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Nerf N Strike Vulcan EBF 25 Blaster Yellow

The Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 gives you the auto-blasting advantage when you’re at foam-filled war with your friends and enemies. Children and adults ages 6 and up will love the EBF-25, the largest full auto blaster that Nerf makes. It lets you shoot 25 sonic micro darts at up to 3 darts per second for an offensive assault.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Machine gun-style Nerf gun fires multiple shots per second The Bad: The included 25 darts run out fast; gun is a bit too heavy for running around with In a Nutshell: A great addition to any Nerf artillery, the Vulcan EBF-25 provides an advantage thanks to the sheer force of shooting 25 darts in ten seconds At a Glance Ages: 6 and up Requires: 6 D batteries

This large, brightly colored Nerf gun shoots 3 darts per second.View larger.

25-shot belt feeds through the gun for a rapid-fire onslaught. View larger.

Full Auto Design Gives You a Quick-Firing Advantage
The first thing we noticed when we took the EBF-25 out of the box was how substantial it was. The gun itself was large, brightly colored in yellow and orange, and heavy enough for it to be a burden for quick missions; accessories included a tripod, ammobox, and ammobelt. The instruction booklet did a good job of describing the assembly process, which took about ten minutes. There is a handle that allows you to easily carry the gun around, but we would have appreciated a strap even more.

The darts are held inside an ammobox in a 25-shot belt, which is fed through the gun. You’ll feel like Rambo when you carry the gun, or sit it on its tripod for taking out enemies by the bucketload. After we’d installed the required six D batteries (not included), we pulled the trigger to see the gun work methodically through our belt of darts. It took only 10 seconds to blast through the included 25 darts, flinging them thirty feet across the room. We wished there were more darts included in the box since it seemed a bit silly that we needed to spend a few minutes to pick up the ammo, and then reload them onto the belt, after shooting for only about ten seconds. A refill pack can be purchased separately, which, we think, would be a wise investment if you want to effectively beat your enemies.

The gun also has a single-shot mode that lets you shoot with extra precision. Rather than battery powered, you have to pull back on a spring-loaded lever, and then use the trigger release lever to shoot the dart. In our experience, you can achieve a little bit more distance this way than with the auto-fire mode.

Tactical Rail System Allows for Fun Additions
The Vulcan EBF-25 features the Nerf Tactical Rail System, allowing it to use most N-Strike accessories, such as the night vision Tactical light accessory for night-time missions.

For those interested in Nerf-fights, the Vulcan EBF-25 should be in everyone’s artillery; the rapid-fire design gives players the advantage when engaging the enemy, and is ideal when it can be used on the back of a moving vehicle, or a stationary setting.

What’s in the Box
Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 gun, tripod, ammobox, ammobelt.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star terrible toy!
This toy does not work! The bullets jam, making it impossible to shoot even a few bullets much less a whole round… a serious bummer for a kid who saw the commercial way too many times. Save your money for something that works!

3 Stars The Tripod doesn’t work either.
Isn’t the tripod supposed to hold the weapon horizontally? It does no such thing – just tilts all the way back with no resistance until the pistol grip rests on the tabletop or floor. Kind of lame!

1 Star Worst purchase ever
Worst gun ever!!!!!!! at least after the first couple days. If possible, i wouldnt give it any stars. It jammed the first time I used it, and i had to fix it. It jammed at least 3 times when it started to work. It was awsome. I turned on the moter and it never worked again. Its been almost a year now and the stupid thing still dosnt work

If you get this (DO NOT GET THIS!!!!) never use the moter.

1 Star What a Letdown!
My son was looking forward to getting this Nerf Gun for his B-day w/his b-day money…I think it’s overpriced for what you get…just like the other comments made…the clip that holds all the nerf bullets jams in the chamber every time and takes all the fun out of the toy..do they not test their products….? This is obviously a manufacturing problem being there are alot of comments made concerning this same problem! My opinion is don’t spend your money on this Nerf gun..was a big disappointment for my son.

