Animagic Buster My Newborn Puppy

Animagic Buster My Newborn Puppy



Animagic makes magic with Buster, From the extensive interactive toy line that includes Fluffy Go Walkies and Peanut My Playful Puppy, Animagic has developed Buster My Newborn Puppy, a battery-operated dog that blinks and drinks milk. When fed from its pink-tipped bottle, the soft robotic puppy slurps and eventually closes its eyes to sleep, complete with snoring sounds. Girls are sure to enjoy taking care of such a life-like toy, petting, cuddling, or even cradling Buster like a baby. They can lavish the puppy with attention, but if they forget their pet for too long, Buster will bark and make other realistic doggy noises. Buster is also known for having an appetite, and will whimper if its milk bottle is taken away too soon. Although small, the bottle is easy to keep track of because it hangs from a light pink ribbon around the puppy’s neck. Besides keeping company with its owner, Buster is said to be friends with Scamp the Puppy, another Animagic creation.

Designed as a newborn Labrador with black eyes and a black nose, Buster is covered in soft golden fur with lighter accents at the ears, mouth, and feet. Developed for youth ages 3 and up, Buster encourages role play in children, and provides an easy, fun alternative to having a real pet. Buster My Newborn Puppy stands 10 cm in height, 17.5 cm in width, and 12.5 cm in depth. The toy is easy to cart around, weighing just 0.13 kg. Buster and other Animagic toys are available in Britain to buy online. A brand of Vivid Toy Group Ltd., Animagic also makes other bottle-fed toys, including Daisy My Newborn Kitten, Patch My Guinea Pig, and Snowy My Hopping Bunny. Animagic expects Buster My Newborn Puppy to fly off store shelves for the 2010 Christmas season. To function as its manufacturer intended, Buster requires three LR44 batteries, which are supplied with the product. This toy is available from numerous online retailers, including amazon.co.uk, The Entertainer and Toys R Us. Buster’s price ranges from £9.97 – £12.35, depending on the retailer.

Barbie Puppy Swimming School

Barbie Puppy Swimming School



Summer is here and Barbie needs to give her puppies some swimming lessons. Mattel has introduced the Barbie Puppy Swimming School. This quality toy is well built and sturdy with bright vibrant colours. The swim school comes with a swimming pool, full size Barbie with towel, two water squirting puppies, one wind-up dog, a puppy diving board, a flotation ring, and a ball with a basket ball hoop.

The pool is classic Barbie pink with a smooth waving pattern and integrated supports that attach the top rim of the pool. The pool is a spacious: 30cm long, 15cm wide, and 10cm high. This is more than enough room to fit the full sized Bikini clad Barbie and her puppies that are included in the Barbie Puppy Swim School toy. Barbie comes with a pink headband to hold back her long blond hair. Barbie is arrayed in pink and black polka dot shorts and a solid pink bikini top.

With a simple set of assembly instructions the Barbie Puppy Swimming School can be ready for use in no time. The Barbie Puppy Swimming School is the perfect toy for hours of enjoyment on a warm summer afternoon. Playing with a friend or alone, the swimming school is great fun. With Barbie’s wind-up swimming dog, water squirting puppies and puppy diving board, laughter will fill the air. Barbie fans young and old will enjoy this addition to the Barbie toy world. The Barbie Puppy Swimming School can be used inside or outside. With simple instructions the swim school is also easy to clean up and store for later use. Put on a bathing suit, get your floaties on and have fun helping Barbie teach her puppies how to swim. Available online or in stores, the Barbie Puppy Swimming School will be a wonderful gift for a birthday or Christmas.

Jolly Octopus Game

Jolly Octopus Game



Jolly good fun with Jolly Octopus, created for the British toy market by German game manufacturer Ravensburger, Jolly Octopus is a battery-operated 3D action game for players ages four and up. Bright green with polka-dots on its head, the Jolly Octopus sits atop a blue rock filled with colourful crabs tucked into crevices. A game for two to five players, each player uses a set of tongs and takes turns trying to avoid the octopus while plucking out colour-coded crabs from their hiding places. This is not as easy as it sounds because the octopus protects the crabs with its tentacles, which wave and spin wildly, making it more difficult for players to get to the crabs without making contact. If a player’s tongs touch, or rather tickle, a tentacle, instead of getting angry, the aptly named Jolly Octopus simply giggles. But once Jolly stops spinning and begins to laugh, that player’s turn is over. The player who can avoid the eight waving tentacles and is first to get all five of their crabs off Jolly’s rock wins.

Similar in thrill factor to games such as Operation and Buckaroo, Jolly Octopus was named “Best New Game” in 2010 by the British Toy and Hobby Association at the Olympia Toy Fair. This award ensures the game’s adherence to safety and quality standards. The colourful game runs on 3 AA batteries, which are not supplied, and offers players two difficulty settings that can be changed as players improve or grow older. Each game round lasts approximately 10 minutes, and learning to successfully maneuver the tongs around the waving tentacles helps develop manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination in young children. The Jolly Octopus game is 26.5 cm in both height and width, and is considered an ideal activity for providing family fun. The game is sold through numerous online retailers, including Amazon.co.uk and ToysRUs.co.uk. As of October 2010, Jolly Octopus sells for approximately £16.99, but the price can vary with specific retailer’s online specials and sales. The game is expected to be a popular item for Christmas 2010.

Mattel Mindflex

Mattel Mindflex



Ages 8 +
Batteries not included, required 2 AAA Alkaline, 4 C Alkaline
15.8 x 6 x 10.5 inches; 4.4 pounds

The Mattel Mindflex game comes pre-assembled. It includes a headset which has sensors for the forehead and earlobes, which are used to measure your brain activity. The game also includes four foam balls, and various obstacles the player uses to set up an array of courses to “mentally” move the balls through. The obstacles included hurdles, hoops, and even a teeter totter. The game has a number of settings for different types of play, including speed challenges and obstacle challenges. Each challenge successfully completed is worth points to that player.

The Mattel Mindflex is a mesmerising game which allows you to move a ball through thought-provoking obstacle courses using only your mind. Floating above the game board, the ball is carried on a stream of air. The headset measures frontal lobe (brain) activity, and uses the wave activity to move the ball. Concentration and relaxation of one’s mind is the key to moving the ball successfully through the maze. The headset senses stress in the left frontal lobe causing the ball with drop, a relaxed frontal lobe allows the ball to move. The player moves dials with their hands to guide the levitating ball through the maze. This is a great game for any lover of brain teasers, and the ability to change the courses makes this a game that will not become quickly dull. Parents of ADHD, as well as parents of autistic children gave the game rave reviews for holding their child’s attention for longer than 5 minutes. In addition, behavioural psychiatrists all report this game increases frontal lobe activity in all children, increasing their concentration.

The Mattel Mindflex may be challenging for some, but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives with this toy. Using a combination of physical and mental coordination, this toy is fascinating and challenging simultaneously. The rewards of this game go beyond the game board, and into the home and school.

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