Lego Ninjago Garmatron Playset Review

I absolutely love Lego! It's something I have grown up enjoying. We didn't have all the wonderful varieties that are available now but there was something magical about having a pile of rubble in front of you and being able to let your imagination run wild and build anything you wanted. I have always bought Aalliyah construction toys and she is a huge fan of the Lego sets in particular. 

Aalliyah loves the sets that you have to build piece by piece. My patience runs out after 5 minutes but she will happily sit there for hours until the last brick is in place. The Lego Ninjago Garmatron playset was a perfect choice for Aalliyah as it had enough pieces to be a challenge and I knew It would keep her entertained for a long time. The Garmatron is just one of many sets available in the Ninjago range. 

The set itself is a 328 piece which sounded like a lot, but it was actually a lot of little bits and bobs which added on so was in fact an easy build. The instructions were very surprisingly easy to follow, I thought they would be confusing but Aalliyah got on with it no problem. They set out each stage really clear with pictures so the children can get on with it themselves . I think its nice if its easy to follow as it give the younger ones the confidence to be able to build with limited input from the adults. This set was great as it came with the mini figures and featured an extra mini vehicle and a hidden prison inside the battle vehicle. I had almost as much fun playing with it as Aalliyah did, especially when we found a cool feature which shot out a bullet! Its sturdy too so can take a fair amount of play without breaking up.

Aalliyah has put an endless amount of Lego sets on her Christmas list this year but with so many to choose from there really is something for everyone. You can find more great action sets from the Ninjago range here.

Aalliyah gives this set a 10 out of 10 and seeing that it kept her quiet and entertained for near on 3 hours? So do I!

U-Build Connect 4 - Review

We love our board games, and I can think of no better way to spend some quality time with Aalliyah when its wet and cold outside, than playing some great games. U-Build Connect 4 instantly caught my attention as you not only play the game but have to construct it before hand so I knew Aalliyah would have fun doing that.

 I was a little worried when opening the box and seeing all the different lego pieces that it would be a nightmare to put together, but the instructions are fairly easy to understand and if you take your time you can build it right the first time. Aalliyah had lots of fun being the leader of construction from sorting all the individual pieces into their correct pile through to placing them correctly on the board. You start by making the columns where you drop your counters into, in the hope of achieving a Connect 4, then you move onto to making the bumpers. The bumpers are a great twist on the original game play. Moving the bumpers around makes it harder to place your counters in the correct slot and make for a much more interesting game.

This game really does appeal to all ages and there is lots of fun to be had not only playing it but making it beforehand. After playing it folds down easy and slots nicely into the box so you do not have to destroy all your hard work.

U-Build have other games in the range and I am looking forward to getting my hands on the Battleship game :) If you are looking for something slightly different than your average board game then definitely look out for the U-Build games in your local retailers.