Tuesday 13 November 2012

Christmas Countdown!

Oh! I'm so incredibly excited about Christmas this year!! JC is very interested in Santa and presents this year so it's sure to be an exciting run up to holidays. I've been browsing through online catalogues and websites looking for gifts to buy my friends and family. I love buying presents for other people. There is nothing more exciting than hunting for the perfect gift and watching the delight on the receivers face. I prefer to do most of my shopping online and leave a few little bits and pieces to buy on the high street.I hate crowds and queues but I love the atmosphere of Christmas shopping and I don't like missing out!

I was contacted a few weeks ago and asked to review a board game. I was interested in reviewing this product because I have quite a few older children to buy for and as the mum of a toddler, I am often unsure what the 'in' thing is for 8yrs +. 

I was sent the game Monopoly Zapped Edition and I have to say I am very impressed. I have always loved the game Monopoly and have been known to be quite competitive. This game is a twist on the original game by adding Apple technology. 

It is essentially the same property trading game we all know and love so I won't insult your intelligence by telling you how to play it. The difference is that the centre of the board has a space to place an iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad. You download a free app to your device which takes you through the game from start to finish. Instead of cash, you use a bank card which the app will take money from or add money onto whilst keeping track of your cash balance throughout the game. When you land on a Community Chest or Chance square you complete mini games on your device. 

Our Trial
With JC being too little to grasp the concept of mortgages/buying/selling etc we enlisted the help of my next door neighbours; Robyn and Mia. We spent a fabulous hour playing the game and we could've played on for longer but I was heading towards bankruptcy so I decided to call it quits! Mia was the winner and for an 8 year old she is pretty ruthless. This board game is being sold on Littlewoods website for £30 which we didn't think we too costly for a board game. 


Cute Little Markers

The Good Side
  • I loved the interactive mini games, these were really entertaining. 
  • It's brilliant that you don't have to faff about with monopoly money and the app eliminates the element of cheating as it counts up your money and property at the end of the game. 
  • I like how modern the game is. It was a favourite of mine as a child so it's great to see it updated and current. 
  • Hasbro Games are always well made and last a long time despite wear and tear. During our game we had two dogs with mucky paws walk over it and a toddler jump in the middle of it but it still looks as good as new. 
  • Everyone has there own profile page on the app from which you can check your bank balance and make decisions about your buying and selling. 
Funky Cards



Screen Shot from iPhone







Room For Improvement
Invisible Dice
  • We were using my iPhone and we found it quite difficult to get the app to read our cash cards at times. I think this was because I have a screen protector on my phone. I tried it with my iPad later which was much easier. 
  • There are little sticky bits that go on the board to place your device on. I didn't particularly feel these were needed. We passed the device around as it was easier for us to see what was on the screen. 
  • The dice is see through plastic but we kept losing them as they seemed to camouflage themselves with the board. It became a running joke but it was quite annoying!
  • You need to own an Apple device in order to play the game so it won't be suitable for everyone. 
Overall, we loved the game and enjoyed playing it. I would definitely consider buying this game for some of the children on my list of people to buy for. I'm off now to do some more browsing and add to my ever growing shopping list!


I was sent a free game to review but all opinions are honest and without bias.

2 comments:

  1. Lovely Xmassy post.
    You may recognise some of these photos my lovely:
    http://newmumonline.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/multiple-photos-for-multiple-mummy-and.html

    Liska xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can't wait for Christmas! Ill pop over and take a look x

    ReplyDelete

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