2 Stars Best of the best one day, lowest of the low the other
There have been many reviews of this gun. Some have described it as something from heaven, but there have been many that described it as the exact opposite. Personally, I agree with both. This is a something many people have been waiting for a very long time. Sadly, this one largest ripoffs yet! When you first try out the gun, it is exactly what you expect of an automatic gun. But after just one day, it breaks down. By that, I mean that it doesn’t feed any darts and won’t fire any darts. If you have one that’s still working after a long period, consider youselves lucky. With this economy, I doubt you’ll find any good quality Nerf guns.

Buy/More Info

Kid Toys Sports 000000, 999999, Adults Ages, Amazon, Auto Design, Darts, Ebf, Font Style, Friends And Enemies, Full Auto, Gun Fires, Gun Style, Helvetica Neue, Nerf Gun, Nerf N Strike, Offensive Assault, Rapid Fire, Serif Font, Sheer Force, Ten Seconds

Scrabble Diamond Anniversary Edition

Sixty has never looked so good! This Diamond Anniversary Edition Scrabble features sleek black and silver tiles, a rotating board splashed with color, curved letter racks of smoky red plastic, and much more. With two built-in side trays for storing game pieces and a raised grid that keeps your letters in place, this anniversary edition of Scrabble will please all players ages eight and above.

The new curved letter racks make it easier to see all your letters. View larger.

Built-in drawers makes it easy to keep everything organized. View larger.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Sleek and colorful new look gives this Scrabble set a touch of class. The Bad: Carrying case doesn’t shut. In a Nutshell: A snazzy improved edition of Scrabble that’s both fun and functional. At a Glance Ages: 8 and up

Expert Tips and Fascinating History
If you’ve never played Scrabble before, the Gameplay Guide explains the rules in a clear, easy-to-read way. It also has lots of tips to sharpen your game (a list of “q-without-u” words, for example). The sturdy plastic board needs no assembly and the storage trays cleverly built into the bottom of the board are easy to find, especially with help from the Gameplay Guide. The game also comes with a Gameplay Guide that offers many helpful hints, as well as interesting historical tidbits (For example, did you know the game used to be called “Criss Cross Words?”)

A Sleek New Look for Scrabble
The black-and-silver tiles, the smoky red racks, and the velvety tile pouch give this Scrabble set a touch of class. The curvature of the racks help you to see your letters more easily than you could on the old, straight racks. During gameplay, the raised grid will help keep your tiles firmly in place, even when the board spins towards another player. The pouch helps keep all the letters and racks together during play. Put them in the storage trays when you’re done, fold the board back up — and voila — you have a carrying case that makes this deluxe Scrabble game easy to take with you.

Fun and Functional
We really liked the look of this colorful board, with its cheerful blue, green, red, and orange “premium” squares. We also appreciated the way the set folds up into a carrying case, complete with the storage trays and handle. It’s not advertised as a travel set, but you can use it that way. You just have to be careful to hold the set closed when transporting it, since it doesn’t snap shut. Also, the storage trays can get a little full when you try to put all the letters and racks in one tray, so make sure you tuck everything neatly into the tray so it will close.

Millions of people around the world love the game of Scrabble, and we’re sure they’ll be just as happy as we are to see this new, improved edition with features that make it both more fun and more functional!

What’s in the Box
Scrabble board with two built-in storage trays, 100 letter tiles, tile pouch, four racks, and gameplay guide.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Diamonds are a word’s best friend
Since the only other scrabble game I’ve owned is about 20 years old, I thought this was a wonderful improvement. I love the fact that the letters no longer slide all over the board if it gets accidentally bumped, I’m thrilled with the lazy susan device so that the game easily rotates from player to player, the drawers are convenient for storing the tiles and holders and I like the bright, cheerful colors. I’m also pleased with the foldability, the ease of transport and storage. It doesn’t include a timer, but I already have one. I also don’t miss the score pad as I just use looseleaf paper. Overall, I’m very happy with my new game and play it often at homes or even at coffee houses with friends. It’s very user-friendly and a great way to keep those little gray cells procreating! So, if you’re flummoxed or in a conundrum as to what to buy, I’d suggest this Diamond Edition Scrabble game. Have fun!

