Editorial Review

The Pixter is like a personal digital assistant (PDA) for kids. But instead of storing boring appointments and phone numbers, they get to draw, do puzzles, and learn a little, too. The Pixter is about the size of a small book, and has a pretty solid weight to it. It's made out of brightly colored and durable plastic. The main action of this toy is drawing with an attached stylus. The Color Pixter offers much better graphics then the black and white version, which comes in handy with activities like Paint-by-Numbers and Connect-the-Dots. You can draw a picture free form, or you can use one of the starter backgrounds. There are tool buttons, like on a PDA, that give you access to fun stamps, special effects, and the eraser button. You can also save your creation in the Pixter's memory. There are some boppy tunes playing along with all this creative activity, but luckily for parents, there's also a jack for headphones and a volume adjuster. An expansion slot on top of the Pixter accepts ROM-based expansion cards that contain additional software and games. Requires 4 "AA" batteries. (Not included.) --Megan Sullivan ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Kids really love this toy
My daughter was 3 1/2 when she first played with her 10 year old sister's B&W Pixter, and she loved it. So I got her the color Pixter, and she plays with it every day, especially in the car. There are educational games available for it, as well as entertainment games. It also plays all the older black and white games for the older versions of Pixter.

Disappointed
We bought this for our 4 year old because he's not quite old enough for Game Boy. We have already had to return it twice due to it malfunctioning within a short period of time. The first one, the stylus didn't work and the second one the stylus worked on only half the screen after a couple of weeks. For as much money as we spent, I had great expectations. The kids, 4-9 years, enjoyed it while it worked, it just didn't hold up very long. I'd spend my money else where.

Take Care
My kids love this toy!! But do be careful because it is needs to be well taken care of. I would not reccommend this to any child who just throws things down where they may.

worth every penny
My 4 year old is one of those kids who can't play with anything for more than 5 minutes, except the Pixter. It is the best toy I've ever bought for her, and we've tried everything (thanks to used toys and bargains...). I bought her the Pixter recently because I was pregnant and too tired to keep her busy. It is well designed, challenging but not frustrating, is adaptable to her growth and needs, etc.

Pixter Easily Broken
I got my daughter the Pixter Color. Her little sister dropped it on my oak floor a few hours after we opened up the box. Now only half the screen works. I know it was dropped, but kids drop stuff. There must be a way to make these things more breakage-resistant. Spending 80 dollars on a toy that worked just one afternoon is bad enough. Listening to my daughter sob all evening was worse. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

War, anyone?
The Advanced Mission takes this familiar game to a whole new level. Here is the list of the new weapons and tactics now at your disposal: 2 exocet missles fired from your aircraft carrier; 1 tomahawk missle with a massive footprint fired from your battleship; 2 apache missles fired from your destroyer; 2 torpedoes fired from your sub; two recon airplanes for surveillance; and sonar imaging from your sub! While the older version of this game had some strategy, it was still a mostly guessing game, but with the Advanced Mission you really have to plan your attack and keep track of your available assets. One hint: have your recon planes take off from the aircraft carrier ASAP to avoid them being destroyed if the ship gets sunk. If you play this game with some strategy in mind you will find yourself doing very little guessing, which makes this game much more interesting and NEVER boring!

Very cool...But mesy
I got this toy for Christmas from my grandmother. It is pretty complicated, so I do not really agree with the age ranges. My eight year old neighbor who lives across the street from me tried to play it, and in the process she got very confused after many times of explanation. It is extremely fun, but it is also extremely mesy. What can I say. I love this game and it is definalty worth all that money. Accualy, It is worth a lot more.

Could be fun if pegs fit better
I think this game could be lots of fun. I played with my 6 year-old boy, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE PEGS USED TO RECORD HITS AND MISSES EITHER FELL OUT OR WERE SO HARD TO PUT IN, WE HAD TO USE PLIERS TO PULL THEM OUT.

This pretty much ruined the fun. Maybe I got a lemon (bad quality control?). If someone reads this, please tell me if their version did not have this problem. Otherwise I can't see putting my boy (and me) through the agony again.

Fun for the whole family
There is something about hearing the noise that tells you you've score a hit- call it a Pavlovian reponse, but it's lots of fun!! We're getting this for the second generation of recipients this Christmas.

