Games & toys

The Traitors was the biggest new series for young audiences across all BBC titles last year, and the highest rating new entertainment series on the BBC since at least 2017 for young audiences. A new series is scheduled for 2024 but while you wait why not play the game yourselves, suggests Anne Coates.

Start unlocking your baby's inner architect with these wooden building blocks. Stack, mix, and create your own quirky characters with endless combinations to explore with Stack & Mix Wooden Building Blocks from Kikkerland. Anne Coates reviews.   

Anne Coates loves playing Pictionary so asks what does Pictionary vs AI from Mattel Games bring to the table?

 Remember playing Twister on a mat and getting into all sorts of contortions on the floor with other players as you reached for a coloured circle? Well now it's been upgraded for our App-led age by Hasbro Gaming. Anne Coates checks out Twister Air from Hasbro Gaming.

Our son absolutely loves building and creating so when we were asked to review the CONNETIX Tiles we were thrilled and we were not disappointed, writes Lee Cooper-Muir.

The Toy Retailers Association has today unveiled the DreamToys top 20 toys for Christmas, helping families make informed decisions when buying toys for the festive season.

Arriving just in time for the rain and half term, the HeyDoodle Into The Wild A3 Mat from the ABC series proved to be an activity so absorbing that Christine Mayle's granddaughter aged six and grandson aged three could play and colour together again and again.

The So Slime Twist ‘N Slime Mixer encourages a wide range of social skills: sharing, co-operation, language development and most important FUN, write Christine Mayle whose grandchildren have had a whale of a time with the slime.

What to do when you have a child who is at that age where YouTube and TikTok is everything and all they want to be when they grow up is a YouTube star? Well, first of all it might be an idea to grab yourself some equipment! Now Mason has been going on about doing some videos, and of course we like to encourage creativity, if of course it cuts out screen time, and gets him doing something creative and energetic and so, we were very happy when we had the opportunity to review the Studio Creator 360 from Canal Toys, writes Lee Cooper-Muir.

If your child is anything like ours then they will absolutely love crafting, making things out of nothing, creating stickers and using loads of notepads for journals, doodles, drawings and playing imaginatively. The Style 4 Ever 3-in-1 Scrapbooking Station provides all this and our son loved it, writes Lee Cooper-Muir,

A great way for your teens to expend energy during the holidays and have a lot of fun – a Gel Blaster to soak their opponent(s) as they race to avoid being the target.

Fancy building your own rocket from Aardman's first film, A Grand Day Out, and flying to the moon for cheese? Now you can with this cracking cardboard BYO Wallace and Gromit Rocket kit. Lee Cooper-Muir and son, Mason, review.

Get inspired with our Build Your Own Cardboard Plane Launcher. The 47-piece kit contains everything you need to slot together and build this incredible launcher. Follow the detailed instructions, press out the pre-cut parts, attach the elastic bands and you’re ready to fly your planes, writes, Lee Cooper-Muir.

Leo Cooper-Muir and his family have loved reviewing Build Your Own toys, what did they make of the BYO STEM-inspired Marble Labyrinth?

Canal Toys Style 4 Ever Fashion Designer Studio was an immediate hit for Christine Mayle's granddaughter.

“Watch vibrant colours and patterns change before your eyes with Build Your Own’s new eco-friendly, STEM-inspired Kaleidoscope!” Is the description from BYO and as Lee Cooper-Muir says, "I loved playing with kaleidoscopes when I was younger so why not make our own?"

Fancy a new game for family game night, that’s fun for all the family? Or maybe a game to play with friends whilst sipping on some grog?  Then Fire in The Hole might be the option for you, says Lee Cooper-Muir

Well, what can we say? Mixing dinosaurs, an eight-year-old and craft… You have a winner with BYO Pteranodon Mini Build Kit, writes Lee Cooper.