5 Stars They finally designed a portable Scrabble Game that makes sense
My previous portable Scrabble game was a nuisance. The tiles popped our of their places. I had always thought they should reissue the magnetic version. Now they’ve finally come out with a winner. Although this edition is compact, it is not small. However, its features make up for its size. Two spacious drawers provide storage (no scorepad is provided). The ridges around the squares keep the tiles in place. In addition, the board turns on wheels. They even curved the racks for added privacy. The case folds and has a handle for easy carrying. Good engineering, overall!

4 Stars Good family game
It a great game for family night. No real issues with the construction of the board except being nostalgic grew up with wooden tiles and this comes with black plastic tiles. Sometimes you can’t have eveything.

5 Stars Fun and Educational – a perfect match!
I purchased this game for my almost-26-year-old son as a gift. It’s one of his favorite games, which says a lot for a guy with former spelling “issues”. I can honestly say that this game, combined with prefix/suffix information, improved his spelling and reading (and then comprehension!) significantly as a junior high student, and now as an adult, too! Thanks to the ability to read and understand, he became an avid reader, a better student, and even graduated from high school early! I know it sounds funny to attribute his success to a game, and I’m not saying that this game was the “it” that did it, but Scrabble sure did help! This particular version is more mobile for him whether he goes to game night at a friend’s house, or stays home. It’s easier to store than the old box version, too.

5 Stars nice version of a classic board game
If you’re a Scrabble fan, this is a great board. It’s especially good if you travel. I wouldn’t buy it as an extra board, but I feel it is a great replacement if you’re looking for something different.

Buy/More Info

Kid Toys Puzzles 000000, 999999, Amazon, Anniversary Edition, Carrying Case, Diamond Anniversary, Drawers, Durability, Expert Tips, Font Family, Font Style, Game Pieces, Gameplay Guide, Helvetica Neue, Letter Racks, Nutshell, Scrabble, Serif Font, Storage Trays, Touch Of Class

Scene It Seinfeld

Prove your TV trivia prowess to friends and family with the Scene It? Seinfeld Deluxe Edition DVD board game for adults. This entertaining trivia game will have you racing around the game board as you try to tackle brainteasers and answer questions as you relive some of your favorite scenes from all nine seasons of one of America’s most popular television shows.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Easy to set up and fun to play The Bad: Occasional occurrence of less-than-challenging brainbuster questions In a Nutshell: A witty, engaging DVD board game that highlights the hilarity and fun of the popular television show At a Glance Ages: Adult Requires: Television and DVD player with remote control

Scene It? Seinfeld Deluxe Edition DVD game is a fun way to challenge your brain while enjoying popular scenes from the hit television show about nothing. View larger.

Game includes a DVD, trivia cards, and dice — everything you need to gets started.

So You Think You Know Seinfeld…?
The Scene It? Seinfeld Deluxe Edition DVD game is a fun, entertaining way to challenge your brain while enjoying popular scenes from the famous hit television show. Before getting started players will benefit from using either the included quick start guide or the on-screen tutorial for a run-through of how the game is played. To set up the game put the included DVD into your player and choose one player as the DVD Master who will operate the remote control throughout the game.

Next, decide whether you’d like to play a shorter or longer version of the game and fold the included Flextime game board accordingly. Each player then chooses a metal token and places it on the start space. Each turn a player rolls both the numbered die and the eight-sided category die. The numbered die indicates how many spaces forward the player may move upon successfully completing the challenge associated with the category indicated on the category die.

