoming holiday shopping season while feasting on deserts and drinks. SWEET SUITE is the highlight of BLOGGER BASH for me and if you write about toys on a blog shouldn't be missed.

Make sure not to linger too long in purchasing your tickets to BLOGGER BASH 2016 because there is a limited capacity for the Majesty and once it is reached the conference will be sold out.  If you want to attend a digital influencer conference that doesn't have an intense focus on monetizing web sites, isn't hyper promoting a particular brand or crowded full of really clique groups than BLOGGER BASH is for you!  I was completely surprised last year by just how friendly and welcoming everyone at this conference was during my experience and that is why I wanted to contribute to this year's event by becoming a BLOGGER BASH Ambassador.  It is a laid back fun time where you learn about all sorts of cool stuff.  Details on this year's agenda are still being finalized but the production team behind BLOGGER BASH has a goal of making each year's event better than the previous one which means 2016 should be AWESOME!

Grab your tickets now and remember to use promotional code BBA2016 to save $30 off your registration fees.  Hope to see you there in July!

Dino Construction Company Toys are a Roar to Play With

EDUCATIONAL INSIGHTS was very kind to send over a Wrecker the     T-Rex Skid Loader from its DINO CONSTRUCTION COMPANY lineup of toys for my family to play with.  The Dino Construction Company combines two of my son's favorite things: dinosaurs and trucks/construction equipment and was a finalist for the 2014 Toy Industry Association "Best Preschool Toy" category in the TOTY Awards.  The TOTY Awards are nicknamed the "Oscars" of the toy industry so that is pretty impressive!  The Dino Construction Company has four models to choose from: a bulldozer, backhoe, steam roller, and skid loader.



T-TOP the TRICERATOPS BULLDOZER

BOOM the BRACHIOSAURUS BACKHOE

SPIKE the ANKYLOSAURUS STEAM ROLLER

WRECKER the T-REX SKID LOADER

My son and daughter both enjoyed playing with the T-REX SKID LOADER which they used  indoors and outside.  The construction is very sturdy and it handled being dragged and banged around our sandbox without any parts coming loose or damage occurring to the toy.  It is a nice sturdy toy that stimulates imaginative play.

A few of the features that my children enjoyed were that it has a seat and steering wheel compartment for a driver and they threw in various action figures they found around our house to "drive" the "robot dinosaur" making use of their other toys to promote creativity while they played in an imaginary robot desert world.  My son really liked the big white T-Rex teeth on the skid mover and its swinging jaw was very useful in picking object up and moving sand. My daughter liked fiddling around with and moving the articulated tail in a variety of positions.  As a parent, I appreciated the toy DOESN'T need batteries (it's kid powered!) or have parts/ pieces that are always coming loose requiring me to repeatedly have to snap back on or adjust for my kids (all parents have dealt with those toy that has a "necessary" part which keeps falling off that we need to constantly fix for our child-gives me a headache just thinking about it-this isn't one of those). This toy doesn't need any parent interaction with it once you've taken it out of the box unless you want to jump in the sandbox and have a roaring good time playing with it along with your kids. It is also nice to see a fun toy that is powered by a kid's imaginations rather than electricity.

The only negative about the toy was that it's tracks didn't really work very well.  They were difficult to roll on carpet and jammed up and didn't move at all in the sand.  It would have been cool if the tracks left a trail of T-Rex foot prints across the sandbox but they aren't even imprinted to do that if they did work and essentially my kids just dragged the toy around the sandbox.  They didn't seem to mind that the treads didn't roll though, but that is one thing that did catch my attention, especially with a $30 price tag on the toy, and would really elevate the toy from a nice product to a great one if Educational Insights could improve upon that.  

The Dino Construction Company T-Rex Skid Loader is an indoor/outdoor toy that can stand up to tough  play spurring creativity and imagination while putting a smile on a kid's face making it a winner in my opinion.

For more information about the T-Rex Skid Loader or any of its companion Dino Construction Company crew members visit: www.educationalinsights.com

DISCLAIMER:  I received a complimentary T-Rex Skid Loader toy to utilize for this review.  The opinions and views expressed are my own.  A positive review was not a mandate to receive the complimentary product.