Working to take the hustle out of your holiday bustle!

Working to take the hustle out of your holiday bustle!
Working to take the hustle out of your holiday bustle!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Redakai Championship Tin Review


Introducing Redakai...a 3-D trading card game like no other!  Redakai uses the characters and setting of an animated series of the same name that recently debuted on the Cartoon Network.  Since I am no expert in trading card games, I called in my 9 year old nephew, Luke, to help.  He loves Bakugan, so I knew this would be right up his alley.


Right off, he LOVED that the cards were in 3-D.  He just thought this was the coolest effect ever.  Luke also liked the animation of the cards once you start stacking them during play.  It was so much easier to keep track of damage, power upgrades and character status because the cards do all the work for you.  Each time you stack a card, you know exactly where you stand in the game.  This is great for people like me who know that each time I play Bakugan with Luke, he keeps track of the points and I always wind up losing!

In Redakai, the cards are referred to as “X-Drives”. Every character and monster X-Drive features Spin Master's Blast 3D technology – 3D images that move as the X-Drive is moved by the player. Attack X-Drives also feature images that animate to illustrate the attack.

In Redakai, the basic concept is that a player is trying to eliminate the character controlled by the opponent.  If you do this, you win the game.  There are two versions of the game, the basic version and the advanced version.  A description of the basic version is below.  If you want to find out more about the advanced game, you will have to get a set and play it yourself!

In the basic game, each player starts with one character.  When it is your turn, you draw a card from your deck, then play it immediately. The card types are monster, which are played on your own character to boost defenses and heal damage, and attack, which are played on the opponent's character. A character can have defenses in three colors – green, red, blue – and if an attack is stronger than a character's defense in that attacks color, then the attack hits and damages the character.

The cards are transparent and they stack on top of each other during play. A character's health is shown by three damage zones right on the card  When all of three of these damage zones turn red, by playing one or more attacks on that character, then the character is eliminated. An attack can also cover up and remove a character's defense, while monsters can boost defenses and cover red damage zones with yellow ones, thus healing the character.

Redakai Championship Tin with Cards set comes with an Introduction, Game Directions, and a Glossary of Terms for the game.  This was a big help to get the game started.  Also included are 43 X-Drive Cards, 3 Character Bays, 1 Card Screen with Kairu Counter, and 1 Draw Deck.The first series of cards will contain more than 100 cars and will cost from $5.99 to $29.99 for cards, action figures and accessories.  It is recommended for ages 6 and up.




SpinMaster Provided me with the item above in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Monday, September 26, 2011

New Squinkies Boy's Review

Squinkies are back and better than ever! Blip Toys now has a line of Squinkies geared for the little man of the house. In case you don't know what Squinkies are...they are soft, squishy mini-figures that kids all over are collecting. Available are animals, princesses, cars, etc. Squinkies come in a little plastic bubble, a smaller version of the big plastic bubbles that come out of a vending machine with a surprise inside. Kids can also get a line of accessories and playsets to accompany thier collection of Squinkies.
Skull Cavern Playset


A cool new Playset is the Squinkies Skull Cavern Dispenser Playset. It is like a traditional style gum ball dispenser. All you have to do is load your Squinkies in the top, insert magic Squinkies coin, or you can use a nickel or dime, and turn the dial for a Squinkies to come rolling out!

This playset is really cool. Not only can you store up to 20 Squinkies, but it dispenses them too. The Skull Cavern Playset also opens up for additional play. Included is 6 themed Squinkies characters and 4 magic coins.

Squinkies Rides

Squinkies Rides are mini-dispensers shaped like vehicles that have places to display and interact with your Squinkies. I love that you can store all three characters in their bubbles inside the dispenser when play is done.


Squinkies Xtreme Ride features a cool half-pipe with 3 skater "dudes".


Squinkies Low Ride features a "tricked out street racer with 2 street fighters and their trusty bull dog".

Squinkies Space Ride features a "futuristic spaceship with 2 astronauts and an awesome alien".



Squinkies Tuff Ride features a "heavy-duty tank with 3 soldiers armed and ready for combat."

Squinkies Bubble Packs


Squinkies Cars 2 Bubble Pack - Series 2: If you love the movie Cars, you will love Cars Squinkies! In this Cars Squinkies Bubble Pack, you will find all your favorite characters from the movie including Lightning McQueen, Mater, Guido, and more!


Squinkies Hot Wheels Bubble Pack - Series 2: Calling all Hot Wheels fans! Race around with the all-new, very cool Squinkies Hot Wheels cars. These are the perfect cars to race around or to trade with friends.

Marvel Universe Bubble Pack - Series 2: This is the ultimate Squinkies Bubble Packs for boys! You will find all of your favorite super heros and villains from the Marvel Universe!

Squinkies Bubble Pack Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3

"New Squinkies Bubble Packs themed just for boys! Featuring robots, ninjas, aliens and more. Grab your favorite Squinkies and battle ‘em. Roll the dice for super attacks, but don’t let your crew get knocked out or you lose! Squinkies Boys:
Compete. Combat. Collect."


Blip Toys provided me with the items above in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% mine.