Challenges associated with the various categories range from answering questions following a scene played on the DVD to answering questions indicated on the included trivia Cards. Once a player has made their way to the end of the game path, they have the opportunity to win the game by either successfully beating all players in a final All Play To Win challenge or by successfully completing the Final Cut challenge.

Alternatively, if a board game is not your style or if you’d simply like to entertain party guests throughout the evening, you may choose the Party Play function on the Main Menu of the DVD. In this mode the DVD shuffles among a variety of scenes and challenges automatically so that you and your guests can enjoy one great clip or puzzler after the other all night long.

Yada-Yada-Yada!
The Scene It? Deluxe Seinfeld Edition DVD board game is a witty, entertaining game that is ingeniously designed to engage an entire room full of players. The versatile Flextime game board features brightly colored graphics and allows players to choose between a longer or shorter game. The cleverly designed metal game tokens are modeled after props made famous in some of Seinfeld’s most beloved scenes.

The included DVD is full of hilarious clips and brain-busting trivia from all nine seasons of the witty television show. One of the best features of the Seinfeld DVD game is the Party Play option that allows fans and players to watch clips and answer brainteasers one after another on the DVD automatically without having to navigate with a remote control.

What’s in the Box
Game DVD, one Flextime game board, four metal game tokens, one six-sided numbered die, one eight-sided category die, 16 Buzz cards, and 175 Trivia cards.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star I’d Rather make my own suit!!!
This game is BEYOND boring! It is not worth $30 i spent and not even worth $10 to be honest! Please see T. Riley’s one star review, it is dead on and exactly EVERYTHING we were moaning about as we played for the first time. In the end, WASTE OF TIME AND WASTE OF $$$$$$

4 Stars Love Seinfeld – not as much a fan of the Scene it Game
I love Seinfeld. LOVE IT. But the game is not a Seinfeld trivia game. It is a Scene It game. I hadn’t played Scene it before so didn’t realize that it was more about what happened in the scene versus the show. I find watching it kind of slow. I love the trivia questions, but it doesn’t seem like there is enough for the ultimate fan. Great maybe for the casual fan, but the die hard fan, may consider it too easy. And then just leave them wanting harder, more challenging trivia. I do recommend the game overall just cautioning others on the downsides.

5 Stars Great for the true Seinfeld Fan (or fanatic!)
If you are a fan of the TV show, this game is for you! Lot’s of fun and a good variety of questions. Even non-fans can play as there are some categories that don’t require in depth knowledge of the show.

Great party game and the “party mode” makes for a laid back session if you don’t want to get the board out and play a more serious game.

4 Stars Perfect if they would fix the music!
I’ve been a Seinfeld fanatic for a long time, and the moment I saw a TV ad for this, I hopped on Amazon and made this purchase.

If you’ve ever played any version of Scene-It, you know what to expect. I’d add that the game does a good job of varying the questions and answers from the iconic lines/scenes/moments that everyone recognizes to the hilarious little details that only a diehard would remember. In addition, the off-the-screen trivia enriches my appreciation of the inner dynamics of the show.

MY ONE COMPLAINT (in addition to knowing Seinfeld better than my friends, who now refuse to play with me) is THE MUSIC. It’s NOT the immortal Seinfeld opening theme, but some cheap replica that sounds even worse because it’s such an obvious imitation. It’s so jarring that it knocks a star off my rating. Why the makers of this game didn’t secure the rights to use that song baffles me and significantly damages the experience of this game, which is otherwise great.