Advanced Mission could be even better..........
I bought this game for my daughter. She has the old version but cheated too much. Of course I cheated too. Believe me, you would never find my patrol boat. I'd just keep moving it around.
Advance Mission puts an end to that. You have to program in your coordinates so it's impossible to cheat. This is a good thing.
Advanced Mission has four different games to be played:
The Classic Mission - each player gets one shot apiece regardless of hit or miss.
The Salvo Mission - each player gets one shot for every ship left unsunk. I really like this one.
The Bonus Mission - each player gets one shot unless they score a hit in which case they can continue on the same turn until they miss.
The Advanced Mission - each ship has special weapons and you have two recon planes, however if you use the recon planes I will defeat you. IMO the recon planes are a bit too much. Deploying them counts as a turn and you don't get to fire a weapon. I never deploy my recon planes. I have never lost, yet.

Another thing that sets this game apart is the ability to play the computer. You don't even need any friends to have a good old fashioned war at sea.
There are also 3 different skill levels to choose from. ...
Of course the game now has sound. You hear the weapons being fired and the explosions from hits.
All that being said I still see room for improvement. On the old battleship you could adjust the top grid for better visibility, much like you would a laptop. On Advanced Mission the top grid is fixed and depending on the lighting can be hard to see.
Unless you are sitting at eye level with direct lighting you will inevitably place a peg in the wrong grid resulting in frustration and possibly a failed mission.
The makers of Advanced Mission should have gone a step further by lighting the grids, at least the top grid. It wouldn't take much to accomplish. It would look really cool and certainly be easier on the eyeballs.
The other thing is the volume, which is relatively low...
Bottomline is it's a fine game but with a few improvements it would really be something. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Today’s video games with all their bells and whistles had to begin somewhere, and that somewhere was your living room, in, say, 1982.Remember Asteroids, Missile Command, and Breakout? How about Centipede, Adventure and Gravitar? This TV Games Video System--just a "smart" joystick and nothing else--delivers 10 classic games in all. The joystick has the typical up-down-left-right movements, and single functions to select, start, and reset games. Front-and-center is a big, red fire button ("fire" being the only way to propel or kill things back then). The unit hooks up to your TV via those yellow and white AV output jacks (which should already be on your TV or VCR), and requires 4 "AA" batteries. --Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (56)

Great nostalgia kick
I was a huge Atari fan back in the day, so I was very excited about this product when I saw it in stores. My wife took the hint and picked one up for me. What a great little product! I have had a great time getting into the old classics, and even my kids are enjoying it. ADVENTURE is especially good and is easily the game I play most. There is only one dark spot on this product - some of the games they chose for this joystick product were originally designed for the old paddle controller. Pong and Breakout just aren't the same.

Not worth the money
I thought this would be a fun purchase, but it's not! <br /> <br /> Like the reader before, the games don't even look like they did in the arcade, for example Centepede, when the game is about to boot up, the screen shows the original screen with mushrooms but when the game play starts the mushrooms turn into red blocks! <br /> <br /> None of the games match the originals. Very dissapointing!

COOL gaming system!!!!
im Erik Brillhart and when i was growing up, my parents' freinds had an Atari 2600. when i was playing it, i didnt wanna stop! then i saw this when i used it, it was just like the Atari 2600! i really love this thing and it can take a heck of a beatin'. but u wont learn anything from it exept how to have a fun time!

Review
My grandma got me this game and I love it I also have the controller with 10 games.

NO GOOD!
I am very disappointed with this product. It's not even worth 20 bucks. The graphics/sounds aren't even close to the original games. Plus, it doesn't even work properly. TOO many glitches have started appearing and it's only been used a few times. (and not by abusive children, but by adults) Please don't waste your money on this poorly made product. MS pacman one is bad news too. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Even electronic toys have gone extreme. Kids love the original Bop It, an electronic toy that challenges response time to pull, twist, and bop different parts of the toy. The Extreme 2 version adds two more tasks, more sounds, and a taunting, smart-aleck announcer who directs the game. As you get better, the game moves faster until you miss a beat and lose, accompanied by a fair amount of noise and ridicule from the toy. People who don't think they'd ever want to play Bop It Extreme 2 won't be able to put it down; it instills a compulsive need to bop till you drop. It can be played in a group and makes a good party game--even for serious adults. --Lynne Sampson ... Read more

Reviews (18)

The Best game!
Bop it Extreme 2 is the best! My sister got it for her birthday but, I love playing it! Before I could only get 1 or 2 but, now I have 38.
I play it when I wake up, when I have extra time, & before I go to bed!
I like all the things you can play on it and, that it has a volume control and, that it tells you what the high score is.
This game is really fun! People should purchase this item.

