Editorial Review

Made by Fisher-Price, this electronic learning system is comprised of an InteracTV DVD, which you insert into your home DVD player; a controller; and activity cards based on popular children's television shows. Plug an activity card into the controller, and games and activities featuring that show will appear on the TV screen. Nine touch points let kids interact with the characters, in lessons covering numbers, colors, animals, and more. Cards contain more than 100 learning questions and activities, posed randomly. This model comes with three activity cards--SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, and Elmo's World--as well as a storage case to hold the cards and the DVD. A switch on the controller enables you to use the system on up to three different DVD players--say, in multiple rooms, or at relatives' houses. --Andy Boynton ... Read more

Reviews (6)

good toy but needs work
My three year old just recieved this toy for his birthday, and I was a little worried that he was not going to be able to work it on his own. To my amazment he picked it up, and began playing. Some of the screens that it wants you to interact with are a little advanced for him, but it helps you along the way. My only complaint is getting it to work with your dvd player. We went out and bought a new dvd player for him, and we have tried everything to get it to work. When we moved it to another dvd player it works fine! The directions for quick set up were anything but easy. I think the manufactor needs to work on this toy, but it is a good idea!!!

Excellent
My daughter just received this for her third birthday and all she wants to do is play with it. She is really practicing her numbers and paying attention to what is happening so she can find the right answer. Money well spent.

fun and educational
I bought this for my daughter who loves all of the characters that are featured on the trial DVD. She just loves it. She sits for an hour playing all of the games. She is 3yrs old and can put the DVD in and start the game on her own. The sensor is able to reach the DVD player from various locations in our living room. Interac TV is very fun and educational!! I am very glad that I purchased it. We will be buying them for other children that we know for Christmas.

Not impressed either
We received this toy as a gift for our 2 year old. It didn't work correctly, as the buttons on the right upper portion were not functional. After much frustration between our 2 year old, 3 year old and both parents and grandparents, we took the toy back to Target to Exchange for a 'working' toy. Got it home, just to find that it was less functional than the first toy we had. Now, the kids don't even want to play with it, and don't want another one. Much mental anguish, and we don't even know who to contact directly to let them know that this product is dysfunctional.

Not impressed
We bought this for our 4 yr old's birthday. We're wishing we would've saved our money & gotten something else that works better. Everytime you start up the device, it acts as if you have to reprogram it all over again (you're supposed to only have to program it once for each DVD player in the home). A couple of times, we HAVE had to reprogram it, which is time consuming & frustrating. This confuses our child & she has lost interest in it, really quick. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Our favorite toy
My 2 year old son was first introduced to this toy at our Montessori class...he was hooked immediately!!! It was easy for him to figure out how to put the pieces together and attach the gears (he loved being able to do all of this himself as opposed to other gear toys where most of the building is already done for you) He sat and happily played with this fantastic toy for almost an hour before we had to leave. The learning possibilities of this toy are immmense as is the "fun value". With no "bells and whistles" this toy ranks very high on our list of toys due to the fact that our son has complete creative control...it's all up to him. All in all, it's a fantastic toy that we highly recomend.

Almost perfect...
My son received this toy for Christmas, and we gave one to our niece. The verdict is that it is almost, but not quite, perfect.

The toy is a set of interlocking squares of various colors that are perforated to hold a four-pronged hub that can support one of four sizes of gears. Everything is made of a durable plastic that has some flex to it. You can create systems of gears that spin around and even construct things like gearboxes. (The cover of the box--shown above--will give you a simple idea of what can be done.) There is a manual aimed at parents that helps them teach their child how gears work, too--a nice touch.

The quality of the toy is high: the colorful stickers for the gears are plastic coated, the injection-molded pieces are free from excess plastic, and the pieces fit together solidly. It's everything you would want from a European-made toy. (Quercetti, the manufacturer, is based in Italy and the toy is actually made there.)

It's a mesmerizing little toy and its variability is virtually endless. There are other kits in the Gear line that include such things as universal joints and 3-D parts, so it is highly expandable, even as your child ages.

My quibble? Our three year old niece adores the toy, but our three year old son only plays with it in fits. Truth be told, I play with it more than my son does. So as with anything, your mileage may vary.

It's nice that toys like this one are still being made. There's a lot of learning that can occur with it, too. Factor in the expandability and how can you go wrong?

Now if only I could get my son to join me more while I'm playing with it!

