I was sent a Zoobles to trial and review from Spin Master Toys. These are bright and colourful little creatures which can hide themselves by rolling up into tiny balls. To open them again, you just place them in their base and they will expand to full size. There are over 300 of them to collect. We were sent the Mama and Zoobling one called Icetasia and Iceabella #324.
They are described as cute and quirky but I must admit I just thought they looked a bit plasticky and flimsy. Not the sort of toy I would rush out to buy for my little girl. They are pretty small and the baby part was tiny. Not great when I have a 1 year old in the house too.
Having not had toys like this before, I was surprised at how excited Poppy was. She couldn't wait to get it out of the box and was really interested in how it worked. Within a few minutes and with a little help from daddy, she had worked out how the little Zooble opened. She could also put the baby inside the Mummy and close it. The only thing she struggled with was getting the baby out again. She happily played with it for an hour. You can see how happy she was here:
........But then it broke!!
Poppy is just 3 rather than the advised age of 4+, however, she has been brought up to respect her toys and look after them. She is not the sort of child that breaks things and chucks them around. When it happened both My Husband and I were with her too. She was not being rough or particularly heavy handed or anything. She was just trying to get the baby out. She was devastated as you can see from this photo:
This toy therefore lasted only an hour and we were not very impressed with it. I could not recommend Zoobles and will not be buying any more for her.
I felt I needed to update this post as I was sent a slightly different one in response to this post (the Zoobles Mama and Zoobling, Unga and Bunga set). This one has lasted much better and was easier to get the baby out. There is much more room for Poppy's childish chubby fingers! So it may have been that we originally had a faulty one or that Poppy was just too young, I don't know. Whatever, the reason I feel I may have been a bit harsh! If you do have children under or at the lower end of the recommended age group, I would advise buying this one.
Thanks for giving me a second chance Spinmaster.
Karen x
