Editorial Review

This is part of a series of detailed, diorama-like environments based on locations from the Simpsons television series. This Moe’s Tavern, like all the environments, is designed to interact with Simpson figures: when you stand them in various spots around the environment, thanks to the Intelli-Tronic Voice Activation System, they speak lines of dialogue. The Duff Man figure included with this environment, for example, cries out "Are you ready to get Duffed?" when you put his foot over just the right spot behind the bar. There are two other "talking points" in the bar that prompt other lines. The tavern itself is detailed, right down to the beer spout and television mounted in the corner (tuned to a channel showing that Mexican bee guy.)The Duff Man comes with cans of Duff mounted all around his belt, can move his arms up and down, swivel his neck, and grip the included mug of frosty brew. Requires 3 AA batteries (included). --David Stoesz ... Read more

Reviews (10)

The Best Simpsons Toy Out There (FOR ADULTS!!!)
My husband and I LOVE the Simpsons. This show is not necessarily for kids and I don't think it is marketed for young kids. It DOES NOT promote drinking or alcoholism. If you've ever seen the episode with Duff Man featured, you'll know that Barney wasn't drinking because he was the designated driver that night. Simpsons is an intelligent cartoon for adults. Duff Man is a fun character is that off the charts. If you love Moe's, you need this toy for your collection. (Parents need to understand that just because it's a cartoon doesn't always mean it's for kids' viewing! Ex: South Park!!)

Show the Drunkards Love Not Motherly War
Anyone with an ounce of brain KNOWS that this collectible is NOT for children and has real arrogance to post a review shunning Moe's bar for having "adult-like" humor. If your so worried about having your child exposed to alcoholism then here's a suggestion: dont buy this product. It's not like your child, who is banned from watching the Simpson's anyway, will single-handedly go out of his/her way to get this product. If anything..Moe's bar demotes alcohol..with it's trashy/unkempt look and sarcastic remarks pointing to the nastiness of the place. You worrying babblers are not in control of society or how "open" other parents are to their children. The Simpsons and this toy are not harming society, they arent causing kids to take up drinking..they are bringing laughs to Simpsons fans and collectors everywhere. I am 13, my brother is 10, and my parents watch the Simpsons with us. We've started a new tradition of putting up the different Simpson toy environments and decorating our little Springfield with Christmas trees and lights every Christmas. It brings our family closer together..and that is of course what matters..Right?

The Worst Toy Idea Ever!
When I first came across this offering I thought it was a joke. What kind of person would promote this product--certainly not a parent trying to raise a responsible and thoughtful child.
I have an idea--how about a drunk tank to put li'l Homer in after his DUI conviction, or maybe an emergency room for when he blacks out and crashes his car!

Not helping society...
How amazing is it that a toy promotes the humor of drinking? Nothing good ever comes from alcohol, and that message is not being made by such a toy. I used to enjoy the Simpson's but I would NEVER allow my child to watch it, partly because of the Bar scenes and poor examples elsewhere in its humor. Kids are not capable of viewing that humor and NOT seeing it as a role model for what to do in life, and we ALL (whether we have kids or not) need to take responsbility in this realiziation.
Now, a play action toy comes out and some think it is OK because it wasn't really MEANT for children, yet there is an age 5 and up clearance on it. We need to tell our children to avoid alcohol and all associated with frequenting the bar scene, not market kids and TRAIN them to act out the worst of our society. In my opinion, only a poor parent would buy such a toy for a child. Hey kids..."" ARE YOU READY TO GET DUFFED??!!""

