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Nerf Dart Tag Hyperfire Deluxe 2 Player Blaster Set

From Hasbro, the Nerf Dart Tag Hyperfire Deluxe 2-Player Blaster Set includes everything you need for fast-paced battles and action-packed contests. Featuring two Hyperfire blasters that hold 10 darts each for rapid firing, and two Micro Blasters for close-range sneak attacks, this set is sure to keep kids eight and up on their toes and having fun.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Four blasters with an awesome range can be accurately aimed The Bad: Small darts are easy to lose In a Nutshell: This Nerf Blaster provides kids and adults with hours of fun At a Glance Ages: 8 and up

Colorful Hyperfire Blasters can hold 10 darts at a time. View larger.

A Whole New Game of Tag
Getting ready for battle is quick and easy. Strap on an adjustable scoring vest and slip on your sleek, Vision Gear glasses. Then load your blaster up with foam darts and take aim at your opponent. Forget laser-tag games that burn through batteries and simpler foam dart guns that require you to reload after every shot. A Hyperfire Blaster can hold 10 darts at a time, and with an auto-advance barrel, you can get lots of shots off quickly.

Whether you play indoors with couch cushion forts offering you cover, or outdoors in an open field, there’s lots of different ways you can strategize against your opponents. Take as many shots as you can right away, or wait until your opponent is low on ammo and get in a single, perfectly aimed blow.

One really great feature is the way darts actually stick to the included vests, so you never have to argue about whether or not you’ve scored a hit. Micro Blasters that hold one dart each and offer a shorter range add to your strategic options.

Dramatic, Fast-Paced Play
It is critical to give a little thought to the field of play before a game begins. The Hyperfire Blasters have a surprising long range, and they shoot darts with an impressive amount of force. Even though the darts are made of soft foam, if you take a lot of shots at close range your opponent probably won’t want to play again. Similarly, fragile items could be broken if you hit them directly. So it’s a good idea to test your gun before the first battle so that you can estimate how much space you’ll need to play.

Let’s face it, even adults love Nerf guns. So, in addition to inspiring competitive friends and siblings to spend time together, this set provides a great way for parents and kids to play together. Our one real complaint is that, even though this set is lots of fun for older kids and adults, the safety glasses and the scoring vests are sized only for younger players.

And while the included glasses are well made with a pleasant orange tint, they aren’t very adjustable. So if they aren’t comfortable or secure, you might want to replace them with protective eyewear of your own.

Overall, it’s hard to imagine having more fun than we had with these Hyperfire Blasters. We do suspect that it would be pretty easy to lose some of the 24 included darts, especially if you play outdoors on a windy day or in a cluttered basement. Fortunately, you can buy refill packs to replace lost darts or to extend the length of game play.

What’s in the Box
Two large blasters, two micro blasters, two scoring vests, two sets of safety glasses, and 24 micro darts.

Auto-advance barrel for fast-paced action. View larger.

Includes two micro blasters. View larger.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Lots of fun and 4 can play at once
The 4 nerf guns work very well. Comes with a bunch of bullets which do not break easily (but do wind up ALL OVER THE HOUSE). Great to keep a group of kids busy indoors in the winter for awhile, shooting at each other and at targets. Recommend all nerf gun sets, my kids and their friends love them.

5 Stars Nerf Dart Tag
I purchased the Nerf Hyperfire Dart Tag for my son’s 9th birthday. It was a big hit! My two boys love to play with it together and any friends that come over love to play it too. They ususally don’t even mess with wearing the vests though. Great indoor activity. Just be prepared to look for missing darts. I will probably need to buy some more darts for Christmas along with more large multi-fire blasters. They would come in handy for friends that come over or for parents!

5 Stars A great Nerf set!
This set is great! Why? Because it comes with four guns. My brother and I have fun playing battles. We want to get another set so that our friends can play too. You need to get extra bullets, they disappear fast. Pros…Comes with four guns, darts make a sound in the air, guns have great accuracy. Cons…you need to cock the guns every time you fire. GREAT OVERALL!

5 Stars 4 guns for the price of one
Nerf products speak for themselves as far as quality. But value was the shining star with this deal- for $[...] my son got 4 guns, darts, 2 tag vests, and 2 pairs of glasses. While I prefer they play it outside, the darts are soft enough to refrain from causing too much damage. Replacement darts are easy to find if you need extras.

5 Stars great fun!
This has been alot of fun for our whole family. My 11 year old daughter, my husband and I have all been engaged in serious dart battles. The only problem is the darts “mysteriously” disappearing. About 1/2 of them are gone now. We need to order more. Also, the glasses are important for eye protection – we found that out the hard way!

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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!

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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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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

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.

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 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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Kid Toys [Learning & Education] 000000, 999999, Aa Batteries, Afternoons, Amazon, Cable Inc, Computer Interface, Custom Gaming, Durability, Educational Games, Font Style, Gaming System, Helvetica Neue, Interactive System, Internet Connection, Nutshell, Pamphlet, Png, Serif Font, Usb Cable

VTech Preschool Learning Kidizoom Plus Pink

Rugged and easy to use, the Vtech Kidizoom Digital Camera is ready to document all your child’s adventures. With two-eye viewing, grips designed to fit in little hands, and a built-in flash, this real digital camera can also shoot video. It also includes simple-to-use photo editing software so kids aged three and up can add creative touches to their images.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Real digital camera takes photos and videos The Bad: Lots of navigational buttons may confuse younger photographers In a Nutshell: This durable camera is a fun way to inspire creativity At a Glance Ages: 3 and up Requires: 4 AA Batteries; TV or computer with Windows 2000 or newer needed for some effect

Colorful and durable design can stand up to rough handling; includes two interchangeable faceplates. View larger.