Bop it extreme 2 vs Bop it extreme
Hi, I'm a 19 years old college student attending UCSD. I live in a suit with other students and we use to hang out, but we got nothing to do. I decided to buy this toy to promote some social interactions. To my surprise, everybody just jumps in and have a blast. We played endless Pass it! games. It REALLY trains your reflex skill. I find it so much fun that I had to write a review, which I rarely do.

As for the difference between the Bop It Extreme and the Bop It Extreme 2 versions.(I had this question when I buy this toy)
1) The Bop It Extreme 2 version has 3 levels of volume, while the Bop It Extreme has one LOUD volume.
2) The Bop It Extreme 2 has an earphone jack for personal enjoyment, while the Bop It Extreme doesn't.
3) The Bop It Extreme 2 TELLS you at the end your score(i.e. "You scored forty-eght"), while the Bop It Extreme plays different sounds to denote score(i.e. "whistle, whistle, rachet, rachet, rachet, drum, drum, drum, drum"). Hence requiring you to count and decipher which sound worth more points than other.
4) The Bop It Extreme 2 has more music than the Bop It Extreme as advertised.
5) The Bop It Extreme 2 has rubber grip and better grip-mold for the Spin it! wheel.
6) The Bop It Extreme 2 just looks much cooler, hands down! :D

Playing this game Solo is fun, but get together w/ your friends and you all will have a BLAST!

NOT soooo great,
VERY,VERY noisey. It is hard for me to get a high score. They whant you to do it so fast. (Yes, I know a game should be challinging.) And to tell you it takes a odd number of batterys,3 of 'em. One time the batterys got corroded so it made it hard to get out. I never did play with it again. The sound got scratchy too. (...)I do not recomend any of the Bop It toys to anyone.

So much better then Extreme 1!
Wow! This is a pretty fun game. The original was so loud and annoying, and the speaker was tinny. Bop it Extreme 2, though a little easier, is so much better. It also has a Bop It button that is less prone to getting accidentally hit.

EXTREME fun for all ages!!!
Bought as a gift for my son, the whole family has enjoyed this unique little gizmo. I can't help but think that this must help with thinking skills. Totally portable, it's a favorite at sleep-overs... it's even more popular than Gameboy, and that's saying something. A very healthy family game! ... Read more

Editorial Review

The Pixter is like a personal digital assistant (PDA) for kids. But instead of storing boring appointments and phone numbers, they get to draw, do puzzles, and learn a little, too. The Pixter is about the size of a small book, and has a pretty solid weight to it. It's made out of brightly colored and durable plastic. The main action of this toy is drawing with an attached stylus. The Color Pixter offers much better graphics then the black and white version, which comes in handy with activities like Paint-by-Numbers and Connect-the-Dots. You can draw a picture free form, or you can use one of the starter backgrounds. There are tool buttons, like on a PDA, that give you access to fun stamps, special effects, and the eraser button. You can also save your creation in the Pixter's memory. There are some boppy tunes playing along with all this creative activity, but luckily for parents, there's also a jack for headphones and a volume adjuster. An expansion slot on top of the Pixter accepts ROM-based expansion cards that contain additional software and games. Requires 4 "AA" batteries. (Not included.) --Megan Sullivan ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Has entertained my child for 3 years!
We first bought our pixter in 2001 while taking our 4 year old on a three week trip to Europe. It entertained her the ENTIRE time. We even had people coming up to us to take pictures of her playing it because she was so quiet for such a young child! Of course, the next year, we upgraded to the 2.0 version (giving her old one to her cousin). She still plays with it constantly. We have a large variety of software (which I buy on sale every so often) that she keeps attached to the carrying case (I do recommend, it keeps everything in one place and is handy to carry everywhere) in a small mess bag I had. She plays it with or without the sound depending on where we are. I asked her if she wanted a gameboy or a pixter 2.0 in color for Christmas and she immediately said Pixter! It's much more imaginative and allows her to be creative. It also is great for us to play games while trying to pass time like when we are waiting at a doctor's office. We can draw, play tic-tac-toe, bingo, etc... and she doesn't make a fuss. She loves it so much, that she shows every kid she sees how it works and lets them play. It does wear the more she plays, but what doesn't? Her current one has lasted for over two years with almost daily use. All ours have lasted through tons of train, plane and automobile rides, many of them over 10 hours in length. I would definitely buy it for the 3-7 year range. I'm sure the older children may not get as much entertainment out of it as they would other systems. We'll be buying her the color version for Christmas this year!