5 Stars Nice
Got this for my sister for Christmas. She loved. A must for any Seinfeld fan.

Buy/More Info

Kid Toys Puzzles 000000, 999999, Amazon, Board Game, Brainteasers, Deluxe Edition, Durability, Font Family, Font Style, Game Board, Helvetica Neue, Hilarity, Nutshell, Occasional Occurrence, Player With Remote Control, Prowess, Serif Font, Television Show, Trivia Game, Tv Trivia

Fisher Price Little Superstar Sing Along Stage

Give your little one an exciting introduction to music with the Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage from Fisher Price. Created for children ages six months and up, the Sing-Along Stage offers plenty of interactive musical features designed to grow with your child. The toy features “Instruments” that activate sounds when their buttons are pressed, and you and your child can sing along with and dance to five fun songs.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Toy offers many stages of learning fun, making it a fun, educational, and economical choice The Bad: Assembly is made difficult by irregularly sized screw holes In a Nutshell: Interactive, musical toy gives your child a fun introduction to making music At a Glance Ages: 6 month and up Requires: 3 AA batteries (included); Philips screwdriver for assembly and for installing fresh batteries

Give your little one an exciting introduction to music with the Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage.

Features include “Instruments” that activate sounds when their buttons are pressed and five fun songs.

An Exciting Experience for Your Little Performer
The Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage features a large picture mirror, framed by exciting blinking lights at the top and an “audience” of smiling, cartoon babies at the bottom. Musical instruments with happy faces sit below: a guitar, a keyboard, a drum, and a trumpet. Each instrument has moving parts that activate sounds. The toy comes with a “magic” microphone, which is really a rattle. Shake it, and the sound of the rattle will activate songs and other fun sounds. The lights blink as the music plays, making a spectacular show for your little one to enjoy.

Sing Songs or “Compose” You Own
The toy includes two modes, which are easily selected by sliding a button at the top of the toy. The “sing-along” mode plays five different fun songs, which are activated by shaking the magic microphone or pressing any of the buttons on the musical instruments. Younger babies will enjoy listening to the music and watching the lights blink. They’ll also love hearing you sing along with the songs. (We were happy to find that the toy comes with lyric cards.) As your child gets older, she can learn to sing along with you, too.

Select the “build-a-song” mode for your child to experiment with sounds herself. When she shakes the “magic microphone,” a voice singing a “scat” will start. When your child plays with any of the musical instruments, she will hear that instrument play. It will continue to play a “solo” until she presses the buttons on any of the other instruments. Their sounds will then be added to the instrumental piece. For example, press the drum, and a back beat will be added. In all, the toy has three different, jazzy “add-on” instrumental pieces — even our adult toy testers enjoyed these catchy, authentic-sounding tunes. The toy also says several fun phrases, as well as the sound of cheering and applause, encouraging children to dance or sing along.

Musical Toy Grows with Your Child
While we love all of the musical features of this toy, we especially like that the Sing-Along Stage is designed to grow with your child, which means that your child will get a lot of use out of it while making new discoveries as they get older. The toy stands at the perfect height for six-month-old babies to play with while sitting. They will enjoy looking at themselves in the large picture window, watching the blinking lights, and experimenting with the cause and effect features of the buttons. Our two-year-old toy tester also enjoyed this toy — she loved dancing and singing along with the songs.

The toy requires just a little bit of adult assembly, which is where we encountered our only problem: the legs need to be screwed on to the toy to allow it to stand, but the holes for the included screws were not sized properly. This made it difficult for us to manually tighten the screws satisfactorily. However, the toy was still able to stand sturdily for safe play

. The Sing-Along Stage requires 3 AA batteries, which are included.

What’s in the Box
Sing-Along Stage, “magical” microphone, three AA batteries.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A hit for both Grandchildren!
I bought this item for my Grandaughter as a first birthday gift. Not only does SHE love it, but her 3-year-old brother does as well. In fact, they started fighting over it about five minutes after it was put together! It’s a fun and durable toy.

5 Stars Worth every penny!
This toy was bought for my Granddaughter when she was 6 months old. She wasn’t sitting up for a long period of time so we ignored the legs and just leaned the mirror against the side of the crib. The toy was an instant favorite! Once she was able to sit up we attached the legs and now she’s loving the music and lights. Her face just lights up when ever she presses the buttons! This toy is a must have! The songs are cute and don’t get old ((unlike some other toys we have)) and you can change the instrument that’s playing the song. I.E. if the wiggle song is playing, you can press the drum and the drum is playing the tune, the piano and then the piano is playing the song, so on and so forth. If you have the chance, purchase this toy!!!