Not marketed to kids.
To the person who was horrified beyond reason that this was marketed to kids, I would like to point out that this playset was not sold to standard toy store retail outlets but was originally released by Playmates as an exclusive to Diamond Select. Diamond Select is a comic distribution outfit that primarily supplies comic book stores and other outlets that primarily target an adult audience.
Playmates did this to avoid kneejerk reactions of purient minds who might beleive that a bar playset should not exist. Come on! It's Moe's Bar, a very frequently used locale from one of the best cartoon shows ever. Collectors have been DYING to get their hands on this! Playmates' fear of reactions like yours are exactly why this almost didn't get release and why this playset costs so much. This same sort of close minded attitude about toys/collectibles is why we'll never see a Balrog figure from the Lord of the Rings movies. I'd like to recommend the Care Bears and My Little Pony playsets for you, instead of looking at a cutting edge license like The Simpsons.
As for why Toys R Us is now carrying this item, I don't know why Diamond Select would basically backstab Playmates original intentions by turning around and selling their specialty store exclusive to a regular family oriented toy store. Nice going guys! ... Read more

Editorial Review

It is poetic in a way that these figures of Bill and Marty, the only known DJs on Springfield’s KBBL radio station, are not compatible with other Simpsons’ "intellitronic" play sets. Because in the world of the Simpsons, these two would be completely out of place anywhere but the comfort of their own wacky morning show. Figures of Bill and Marty are included here (we hesitate to call them "action figures," since they don’t appear to get much exercise or sunlight), along with a set of the KBBL studio. When the guys have been placed in their designated spots, push a button to hear wince-inducing FM radio clichés like "Well, hot dog, we have a wiener!" and "Nobody rocks like Bill & Marty on KBBL!" As delightfully clueless as Bill and Marty are, the real star is the radio station set. It includes plenty of details that are sure to thrill faithful fans, including a play list calling for Mr. Funky and the Springfieldians. --Charlie Williams ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Not One Of Your Better Playsets
Sure, It's Ideal for any die-hard simpsons fan, but these interactive environments usually interact with other simpsons figures.This one does not work with any figures except for the two that it comes with

for the price listed, why not?
I've got just about all of the Simpson's Interactive figures but I held off on purchasing Bill and Marty until the price came down. Now that I've got them with the rest of the sets, I'm surprised that Amazon was able to keep them in stock for so long--their hillarious.

Simpsons Disc Jockeys get their own set!
While not a playmates product these figures have hilarious phrases and fit well with the other characters. Any Simpson's fan who works in or loves radio will appreciate this tongue in cheek set. Durability seems equal to Playmates sets. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

You Haven't Played This? Why Not???
Even if you have no idea what a German game is, or why a name like Reiner Knizia is important, this is a great, original and fun game. If you think this is just another attempt to make money from the cash cow that Tolkien's works have become, you're dead wrong.

Even if you're already a boardgaming veteran you've probably not seen mechanics like this very often. Instead of competing against each other, players must cooperate as the Fellowship to destroy the one ring before Sauron destroys them all. Sometime this means a player must sacrifice him/herself for the benefit of everyone in the game. Amazingly, it works and even players who get eliminated feel as if they contributed to something worthwhile (and in many cases stay very focused on the outcome of the game, as they have a vested interest in seeing the Fellowship survive). The game is even fun with two players - but be warned that the difficulty ramps up quite a bit when the Fellowship is so small.

The components are impressive and are endowed with the great John Howe's artwork. There are no movie images to be found here - which may depress or delight you, but it does add to the sense that this game holds its own without needing to resort to pandering.

Does the game have any educational value? Hmmmm...I dunno about that one. I suppose it could encourage older kids to value cooperation a bit more than they usually do, and any kid who hasn't been enthralled by Tolkien's work might have a nice introduction with this game, but the ultimate goal here is to have a good time - not necessarily to educate.

As close to the book as you can get.
If you are a Lord of the Rings purest who objected to the movies this game is for you.

This game faithfully follows the books forcing you to team up to face the Dark Lord and destroy the ring.

A VERY hard game to beat, so hard that a special sheet is included to fill out if you win (our group has only managed to do it once)

As you face the dangers of your trek the ring slowly corrupts you and Sauron gets closer and closer most likely not all the hobbits who leave the Shire will make it to Moria alive.

It is hard to review this game since I purchased the Expansions with it at the same time so I haven't played it without them. The Expansions add so much to the game they should be purchased at once, however even without them this game stands up on its own quite well and the artwork is superb!

Worth your time and money but don't lose your temper when it takes you months to win.