Pixter-Color
Great toy better that the monochrome version. However, it lacks durability. My 5 year old son got one as a christmas present in 03'. We have had to exchanged it 3 times in 8 months. The primary problem been accuracy of the touch pad. Even after recaliburation the accuracy slightly improves if at all. There is no place for light as in the previous version. My son loves it when it works but gets very frustrated when it doesn't.

Broken on the second day....
We used to own the pixter but it quit working after just a few months (I was disappointed but assumed that it was just my child's overuse/rough handling) so we thought we would upgrade to the color pixter as they had since been released. We should have learned from our mistakes about the durability of this product. My daughter had it out of the box for not even 24 hours, it slipped out of her hands onto the floor, and the screen cracked and the product no longer works. This drop was only 12 inches to the floor. This is quite an expensive toy to not be able to withstand more. My children own gameboys and have dropped them numerous times and even left them in the car on a hot day, and they still work. In fact, my friend's child left his out in the rain and after drying it out, it continued to work! I am truly disappointed with the inability of the Pixter to stand up to a child's environment. I would think twice before buying this toy.

Not a satisfied customer!!!
I purchased a Color Pixter for my neice's 5th Birthday. She already owns and loves her Leapster so I figured she'd really enjoy the Pixter.Before I gave it to her I myself tried it out and honestly thought it was kind of neat but a bit limited. I know the Leapster talks to you and the Pixter doesn't. For over $80 this thing should talk. Anyway, I give it to her and she literally had it out of the box for 5 minutes and I look over and the screen has been scratched beyond belief!! I know for a fact she used nothing but the stylus on the screen. Obviously she pressed too hard which they do warn you about in the owner's manual but lets be reasonable! She did exactly what she usually does to the Leapster and the Pixter can't withstand anything but a very gentle touch which is not what you're going to get from 4 and 5 yr olds. This is not the quality that I expected. She's not a destructive child with her toys. She's had the Leapster since Christmas, has no problems with it and loves it. I had read the reviews that these Pixters don't seem to hold up very well but for heavens sake...I paid well over $100 for this thing along with another software cartridge to use with it and it's in her posession for literally 5 minutes and this is how it holds up?? Fischer Price states that this toy is for ages 4 or 5 and up but take heed!! Unless you're buying this unit for a child who's older, I would not recommend it. In fact, I don't recommend buying it at all. I do highly recomment buying a Leapster and then buying the "Draw and Learn" software cartridge for about $25. It's very nice, and the Leapster is extremely durable. If I'd known they even made such a cartridge for the Leapster, I wouldn't have even bought the Color Pixter in the first place. Anyway, I returned the merchandise and recieved a full refund so no harm done but just a warning to all. When they say the screens will scratch, they're not kidding and it doesn't take much to scratch them. The Leapsters the way to go....hands down.

A nother *GREAT* toy,
Hey ya people. I bought one of these things and I say it is the best toy ever! O.K. here is the detales about this toy: 1:There is tons of other feachers on this than the first one. So don't go out and buy the older one. (It will bored to death!) 2: It is color. (duh,I don't know why I put that.) And the old one is, well, black and white. Witch can sometimes stran your eyes. 3: There is better games included with the color. For instince, pick a seane and draw and put stamps and stuff. create words and put them as stamps. (witch is cool.) color the number. Draw by yourself. And conect the dots. wonce you conect the dots a mini show like-thingie will have to do some thing about the picture. 4: Now this is about the batteries. Well, I played it A LOT and I repeat A LOT and STILL HAVEN'T HAD TO CHANGE THE BATTERIES! And to tell you it takes four of those batteries. 5: Here is a kind of cool feature. It tures off when you don't play with it after a while. 6: It can take both black and white softwere and color softwere. So make sure you have the adapter. And wene you want a color softwere make shure you pick up a color one beacause I picked up a black and white one on accident. That's all about the stuff about it! About the learning,well what I think is educational is if you don't have paper at home you can use it whoa, I was talking about education, It teaches you to be a good artest. Durability, you know you wouldn't want to damage a PDA for kids. I don't know what will happen but DON'T TRY IT! It also makes a prefect gift for Chistmas! So go out and buy it! You will be satisfied and so will your kids. Oh goodie! I got more things about this toy! You can save one, I repeat ONE piture or something you can save in a file. Which is a drag beacause you want to save more than ONE. And I tried to set the volum because it was noisey and it got scrachey. Eventually, it didn't scratch no more. And if you look on the bottom, you can put headphones. Which to me is nice. And once you get your pixter color, just follow the dierections you ain't going to be confusied. There are SIMPLE! Later dudes and evreybody else! P.S. Hope this review helped you! A LOT! ... Read more