4 Stars Great Toy For Independent Sitters
My 9 month old daughter loves this toy. She talks to herself in the mirror and loves the microphone and all of the buttons and music. It is very upbeat and one of the better toys I have purchased for her.

Their are 2 downsides. One is that if the baby pulls on it it can tip over. The second is that the music plays continually and does not go off on it’s own when it is not in use.

Other then that I would never trade this toy in. She adores it.

5 Stars One of the best baby toys out there!!
I would have never guessed this toy would be such a hit with my baby! (and my 2 year old likes it, too.) We’ve had it since she was about 6 months old. She is now almost a year and still spends time playing with it several times a day, every day (and she has lots of things to choose from!). Just today, she was sitting in front of it, looking at herself in the mirror and laughing. She can pull herself to standing on it without it tipping over. The songs and music are catchy and fun and she just loves to bang on the piano keys (which are connected as one big piece), the drum, and spin the ball on the guitar. The older kids sometimes play with the microphone, but other than that, it doesn’t get used much (if at all) by baby. I love that it has an on/off switch and volume control. If I could add one thing to it, it would be a molded plastic little pouch or pocket on the back to store the song cards in. You don’t really need them, but it would be nice if they had a “home”. Also, the mirror isn’t that great of quality. The kids don’t seem to mind, but I would love it all the more if it had a better quality mirror. All in all, though, this toy is totally worth having! I’m so glad we purchased it for our little one!

5 Stars My son LOVES it! Worth every penny
We have had this since my son was 4 mo old, and he LOVES this toy. At 4 mo old I would put him in his bumbo and set this in front of him and he would have the best time and sit and smile at it. He is now 7 mo old and although i can’t just sit him in the Bumbo anymore and expect him to stay, he will still sit in his Bumbo supervised and plays with this toy, he still loves it! One of the best investments for him to date! Highly recommend it!

Buy/More Info

Kid Toys Music 000000, 999999, Aa Batteries, Amazon, Durability, Economical Choice, Fisher Price, Font Style, Fresh Batteries, Helvetica Neue, Introduction To Music, Little Superstar, Musical Features, Musical Toy, Nutshell, Philips Screwdriver, Png, Screw Holes, Serif Font, Stage Features

LeapFrog Didj Custom Learning Gaming System

With games that reinforce skills like math and spelling, the LeapFrog DIDJ is a custom gaming system that parents won’t mind seeing their children spending their afternoons with. Using your computer and the LEAPFROG Connect application, games can be customized to provide all kinds of learning opportunities for all kids between the ages of six to ten.

View larger.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Entertaining, interactive system with educational games. The Bad: The computer interface takes a little getting used to. In a Nutshell: Customizable digital characters and worlds make learning fun. At a Glance Ages: 6 to 10 Requires: Four AA batteries and a computer with an Internet connection for set up.

Making the DIDJ Your Own
Before kids start creating, an adult will want to install four AA batteries (not included) in the DIDJ and set up the system. A convenient product guide pamphlet walks you through the necessary set-up tasks. This process involves installing the LEAPFROG Connect application onto your computer and transferring the included game, JetPack Heroes, onto the handheld DIDJ with a USB cable (included).

Before you close the software down, kids will want to create their own custom avatars using the Didjerator. With a huge color palette to utilize, and the ability to make your avatar a robot with vampire fangs or dress it in a tuxedo with sneakers, it may take awhile to get each character perfect. Once this is done, the avatars can be downloaded to the handset and are available to play in any game that uses Didji characters.

