Colorful Animal World Map – Ravensburger – 100 pieces
This was a fun 100 piece puzzle that had a little bit of challenge to it. There’s lots of ocean and it wasn’t always easy to see what piece goes next. It doesn’t lay completely flat as you can see in the picture above, but it is a thrift store purchase so perhaps it was well loved before donation. Still, it is a very good quality kid’s puzzle that also glows in the dark! Check it out….
It doesn’t just glow in the dark, it glows in 3 different colors; red (hardest to see), green, and blue. I’m not always able to get a good glow picture, so I was pleased that this one turned out so well showing all 3 colors. How cool is that? Very!
I enjoyed putting this one together, I like it when a kid’s puzzle has a little bit of challenge to it. I think that’s good for kids too, if all their puzzles are too easy they get bored. It feels like a little more of an accomplishment if you had to work at it a little bit. Of course, that’s just my own personal puzzle addict’s opinion. 😉
The Music Castle by Colin Thompson – Ravensburger – 500 pieces
I’m trying out a new review format here. What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments or email using the contact me page above. 🙂
As usual, this Colin Thompson puzzle by Ravensburger was wonderful to assemble! I love his artwork and have done several of his cupboards and boxes. I love the little details but at times, for me, they can be a little too busy. It all depends on my mood; sometimes I’m all about an intricate, detailed image, and sometimes I crave simplicity and straightforward colorful images. This one had a little bit of both, the perfect happy medium!
The sky was the easiest place to start with the streak of pink and all the turrets, and from there I worked on the moat and piano keys. The rest of the puzzle seemed to fall into place quickly, and was a joy to assemble. And for you Colin Thompson fans, never fear – there are plenty of little pink people hanging around this castle; they’re singing and playing instruments, or just hanging out. 😉
I don’t always order puzzles new since my puzzle “dealer” keeps me supplied with almost unlimited thrift store purchases; but I saw this puzzle while online window shopping and had to get it. It was as much fun as I’d hoped, and just the right amount of challenging.
Details:
Title: The Music Castle
Artist: Colin Thompson
Brand: Ravensburger
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 19 x 14 in. (49 x 36 cm)
Purchased: New
Quality:
Board: Thick and sturdy
Cutting: Excellent – fully separated, no hanging paper
Dr. Suess The Cat in the Hat I Can Do That! Card Game – Ravensburger
I was a little bummed out when I got I Can Do That to review, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to play it. I was injured several years ago and have had mobility issues since, but I’m still a child at heart. So even though I was looking forward to playing it, I turned it over to my 10 year old product tester instead. Thank goodness cookies keep him on the payroll! 😉
The game is simple, really. There are 24 cards and a foam fishbowl (see the picture above). You lay all the cards out face down, like when you play a memory game. The object is to turn over a red action card, a blue location card, and a yellow fish card. If one of each card is not drawn they are put back and it is the next player’s turn. Remember where the cards are so that you can turn over one of each color on your next turn. Once all 3 color cards are drawn that player has to act out the activity described by the 3 cards, e.g. crab walk to the window with the fish between your elbows. If the player completes that activity they get to keep the cards. The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
I made sure that Levi had the game before Hurricane Irma dropped in to visit, there’s no better time to play games then when the power’s out! Here’s his review…..
He thought this game was fun and interactive (his word not mine). He thought some of the things you have to do are funny and some are hard, such as hopping to the front door and back with the fish on your head! He said you look goofy doing some of the things, but that also makes it fun. He wasn’t sure about the age range starting at 3 years old because some of the things are very difficult to accomplish – even when you modify the game for younger children as per the instructions.
Levi thinks it would be a good family game, maybe for a holiday gathering or family dinner. Also, he says he thinks there should be more cards, because with multiple people the games goes by really quickly. Overall he liked it very much; it kept him moving and there were plenty of laughs too. It gets a thumbs up from Levi. 👍
While I wasn’t able to play it, I agree that it would be a fun game at a family gathering or game night, especially with kids and grownups playing together. I knew that Ravensburger made games and toys in addition to puzzles, but I had no idea the range of games they have available. Click to see all the Ravensburger games available at Puzzle Warehouse. (Mom loves the mandala designers – she has about 4 in her house right now!)
This was a fun review for Levi, but I’m hoping the next game I get to review is something I can play too – I hate being left out of the fun stuff! 🙂
I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
This was only the second 3D puzzle that I’ve assembled, and it was a bit of a letdown. There were 4 missing pieces, 1 piece completely broken in half, and many pieces that were bent and damaged. 😦
Mom and I were hoping to enjoy this assembly as much as the first puzzle ball that we did, but the condition of this puzzle was terrible. Wherever it’s previous home, it was not well loved – in fact, someone was extremely rough with it. It looks as if whoever took it apart before was not careful or gentle, perhaps they didn’t enjoy the assembly. Whatever the reason, they damaged it and lost pieces. Why not just throw it away?
Although this puzzle was a bit of a disappointment, it was still fun to spend time with mom assembling it. That’s the most fun thing about puzzling for me I think, sharing it with loved ones. I enjoy the solitude of working on a puzzle alone, trying to concentrate only on what I’m doing and finding the next piece. But even more enjoyable is working a puzzle with someone, talking and laughing and spending time together. It’s 10,000 times better than staring at the tv, scrolling through things on your phone, or clicking through web pages on the computer!
Travel Stamps by Finchley Paper Arts – Ravensburger – 2000 pieces
I picked this puzzle out to work on with family while we were holed up at my house during Hurricane Irma. I’ve had it for some time and I’m not sure why I waited so long – it was really fun! I had help from both my daughter and my mother; 3 generations of awesome women working together.
Usually when I start a 2000 piece puzzle I’m slightly intimidated. It’s so big and there are so many pieces to sort through it almost feels like there’s no good place to start and that it’ll take forever to finish. I realize how odd that sounds coming from someone who has completed the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle, but I never said that I was rational or that I always made sense. Anyway, for some reason this puzzle wasn’t intimidating for me and I knew exactly where I should start. 😎
The assembly was very methodical and soothing for me and I enjoyed each and every piece we put together. We started with the pale border area and then with all the wording. From there it was easy to pull out all the colored frames for each stamp and assemble them one color at a time. We didn’t get it completed before everyone left to go back to their homes, but we got quite a bit accomplished together; I finished it 2 days later.
This was a great puzzle with what seems like 15 small puzzles in the middle of it. That made it easy to find and assemble pieces, especially when several people were working on it. If you’ve got a big enough work space this puzzle would make a great family project!