Editorial Review

If there's anyone out there who thinks that the Pokemon craze would just be another fad, disappearing from public consciousness in a matter of months, well, think again. The popularity of the Japanese monster collecting game shows no sign of slowing and may in fact be growing thanks to improving technology, evidenced in new products such as this hand held Pokedex. It features electronically stored information on all 200 Pokemon Advanced monsters and features such as personalization and tracking up to six of your favorite Pokemon. You can earn trainer points as you capture the various critters on various different terrains offered. Beyond the traditional capture game, there are other challenges available including a Pokemon quiz and a new game where you help Mudkip run without tiring the poor guy out. The Pokedex may not appeal to someone who isn't already a Pokemon fan but for those who are hooked, it's a lot of fun. Three AAA batteries are required but not included. --Charlie Williams ... Read more

Editorial Review

This electronic handheld version of Scrabble, the classic word game, will help long train commutes or plane journeys pass more quickly. With four games to choose from (two that accommodate two players) and the ability to determine the computer's intelligence, the same game isn't likely to happen twice. Bad: when you raise the computer's IQ level, it uses words like "padri" and "Varna." Good: it accepts words like "vibrio" and "bize." Sound can be turned off, and, if not in use for more than a minute, the game goes to sleep to conserve the three AA batteries (included). --Pam Lauer ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Scramble
This game is perfect for the summer. if you miss school then you can play this game to learn how to spell. If you just want to have fun this would be good too. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

addictive but flawed
The Scrabble Express is a lot of fun in a little bit of time but can also eat up a lot of time because it's so addictive.
The main problem I experienced was when the computer played a phony word and I couldn't challenge it off the board. "RU" is no good. Later, I tried playing the same word IN THE SAME GAME and it wasn't allowed. This bothered me. Playing phonies IS part of strategic Scrabble, so there should be a challenge feature built in, or at least as a feature to toggle on and off. Bottom line, the computer shouldn't be playing phonies unless you opt to have that included as part of your decision-making.
Another flaw is that many playable words are not acceptable because the built-in dictionary is the OSPD, which omits many words deemed offensive for school play. So, short words suited for the 9 by 9 grid, such as LEZ, won't fly.

Its Word List Is Valid
I agree with the other reviewers' observations regarding the length of time it takes the computer to take its turn as well as the lack of vowels the human player is given versus the number the computer receives.
But I would like to point out that the words the computer uses are accepted "tournament word list" Scrabble words and not nonsense words as other reviewers have asserted. I've found a couple of Scrabble words the computer will not accept, but most of them are there.
Despite its shortcomings, for the money it's definitely worth it. And it's an excellent way to learn some strategies and words.

Fun, but will frustrate many serious Scrabble players
As other reviewers have indicated, this game has a 9X9 grid which causes the board to get cramped rather quickly. One of the results of this is that the opportunity to play large words, especially when playing all 7 letters for the 50 point bonus, is next to impossible unless you make the play within, say, your first two to three turns. After that it becomes just about hopeless. As a result, serious Scrabble players who utilize their ED, ING, and other such letter combinations will be severely handicapped.

This seems to be a common problem with this game overall. The better you are at Scrabble, the more this game will handicap you - such as when you set the game's IQ at its highest level and then you're repeatedly given no vowels. About the only positive from this, from a serious Scrabble player pov, is that you are forced to use your vocabulary more. Winning a game isn't so much about playing as many tiles as possible in a certain location as it is knowing obscure words to play within the confines of the board.

It should also be noted that the game has no real off button, just on and what appears to be a sleep mode. I guess the idea was to prevent anyone from accidentally shutting down the game in mid-play. But still, it's a rather annoying feature to put the game down and just wait for it to tun itself off.

These reservations aside, it's still a great game and will be fun for most people who enjoy playing Scrabble. But after several years, it's time for an improved redesign with features closer to a real Scrabble board.