Cooperative solitaire with lovely art and a classic theme.
In LotR, the board game, Kniza has done a masterful job of creating a form of team-solitaire. The many players compete not against each other, but against the game itself. Luck, familiarity, planning, and team communication are all important.

The game is difficult: while "winning" is defined in the game, it's far more common to come close but sputter out most of the way to the finish line. (At this point, you record how far you made it on the provided roster and try again!)

There are a couple problems with the game: First, while the rules are simple, the rulebook is easy to misread in a few places. If it seems like the game is too easy or too hard, you've probably misread one of the rules. The other problem is that one player who knows the game much better than the rest can get frustrated. There's nothing to stop an expert at the game from bossing around neophyte teammates. If the neophytes want to win, they'd do well to heed the expert's advice, even. The 'Sauron' expansion set fixes this problem.

On the whole, this is a good game. The production values are excellent, with beautiful art and pleasing props. The rules are simple enough to teach a youngster, yet the game is challenging enough to intrigue an adult. A good addition to any game-player's library.

A fantastic group game... challenging and loads of fun.
I almost didn't give it 5 stars. Why didn't I? Bitterness. Yes, I'm bitter because my wife and I have attempted the two player game as Frodo and Sam FIVE times and have NOT yet won once!! (I'm AM grinning as I write this, in case you're wondering...)

It's okay. I'll get over it. It may be tough for two players... but it's still fun to lose the game WITH my wife, rather that try to compete against her. We HAVE, however, successfully destroyed the One Ring in three, four, and five player games. It's really a neat experience to play a game in which a group has to cooperate with each other in order to win TOGETHER rather than compete in order to... well... destroy everyone else.

This game combines many elements of group strategy with some elements of luck (i.e. mostly in wondering which tile you're about to turn over). It really seems to capture a bit of the feeling that Sam and Frodo must have felt as they struggled to Mordor. (My wife and I felt it today as the game pummeled us relentlessly... talk about bad luck in this case. Whew.)

Grab a group of four or five friends - a larger group is better since each player/Hobbit has a special "ability" to add to the group/Fellowship. Be patient, plan carefully, talk about strategies, and just have a great time.

Good cooperative fun with a strong theme
There are plenty of good games out there, and some cooperative ones, but good cooperative games that don't take forever to play are hard to come by. This is one.

I've seen complaints that the rules are hard to understand. I'd like to clarify that a little. If you just open up the rules and read them by themselves, they ARE hard to understand. That's okay. Just follow the setup instructions at the front of the rulebook first. THEN read the rules, looking often at the board & other components, and it all starts to make sense; in fact, virtually everything about the game is very cleverly designed. The only question that I haven't yet found an answer to is when, exactly, the event tiles are supposed to be reshuffled (I think after each location is complete is probably the best time, but it could be that you're supposed to wait until they run out; I'm just not sure).

The basic ideas aren't that difficult. On your turn, you turn up tiles until you get a good one (suffering the consequences of the bad along the way) and then you either play one or two cards to advance the group, or you recover by drawing two cards or healing yourself one space on the Corruption track (as the game progresses, the Hobbits and Sauron advance toward each other on this track, and if a Hobbit and Sauron meet, the Hobbit dies). There are four location boards: Moria, Helm's Deep, Shelob's Lair, and Mordor, each with several tracks; on each board, one of the tracks is the "main" track, and you advance to the next when it is complete - or when time runs out, with nasty consequences ranging from the moderately bad "Fly, you fools" in Moria to "The Ring is MINE!" in Mordor, ending the game as Sauron recovers the Ring. That said, there are great benefits to advancing the secondary tracks as well; if you concentrate solely on the main one, you'll never make it TO Mordor, let alone through it.