Large buttons, navigational joystick and 1.8-inch color screen make camera easy to operate. View larger.

Get Ready to Show off Your Child’s Photos
It’s clear right out of the packaging that this camera was designed to stand up to tough play and rough handling. Bright pink rubber grips on each side make it easy for children to grasp the camera with both hands, and two-eye viewing make it easy to conceptualize a photo or a cool video. The camera even comes with two interchangeable faceplates, so your child can pick her favorite look.

Before your child starts taking photos, you’ll need to use a Phillips screwdriver to insert four “AA” batteries in the grips of the camera. While the first few photos are being taken, you may want to set up the VTech Photo Editor on your computer. An intuitive installation wizard makes this process quick and easy. You’ll need Windows 2000 SP3+/XP or newer to use this software. And don’t despair if you’re a Mac user. As long as you have Mac OS X 10.0 or above, you can still use the camera in mass storage mode.

Inspire Creative Development
Six buttons and a navigational joystick on the back of the camera let your child pick a mode and scroll through old photos. Between taking photos, shooting videos, and playing simple games on the 1.8-inch color screen, there’s lots to do.

A built-in flash makes it easier to get well-lit pictures, especially if the subject of the photo is indoors. The flash does, however, often fire if you are trying to take a close-up shot, resulting in very bright, blown-out pictures. Inexperienced photographers may need to be reminded that the camera is not designed to focus on objects that are less than 1.5-feet from the camera. For super-sized fun, you can also link the camera to your television using the included A/V cable and view creative work on the big screen.

With 16MB of internal memory and an SD card slot so that you can add capacity if you need it, this camera lets kids collect lots of images. The included USB cable lets you upload the images to your computer. The VTech photo editor lets you or your child add cool frames to photos, stamp funny hats on people, and distort images. You can even run fun animations that makes the photo look like it is rotating or underwater.

The photo editor interface is easy to use, with big round buttons for kids to click on and drag-and-drop stamps. More advanced artists may be disappointed that there aren’t more ways to creatively control output, but files from the Kidizoom can easily be edited in more advanced programs, too.

What’s in the Box
Camera with 16MB internal memory, wrist strap, A/V cable, USB cable, two faceplates, and photo editing software on CD-ROM.

View larger.	View larger.	View larger.
Easy-to-use VTech photo editor lets you or your child add funny hats to pets and distort images.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars picture quality is terrible
my daughter liked playing with it for awhile but got frustrated with the low picture quality. She is 4. The games on it also bored her after a few tries. She still wants to use my camera because at least the pictures come out. My 1 year old likes to push the buttons, but being 1, his attention isn’t held long.

5 Stars my 2 year old’s first camera
the easy use of this camera and its convenient toddler design made it easy for our 2 year old daughter Opal to join in on the fun. My husband and I are both photographers and so is our 6 year old, now our youngest can join in on the fun!

5 Stars GREAT kids camera, decent pic quality
my toddler LOVES it and its not that bad, if she doesnt move too quickly it takes pretty good pics, BEST indoors, took some photos at the beach and none came out but one, maybe too much sun, but the indoor pics have decent quality.

so far she has dropped it and it still works, the batteries havent been drained and she plays with it constantly,

* it has an automatic shut off which is GREAT!

so far so good!

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5 Stars 7yr old loves it!!
My daughter has had a few digital cameras in the past year. The past couple that shes had are just crap digital camera, supposedly had the viewing screen, but you couldn’t make anything out. In my search to find her a good durable “kids” camera I came across the kidizoom. I think its been one of the best purchases of the year!! She absolutley loves it.

The viewing screen, you can actually make out the pictures, and it takes pretty decent pictures. She loves the Video Camera portion as well and the games. All in all we’re very happy with the camera and it seems to be very durable. Only downfall that I can see it that there is no way to charge the camera, it eats up batteries rather quickly. But that’s a minor thing.

5 Stars Great Kids Camera
I researched several different kids cameras, and came to a stop on the V-Tech KiddiZoom Camera. I was impressed by what I read about it and wanted to give it a try.

This camera is fantastic. I was worried just a little bit if my son would be able to use the camera, since it said for ages 3 and up. However, he uses it like a pro. The picture quality is fantastic and it is very durable. It has had a few drops around the house and still works like a charm.

I would highly recommend this product if you have a little one that loves using your expensive digital camera! They will love this one just as much.

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Kid Toys Electronics 000000, 999999, Aa Batteries, Amazon, Creative Touches, Digital Camera, Durability, Durable Camera, Durable Design, Font Style, Helvetica Neue, Interchangeable Faceplates, Joystick, Little Hands, Navigational Buttons, Nutshell, Photo Editing Software, Png, Serif Font, Vtech Kidizoom