Not bad for twenty bucks
WARNING! This is NOT a complete scrabble game. The board is
9x9, and it only goes a few turns. So if you are a serious
enthusiast, then get the pocket PC version.
The interface is fairly user-friendly, although the blocky LED's
get annoying after a while. The BIGGEST weakness is the bad
program that racks you with zero vowels a lot of the time! It
amazes me that the Scrabble Assn has authorized this game, because what's the probability of getting all consonants 3x in
a row?? But the dictionary (not accessible as a dictionary by the way) is replete with over 100,000 words no doubt, and based on
the OSPD 3rd ed. So you can definitely learn new words in a
fun way without just memorizing words. The machine sometimes
takes a long time also, which is surprising, since I've played
chess machines which must calculate much deeper and yet move
much more quickly.
Being also a chess enthusiast, I was surprised to find only one (1) handheld scrabble machine on the market and this was it! So although this portable game has many weaknesses, it still has a
strong dictionary, 9 playing levels, and should appeal to anyone
who remotely enjoys Scrabble on the go. ... Read more

Editorial Review

This microcosm of Neopets is a portable world for your pocket. Meridell, the land of heroes and legends that was long hidden within Neopia has now been uncovered and is delightfully rendered here in miniature. The pocket Neopet world folds up into a small gold colored pod that you can take anywhere. Open up the case and you can play with your three Neopets: Lupe, Draik, and Lxi. Name them, choose their personalities and preferences, and then proceed to play with, feed, and generally care for them. The sensors in the electronic ports they sit in know which pet you're playing with. There are six games you can play on the small LCD screen with four toggle buttons--they aren't the most engaging games, but winning them scores you points you'll need to buy food and toys for your pet. If you don't give your pet everything it needs, it will run away. Of course, you can always reprogram it to come back to you. There are three little slots to tuck the pets neatly into when you close up the case and hit the road. --Megan Sullivan ... Read more

Reviews (28)

This game is OK...
This game is very cute, but the instructions that come with the it are not clear. The game can become frustrating after a while. It is also a low-tech game and can have some problems.

Awsome toy
This toy is so cool,i couldn't find it in stores so i ordered it online,i have a regular pocket neopet,but this one is cooler.I do not no what those other people are thinking,well duh the graphics are bad,what do u expect for 20 dollars,A flatscreen moniter?I think it works just fine the way the graphics are,and the neopoints aren't hard to get ,it a fun challenge,and that's what teaches you responsibility,so if you don't care about it it will leave you,and if yo have skewl,you can just turn it off,thats a good feature for when you are goin somewhere and you don't want to take it with you,It really makes you think about about the responsibiliy of taking care of a real pet,over all this is a worth it toy if your into neopets.

I bet this will be fun...until your pet runs away.
What i have heard is that the pet runs away and has specific times for everything. That is definitly a con. Some people have school ya know!

pros: fun, and teaches responsibility
cons: your pet runs away, has specific times, and neopoints are hard to get.
I recommend the voice activated neopet instead

Only mediocre.
I am an avid Neopets fan and when I heard they were coming out with merchedise, I was quite pleased.
This product, however, disapointed me. The screen is too smal to do anything with. THe games are fun, yet the graphics are someof the worst I've ever seen. In the ned, I endd up taking the Neopets (A Lupe, Ixi, and Draik) and playing with them without the set. I would recomend a voice activated pet, rather then this game.

Fun1
This toy right here was sooo kewl and fun! It teaches you how to take care of pets very good. You can play fun games to earn money and such to buy food,toys,and petpets. I would recommend this to any kid who is 8 and up and is hooked on neopets ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Great Game
This is a great game. My 4 year old son loves it!!(so does the rest of the family when he lets us play). It is good for the development of his hand-eye coordination. Good price for hours of fun!!

Excellent value
I bought this game for my daughters 6th birthday and it is a very entertaining toy.It plugs directly in to your tv so its easy to use.It is even fun for adults because there are so many levels to play.Because it is so small its portable for a night at grandmas or a friends and you get an entire game system with 5 games for less than the cost of one game for another game system.My kids enjoyed it so much that we went and bought the Pac Man game and plan to buy more.

Fun for Families
I bought this for my four year old son since he is a big fan of Spongebob. He LOVES it! The entire family has enjoyed playing it together, something that only games like Mario Kart or Mario Party have done in the past. The games are pretty easy to learn and it helps his hand-eye coordination as well. Another really nice thing about it is that it is not violent like so many games out there today. It is also VERY easy to hook up; we brought it with us to to my parents' house for Father's Day and hooked it up there so all of the kids could play together.