Bit tough for little hands to put together, but beautiful...
The base pieces of this toy are a bit stiff for my kids' little hands to put together. Also, the pegs that hold the gears onto the base are a bit tricky, but will build good fine motor skills if not discarded in frustration. I was just as entranced by this toy as they were as we played with it together for the first time. The brightly colored decals are trippy and fun. And learning that gears transfer energy they supply to move other gears of various sizes "on down the line" is... priceless. *grin*

we can go earlier
My daughter has always been drawn to visual spatial toys and loves playing with gears. She started getting independent with this around 3 years of age. I love the Discovery toy version as well.

Kaleido Gears Review
Originally purchased for our 5 year-old granddaughter, this toy is a little above her developmental stage, and apparently above her grandparents as well! She and we became frustrated in trying to fit the white gear connectors to the gear pieces, and then attaching the coupled piece onto the frame. Our 8 and 11 year-old granddaughters, however, love it and fight over playing with it! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Great "old style" toy.
Thought the toys I had as a child were lost forever, however this one comes very close! Solid tin box with very happy looking clown and the obligatory "pop goes the weasel"! My daughter loves it.

My Son's New Favorite Toy
My son LOVES this toy. He is 2 1/2 and it only took him a time or two to figure out how to get Jack back in the box by himself. He plays with it all the time, and never fails to get excited when Jack jumps out at him. You don't have to completely finish the song to get jack back in, you just have to make sure the song finishes the "pop" note. The music is a very traditional music box sound, and not annoying in the least. We suspected he would love a jack in the box, and had trouble finding one that worked well. This one is fantastic.

Love it and leave it
This is a great toy...for a small amount of time. After a minute or two my son gets bored of it because it only does one thing and only plays one tune. Not great for younger kids because jack is hard to get back into the box and I think the young ones will have a hard time (sometimes I have a hard time...lol). Not worth the money I spent on it, but still a fun toy...and a classic.

Great, Old Fashioned Fun!
This toy has a beautiful look and is very sturdy---made of metal, not plastic. The music sounds wonderful and both our sons love it! So do we---Mom and Dad! We are very happy with this toy, there is no other like it. Made the old fashioned way---to last. Bright colors and such a cute clown. I have not seen one like this since I was a little girl---many years ago! Well worth the money spent. Get one!

there is a trick to getting it to "reload" that is too hard
In order to put jack back in the box it must be in between songs. If you try to relatch it once the music has begun it doesn't work. That is clearly stated in the instructions but is very difficult for a one or a two year old to understand.

I feel that the kids who enjoy this the most are babies through age two. The sad thing is that the "reloading" of Jack is nearly impossible for these aged children. Even when they "get" how to push Jack down, hold him there, close the lid and snap the tiny latch, they have difficulty stopping the music at the exact point in which "reloading" is possible. All kids I've seen use it love to continue to wind the crank and make the music continue.

Perhaps they could redesign it so that the music won't play until Jack is back in the box. Then the kids would understand when to put Jack back in the box.

I bought this when my first born was one year old and he loved the toy but became frustrated with putting Jack back in the box.
The challenge with "reloading" extended to my second child and for every child-visitor. Frustration abounds! The only way to successfully use this with the very young to avoid tantrums is for the adult to sit with the child and help them as they need it. When they were very young and most-upset about this, I put it on a high shelf until the next time.

When my first turned three he finally "got it" and was able to play with it by himself.

The beauty of this is that it has a classic look. Other jack in the boxes I've seen have TV characters on them or other non-traditional characters. Also I like the "Pop goes the weasel" tune. I have seen others with different songs and even with electronic sounding music---YUCK!

We've owned this for over 4 years and it has not broken yet. The paint is in very good shape, it is not peeling from some defect (as others have reported). Most times now it is not stuck on a high shelf, so it is played with often. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Great in theory
I sent this to my daughter for my grandson's first birthday. She returned it and emailed me this comment: "I did return the pound-a-ball. It looked great, but the balls were impossible to pound through. You couldn't do it unless you had the strength of an adult. The hammer was the coolest part, but was useless for getting the balls in, and then when they went down they always took the same track and didn't really move any of the other things inside much." So live and learn.

A slight let-down
We based our purchase of this toy on the feedback previous listed. The toy appears durable and my son does enjoy it, but there are some things forcing us to reconsider our purchase. The balls really need to be pounded for them to go down the holes - my son can't do it yet and it takes my wife and I an above average hit. The balls have also got stuck en route down on occasion - and we haven't had it a month. Unless you believe your child really wants this, your $20 may be better spent elsewhere.