Fun, Customizable Way to Learn
The included game, JetPack Heroes, stars your favorite character in a fight against the villain Gooracha. Players use math skills to free the energy buddies they have captured and provide light and life for the entire planet. Quick fingers control the hero’s jet pack and gun that is used to navigate the erratic landscape and stop enemy goons in between answering addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.

Additional games that develop skills like vocabulary and spelling are available. One enticing feature of the interactive software is that points that are earned while playing, called Bitz, can be uploaded to your computer and then traded in for micromods, game updates such as new spaceships, backgrounds, or music.

Interactive Education
Overall, we had a great time creating our own characters and immersing ourselves in DIDJ worlds. The computer interface was clearly designed with young computer users in mind, which makes it easy to navigate. Several point and click menus put a wide variety of tools at your fingertips.

One cool interactive feature is the learning path. After game information is uploaded from the handset, parents can follow a link in the connect software to see their children’s progress, making it easy to track success.

Kids are sure to enjoy studying for tests when they can set the DIDJ to use their own math facts and spelling words, making this unique system a great investment.

What’s in the Box
Didj, USB cable, and CD with LEAPFROG connect computer application, which includes one game.

PC Requirements:

Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system
Pentium III 500 MHz processor
Monitor resolution of at least 1024 X 768
Available USB port
256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
300 MB free disk space
Internet connection
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 or higher
CD reader

Mac Requirements:

Mac OS X 10.4+
PPC G4 or any Intel-based Apple computer
Monitor resolution of at least 1024 X 768
Available USB port
256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
300 MB free disk space
Internet connection
Safari application
CD reader

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars FINALLY, A LEARNING GAME THAT IS AS MUCH FUN AS NINTENDO DS LITE
Finally, a learning game hand held system that is as much fun, if not more fun, than the Nintendo DS Lite. Santa brought my daughter a Nintendo DS lite with many games this past Christmas. I had just sold her Leapster hand held since she out grew it. However, I was not impressed w/ the DS as I could not find any good learning games. I came across an excellent deal on the Diji. I had her test it out of a few weeks, and as luck would have it, she choose the Diji over the DS. I am now selling the DS Lite and buying her more learning games for the DIJI.

So, that was the pro’s…there are a couple of cons on this system

* Not a touch screen like the leapser. This was a huge drawback since the Leapster had touch screen and the DS Lite had a touch screen

* Does not have battery that is rechargable like the leapster. Have to keep buying batteries or purchase the rechargable ‘AA’s

* The buttons are loud when pressed (the clicking sound the button makes when pressed)

* Kind of clumsy to hold

That’s about it. Hope this helps in making your decision

1 Star Barely educational, rife with technical problems.
We got this as a gift for our six-year-old son after he outgrew his Leapster (which is a great product, but that’s a different review). As I type this review, the device is downloading yet another update after giving me its almost daily “your Didj needs a tune-up” message. As other reviewers have remarked, once the Didj decides it needs a tune-up, it can’t be used until it gets connected to a computer. Heaven forfend that we should actually bring this thing on a weekend trip – I’m sure that an hour or two into the journey, the device would become little more than a paperweight until we could get back home.

The Didj is a battery hog (luckily the AC adapter we had from the Leapster works). The games themselves are nothing to write home about, either. They have some educational value, but for the most part they’re just standard video games which stop once in a while for a group of math problems.

It’s such a shame, since the Leapster was (and is) such a great device. I truly wish that we had just purchased a Nintendo DS rather than the Didj. Even the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart failed to make this toy a good value.

5 Stars Have You Met the Didj?
Have you met the Didj? I was asked to try out this great invention last Fall and from the moment it came out of the package my kids were hooked! They were amazed at how much it `looked’ like other video game systems and surprised at how good the graphics were for a LeapFrog (AKA kid’s game).

My husband quickly installed the Learning Path program and made an individualized site to track each kid’s progress. It must have been successful because now every time my kids play their games and upload to the site I get a personalized email that shows their strengths and weaknesses in their age brackets. I love this feature!