My son has invited many of the kids in the neighborhood over to play, and they have all enjoyed the different games. The only downside is that they have to take turns playing since more than one person cannot play at a time.

Like one of the other reviews said, it does drain batteries, making the colors go out. But buying batteries is still cheaper than buying a video game that can easily get scratched. This is easily worth the $20 that I paid for it!

Think alot before you buy
I bought this toy for my daughter on Sunday afternoon. She played with it for awhile and she loved it. I couldn't get my husband away from it. But then after you play it for awhile the color goes off.
Monday morning she turned it on and there is no color at all. I can't decide if I will try another one or just get a refund.
Think before you buy this one. I made an impulse buy that most likely I will regret.

Not user friendly for lefties
I purchased this game for my son. Once he was off to bed I decided to play it myself. Well, I discovered that it was not user friendly for us lefties. What I mean is most lefties would hold the joystick with their left hand but if you do that then you cant use the fire button because its on the upper left corner. I was really dissapointed. Of course the games dont compare to our PS2 or Gamecube but they arent supposed to. The games are similar to Atari games. But back to what I was saying,if you are a lefty you may not want to purchase this game. I tried turning the game around making the fire button easy to reach but that didnt work either.
Like I stated earlier the games seem fun but they obviously did not have left handed people in mind when they made this game because they didnt put the fire button in a easy to reach place for a lefty. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Now everyone can enjoy the classic game of Yahtzee in a nifty electronic version. Small enough to fit in your hand, this addictive game lets you "roll" the dice with the click of a button. Press "hold" to keep the ones you want, and then roll again. Get 5 of a kind, and you've got "Yahtzee." A row of options at the top ("3 of a kind," "small straight," etc.) is available to select preferred scoring for each round. like the original, this fun game can be a bit noisy with its sound effects and victory song, but it does include a silence feature. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (68)

So much fun!!!
The display graphics for this game are top notch. Very easy to read and to play. It is EXACTLY like real Yahtzee but without worrying about keeping score. The unit also tells you how much your score would be for each requirement. It's so much fun, even my airline pilot husband couldn't put it down! I would like it to have a case of some kind. I have a feeling it may not take the bumps and bruises of travel very well. I'll find out soon. Worth the price!

Great Travel Buddy
This game is great. It is all the fun of Yahtzee, in your hand. All of the same rules apply and all of the objectives are the same. The objective of the game is to save the dice to get a full house or a 4 of a kind to name a few. The set up and buttons are very clear. You could learn without the instructions. There is a handy dandy point sheet on the back of the game that tells you all of the objectives and how many points they are worth. This game is small so it is perfect for a long car ride, gym or can fit in your pocket for when ever you have some free time. It is worth it.

What A Game!!
What a great game for a great price. I found myself playing this for hours when I first got it and continue to play it all the time. It is a terrific little game and will keep you occupied on those long trips and periods of boredom (LOL.) It is easy to use and has a silent mode on it. My only minor complaint is that the sound is too loud and therefore I usually play the game muted. I wish there was more than one level of sound. But I guess if that is my only complaint (...) I really shouldn't be complaining at all. Get this game, you won't be sorry! : )

Ever yell Yahtzee on a crowded plane?
My grandmother gave this to me for a Christmas gift, and it's quite addictive. The game plays just like Yahtzee and is very easy to learn. It's very durable, and turns itself off after a short time of inactivity, to conserve the battery. I did manage to rack a score of 526, to which my grandmother claimed she got over six hundred, to which I said she was a lying sack. (I was just teasing her, as I know she is a very honest woman and I am sure she got me the game after she got over 600 points on her game just to watch me try and beat her score, knowing I probably wouldn't.)

Anyway, a couple of nice features is the game displays the score, if any, of the current dice configuration as you move across the screen to decide where to best put your roll total. The game also allows you to turn the sound off as the noise of the electronic dice 'rolling' does become annoying after awhile. And the game will save the highest score in memory for as long as the single AAA battery lasts.

Favorite airplane entertainment
I've had my handheld Yahtzee game for years and it still works great. I've never had to replace the batteries. You can play this game like a zombie for hours and before you know it you're at your destination! ... Read more

Reviews (62)

Worth every penny!!
I think the game is a great value! I mean for the price you can't go wrong. At first the joystick felt a little arkward while playing pac-man, but now I'am use to it. I also would have preferred that the reset button be on the side or back of the console because I find myself hitting it by mistake. But overall... I think it's the next best thing to the original arcade version. After Pac-Man, my next favorite game is Dig Dug and playing that game just brought back a lot of memories. It seems soooo authentic!! For the price I am so impressed. I only wish that Ms. Pac Man worked as well as Pac-Man. I was about to purchase Ms. Pac Man but after reading the reviews I think I'll wait until Namco comes out with a new and improved version.