Still fun
We bought this for my son for Christmas when he was 18 months old and he still loves it (8 months later). All of his friends love it too. He has a plethora of toys, but still pulls this one out daily. Some of the previous reviews mentioned that the tubes were pretty tight and almost difficult for the little one's to pound, so we passed the balls through the tubes a few dozen times before we gave him the gift. It helped and the toy was a hit. This toy has helped with eye-hand coordination as well as color identification. I would definitely recommend this toy.

My boys love this toy!!
We don't have this exact one, but we have an extreemly similar one and my boys absolutely love it. They are 2 1/2 and 1 yrs old. They love to watch the balls roll through the maze and see how fast they can hit them all down. it is amazing how simple toys can occupy little kids. I try to make it educational for my 2 yr old by helping him put the red ball through the red hole, green in the green hole, etc. It truly is a fun toy!

No batteries required
This is a fun toy. My kids love pounding the balls and watching them fall through the maze. My concern before purchasing this was other toys getting stuck inside, but so far we have been able to shake out anything that gets inside. The balls and hammer store nicely for easy storage. Best of all it does not require batteries and is not constantly making beeps and whistles. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Cute, but tiny and flimsy
I recently purcashed this cart for my daughter for her 5th birthday. While very cute, the cart is way too small for a child over 2 and VERY flimsy. I would not purchase it again. I expect it to break any day. (We've only had it a week.)

Not sturdy; falls apart
The front kept popping off of our cart. Finally after a year of replacing it over and over the plastic connecting piece on one side broke off, making the cart useless because it had no front. The separate seat for a baby doll is cute, though.

Great fun but falls apart
My two year old absolutely would not leave the store without this and she still plays with it a year later. However, there are two problems. One, it immediately needed repair to the basic connections and, two, it has a pinching hazard between the basket and the frame. But of course, my daughter never noticed either of those. She simply loves to play with it, constantly, and has to take it on walks around the block.

Cute and fun but not sturdy
My daughter received this for her Bday, and it gets played with just about everyday. But it tips over easily, and younger children need to be closely supervised with it. It came with a nice assortment of play food and money, but I'm not sure I would have bought this one myself.

Cool Cart!!
This cart is very good!It has a lot of space and you can even put a doll in the front!!!I can never stop playing with it with our cash register!It comes with play food that you could put in the cart!I like it!!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (8)

This is a very fun toy...
This is the best toy I have ever gotten. I got it for my B-Day and I loved it right away. This toy is kind of pricey but it is fun. It is a very durable toy. It is great!!!!!

Great Product-just a little dissapointing- but a MUST HAVE!!
Sorry forgot to log in :(
Ok, i got my Deluxe on X-Mas (thanks,mom!) and i was in the basement with my bro, rdy to have a war. He won, then i, and so forth. later, when it was warm out, we played autside. We realised we couldnt hit crap! So, I bought this scope. On the car-ride home, i opened it, and noticed the scope didnt even zoom in! I thought ' what a waste of 10$'. So, i put it to the test. Amazed as I was, it EASLY improved my accuracy about 70-90%! I was amazed! Now, for all u llto people, u need this for the deluxe ( i heard it wasnt as much needed for the irx-2x (whatever its called)). Anyway, if ur looking for a zoom scope, buy one of those plastic toy ones, cut of 1 end, and tape it on ur gun. But, this is great for me :).

Great Product- just a bit dissapointing-But a MUST HAVE!
Ok, i got my Deluxe on X-Mas (thanks,mom!) and i was in the basement with my bro, rdy to have a war. He won, then i, and so forth. later, when it was warm out, we played autside. We realised we couldnt hit crap! So, I bought this scope. On the car-ride home, i opened it, and noticed the scope didnt even zoom in! I thought ' what a waste of 10$'. So, i put it to the test. Amazed as I was, it EASLY improved my accuracy about 70-90%! I was amazed! Now, for all u llto people, u need this for the deluxe ( i heard it wasnt as much needed for the irx-2x (whatever its called)). Anyway, if ur looking for a zoom scope, buy one of those plastic toy ones, cut of 1 end, and tape it on ur gun. But, this is great for me :).

Useful Acessories
If you own, (or going to own), a Lazer Tag team ops, this acessorie kit is a must. Before buying this pack, I often had trouble knowing when I had got hit.The Tunder Pack, which is included in this set, clears that up.It vibrates when you have been hit, which is a cue for you to run into hiding.The scope is very good.It's hilarious to be able to snipe someone from 250+ feet away, and havethem looking all around in confusion. I garuntee this set won't let you down.

accessory
This accessory kit is awesome! The scope helps you so much during a game. I used to lose to my brother every single game. In the first game after I got the scope I beat him without losing a single tag. The thunder pack also works good as you know when you are firing and when you hit someone else. ... Read more