At every turn, there are meaningful decisions to be made. Adding to the tension, you never know how much time you have to achieve important results (such as obtaining Eowyn's help before the Lord of the Nazgul arrives - which, by the way, is very hard to do - or getting the Riders of Rohan to reinforce Helm's Deep before it is too late). You can go from being in good condition to in deep trouble in a heartbeat with a few bad tile draws, and that goes double in Mordor. You also need to actively cooperate with the other Hobbits, or you may find yourself half way to Mordor and all your friends have expired, leaving you too weak to get to Mount Doom and dunk the ring. Particularly, make sure you DON'T take all of one type of life token, because anyone who is missing a certain type at the end of a location board moves toward Sauron on the Corruption track. There are also many opportunities for a player to make a sacrifice to prevent something bad from happening to the entire group.

The game has three built-in difficulty levels (you just start Sauron in a different space on the Corruption track, to give you more or less leeway), and the difficulty also varies depending on the number of players. I suspect three, four, and five are probably not dramatically different in difficulty, but I got the distinct impression that the game is much more difficult with only two. There is also a competitive variant, but a lot of cooperation is still required.

Although the box says the game is intended for players 12 and up, I think that with a well-behaved player to lead (in other words, one who won't just order the others around but will actively involve them in the decision making; you might want to play with all cards face up instead of hidden as the rules say), younger children could easily play and have fun, IF they are prepared to cooperate. I played tonight with my (very smart) four year old daughter, and although she certainly didn't understand everything that was going on, she had the basic ideas down and volunteered to take just about every hit imaginable to help. She also LOVED rolling the die (which is a punishment of sorts - you roll to see just what bad thing befalls you in many situations; you may take one to three points of damage, advance Sauron one space, discard two cards, or nothing), so it was fortunate she drew Sam, as each Hobbit has a special ability and Sam's is that he never suffers more than one point of damage from a die roll. We ended up one space from Mount Doom when Sauron seized the ring, and we had a great time. As an added bonus, she asked a ton of questions about the background, from why we were trying to destroy the ring to why Sauron was so powerful (I've rated it up for educational because it has sparked my daughter's interest in the books; I'm pretty sure that as soon as she's able, she'll want to read them).

I highly recommend the game. It's not only a very good game, but the theme ties in very well. It's not just a random game with a theme pasted on - there was a lot of thought given to the events, like the final event in Moria called "Fly, you fools!" where one player can take a big hit (three points of damage) or everyone can roll the die and suffer the consequences. It's pretty much a no-brainer to decide that SOMEBODY should take the three hits (except with only two players, where it is arguable), but who will volunteer? That's just one of the ways the game makes the players put the overall quest above themselves - even if your Hobbit dies, you still win with everybody else if the ring is destroyed. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

it doesn't stand up!
the figure looks great, but Hawkman is horribly unbalanced and simply doesn't stand up for any length of time. it's incredibly frustrating.

Not just your father's action figure
I'm guilty. Yes, I am a collector, but experience, age, and (the lack of) funds have taught me to be particular about what I add to my collection. Hawkman from the Kingdom Come series flew from the shelf and into my collection the moment I picked up the box. He fulfilled every criteria and then some. His body is beautifully sculpted without exaggerated muscles or posing. The hawk head and feet add a touch of realism despite their improbability. This figure is coming out of the box to be prominiently displayed. Take my word for it - No picture does this figure justice.

A balancing act
Say hello to Northwind - that's this guy's real handle... No, this isn't a mutated Carter Hall, it's an entirely different character. I guess at some point Carter chose to pass the torch...

Anyway. The figure has more detail that you can throw a mace at, including a non-removable amulet on a VERY FRAGILE CHAIN!! Careful with the spear too - it is flexible enough to withstand SOME abuse, but bend it too far and it'll snap.

Standing this guy up is a challenge. He leans forward a lot (as a bird should, I guess). The only parts of him that articulate are wings, neck and shoulders... and the wings are HEAVY. You will have to position them "just so" in order to counterbalance the forward lean of the figure. After that he stands up just fine... AS LONG AS the wings are in the same position. Definitely a display piece (just like the rest of KC figures), and a very good one.

Looks great but handle with care!
This figure looks great but be very careful handling the spear. I was putting it in his hand and it broke! I guess I wasn't careful enough because I expected it to bend not snap! The articulation isn't very good but the wings move which was a nice surprise. He leans forward just a bit too far making him a little hard to balance. That's what you need the spear for!