80's flashback
Wow! This is so fun! It works so well and is so easy to install. This is fun for the whole family, we all love to play the games. Graphics are good, joystick works well. It reminds me of going to arcades when I was young...

Greatest Toy in Years
Its about time this was created, ITS the most Superb thing I have played in years.

really fun, don't forget the batteries
at first i wasn't sure about buying this toy, but i did, and i have absolutely no regrets about it. it cost me about 18 bucks, and i know that i would have spent WELL over 18 bucks if i'd played these games in the arcade as many times as i've played them at home. there was one game on there i'd never heard of (bosconian), but it turned out to be the best one. the only one i don't really like is galaxian, it's kind of boring. but the rest are great. it takes 4 aa batteries, and when they start to go dead the picture gets funny. the batteries are not included so don't forget to buy them like i did. i would recommend this toy to anyone who likes video games, and some people who normally don't. i gave it a couple stars for educational because video games help hand-eye coordination, etc, etc.

Fun as hell
Alot of people gave this guy bad reviews on it's shoddy quality. I don't know if I just got a good unit or not, but I've been playing this thing almost everyday since I got it a month ago and have had 0 problems. Not only have I not had to replace the batteries once (I guess these old games don't suck up much), but it's held up through my various slams and harsh playing styles. So, I guess I'd say..buy where you can return it (i.e. not on ebay), but don't hesitate purchasing it based on the bad reviews. ... Read more

EDITORIAL REVIEW

It may seem odd that a game could combine elements of Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, and grocery store shopping, but Skannerz does just this. Here’s how it works:All UPC symbols scanned into this device are converted into virtual monsters, some of which join your team voluntarily, some of which you must electronically defeat in order to conscript them. From there, you can play special games that train your monsters to become more powerful and compete against other players. We had some difficulty at first figuring out how to scan the items, and wouldn’t recommend this for younger children for whom the technology might be frustrating. --Charlie Williams ... Read more

Reviews (11)

To HARD TO USE
Well I got my Skannerz for Christmas And EVRYTHING I scan Comes out nothing ...

Commander has more problems than the old Skannerz
My son had a blue Skannerz but didn't like that he could only collect certain monsters so he saved his money to get the new Commander version that he expected to be better than the old one. But the new one has more problems than the old ones so we ended up returning it. Battling on the Commander is VERY different from the original and complete instructions are NOT included in the manual. The manual says they are on the website but they aren't there either. When I emailed Customer support, all they did was send me a copy of the tiny manual that came with the game. As far as we could figure out, you have to wait for a counter to go up to a certain number and hope to hit the button at the exact time. The only numbers that they tell you to wait for in the manual are either your monster's number or the opponent monster's number. It says other numbers do other things but doesn't tell you which numbers or what they do! It doesn't tell you which items you can collect or what they do. The outside of the package advertises that there are 126 new monsters. But they don't tell you that you only have enough space to collect 53 of them. My son loves the idea behind the games so if Radica can just get it together on providing a decent product launch, he would be happy.

super
I couldn't put my toy down for days after I recieved it. This is my favorite toy ever!

Fun, probably worth $20
My 7 year old LOVES this toy. The first one we got did not work at all but we exchanged it for one that did.

Not every UPC has a monster in it - maybe one in 20. But it's exciting when you get a monster. He had trouble understanding the directions for battle on his own but once I read them (a few times!) and explained them, he's been winning most battles and enjoying it.

It's nice to have at the store and we find UPCs on everything now. If it was more than $... I would say don't buy it, because I can see him getting tired of it soon and I'm not the only one to have had a problem with one, but for $... he's had a blast.

I agree, any kid younger than a bright 7 year old could scan the monsters in but would not be good at understanding the battles, etc. Still, it's a fun gadget.

Poor product; poor customer service
Bought the original scanner as a gift for my son. No one in our family was ever able to get it to scan even a test bar code from the manual. And Radica's customer service was basically non-existant. I really expected them to go out of business since they wouldn't respond to phone calls or emails for support, so I'm surprised to see they have a new product out.

I don't recommend buyng products from this company. ... Read more