Something else I particularly love is that in order to progress through the levels in each game, the kids must accomplish whatever learning goal (math, spelling, etc.) is set before them before moving forward. This is a great incentive for them to do well! The system also allows them to use their points on their site to earn new characters and accessories.

So, you understand why I love this game system… but there is more! It is an award winner!

Parenting Magazine – Mom-Tested Toys of the Year Award 2008

Parents Magazine – Best Toys of the Year Award 2008

My top three recommended Didj games:

1. LeapFrog: Didj Custom Gaming System: Indiana Jones for Ages 7-10

Did your kindergartener or first grader come to you last year begging to see Indiana Jones? Both of mine did, but let’s face it, not all movies fall into their maturity level. The Indiana Jones game on the other hand is all adventure without any of the adult content.

This is a math game and they will be learning addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

2. LeapFrog: Didj Custom Gaming System: Star Wars, The Clone Wars for Ages 6-9

Star Wars…where do I begin? I mentioned “Star Wars Crafts” one time on one of my blogs and the traffic from that phrase has been unlike anything else that I have ever spoken about. I am amazed at how popular the series is three decades later. This game is no exception. My boys love it and begged for me to buy it the second it hit the shelves. It has been played so many times that I cannot believe it has lasted this long. Best feature of the Didj when this is played for hours on end? The volume button that shuts off. (You would think that for a woman that spent her early years wanting to be Princess Leia I would be more tolerant.)

Another great math game: Decimals, percentages, place value, shapes, and fractions.

3. LeapFrog: Didj Custom Gaming System: Spongebob, Fists of Foam for Ages 6-9

Okay, I was a skeptic too…but this game was soooo worth it. Like the math list above for the Star Wars game? This game has the same list, but appeals to those SpongeBob enthusiasts. My 5 year old loves this game and is excelling in her math practice well above her grade level. Yes, it is silly. Yes, it is nonsense. But they love it! They love it so much that on Saturdays when they have free video game playing the Didj is always in use. They have no idea how much they are learning on their day off. And I won’t tell.

1 Star caveat emptor – buyer beware
Being a fan of the Leaspter I was keen to get the Didj for my son now that he is older. Big mistake. As others have said, the unit continually shuts off in the middle of the game for no apparent reason. Phone up Leapfrog and they blame the cartridges (this has happened on at least the Sonic game and the Star Wars game but may have happened on others too). Get the information to reset the profile which I do, works for a couple of minutes and then the games freezes in mid-play. Try to start again and just keep getting a message to reinsert the cartridge and restart the Didj. Give up after several attempts with the same message appearing. I bought the Didj as an educational alternative to the Nintendo DS which seems to be limited when it comes to both fun and educational games. The Didj toy is fun and educational on the occasions when it is working properly but extremely frustrating when it constantly malfunctions, be it the fault of the cartridge or the game unit. Leapfrog maintain that is is the cartridges, but then a number of times it has stopped working and I have had to take out the batteries and re-insert them to get it to work again, suggesting an overheating and/or connection problem with the wiring. Took me three phonecalls to get what I wanted, a replacement unit, so if you are having issues with Leapfrog be blunt and tell them that is what you expect otherwise they will try and fob you off time and time again. Not convinced that a replacement will acheive a fix given the number of poor reviews about this product. Leapfrog need to improve their customer service experience and product if they wish to compete with Nintendo. At the moment they are trailing badly. Given the number of identical poor reviews regarding the faults of this product and Leapfrog’s reluctance to do anything about this, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Class Action case taken against them sometime in the future. By the way, the only reason that I give a rating to this at all is because I have to, otherwise it wouldn’t have got any.

5 Stars great product
great product.

I love the fact that you can have your child progress emailed to you and that you can see how many hours they spent and the problem they may or may not have with specific subject areas.

Had a few problems getting the free game and installing the connect on the computer. You have to install the free game it does not come pre installed.

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