Awesome
I have heard so many people whinning about these figures, I bought the full line & opened up & displayed them. THATS WHAT THERE FOR!!! they are awesome, great sculpts & worth every penny. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Meet the new Angel of Death, the Saint of Killers
The Angel of Death gave him his job and sent him from Hell to find Jesse Custer and Genesis (not to mention the McCready gang that killed him and his wife), so just stay out of his way or you will end up dead. It is that simple. The Saint of Killers Action Figure from DC Direct presents the accursed lawman from the "Preacher" comic book series. This figure came out at the same time as the final "Preacher" storyline, "Alamo." The figure is just over 6 inches tall and features six points of articulation. The hat is removable but the holster is not. Saint of Killer can use either his six-shooter or a rifle. The orange outfit is just a bit too bright for my tastes but they did a nice job on the head. Like most of the DC Direct line Saint of Killers works a lot better as a display figure than an actual toy. Other "Preacher" figures from DC Direct include Jesse Custer, Cassidy, and Tulip. For fans of that particular series, these are are average figures to have up on your shelf. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Come on--ya know ya want it!
Do you remember tying a bath towel around your neck and jumping on the couch playing G-Force with your little brother? Well, now you can do it without the towel and without ruining the couch. (This matters because we're now the ones buying and cleaning the furniture...) As a confirmed G-Force fan, I have to admit to having the entire run of these action figures, and they're great. The details are terrific, right down to the facial features (they don't have generic action-figure faces--the BotP cast actually looks like themselves. And Keyop is very difficult to get right because of how cartoonish he is in the show--but they did him fine.) The figure is nice and solid in your hands, and when posed, it stands just fine by itself. Seriously, pick this one up. It's a fun trip down nostalgia lane. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Nice Snowglobe
Not the most popular of characters, Aquaman is still cool. Those who prefer the classic Aquaman, should enjoy this sculpt. The third and 6th or 7th in a series of snowglobes.
A nice design, this is a near flawless snwglobe.
Actually, there's really only one flaw in this entire snowglobe. It's a limited edition snowglobe. However, DC Direct decided to increase the production number, by rereleasing this snowglobe.
Thanks for nothing, DC.D.
Bottome Line. If you like Aquaman, you'll love this globe. If youre looking to buy it "for later on", forget it.
The Good: Classic Aquaman, on his throne. Nice design.
The Bad: A rereleasing of the same snowglobe just increased the number made, and, unless there's a good distinctive marking, it will be difficult to demonstrate which version it is.
Thanks a lot, DC. D ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Kltlpzyxm!
Superman's wacky enemy, Mr. Mxyzpltlk, makes for a great stuffy doll. The mischievous little imp from the 5th Dimension always makes for an interesting issue of Action Comics or Superman.

This is the Silver Age version, or Earth 1 if you prefer. Because of his diminutive nature and silly ways, he is perfect for transition to stuffed doll form. Perhaps it is a trap played by the imp himself, to disguise himself as a harmless child's toy!

Great companion to Bat-Mite. Good for kids to play with too. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Meet the new Angel of Death, the Saint of Killers
The Angel of Death gave him his job and sent him from Hell to find Jesse Custer and Genesis (not to mention the McCready gang that killed him and his wife), so just stay out of his way or you will end up dead. It is that simple. The Saint of Killers Action Figure from DC Direct presents the accursed lawman from the "Preacher" comic book series. This figure came out at the same time as the final "Preacher" storyline, "Alamo." The figure is just over 6 inches tall and features six points of articulation. The hat is removable but the holster is not. Saint of Killer can use either his six-shooter or a rifle. The orange outfit is just a bit too bright for my tastes but they did a nice job on the head. Like most of the DC Direct line Saint of Killers works a lot better as a display figure than an actual toy. Other "Preacher" figures from DC Direct include Jesse Custer, Cassidy, and Tulip. For fans of that particular series, these are are average figures to have up on your shelf. ... Read more