Clock it! Guess the card against the clock – Review

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Fiona Martin

Clock it! is a new game from Ideal Games this year that is fast paced and fun for all the family. Aimed at ages 8+, although I think slightly younger could easily join in if they are keen, this is actually a game that is fun for all ages the family. It’s basically a guessing game in which players have to guess what one player is either describing, drawing or miming – but remember you are against the clock – how many can you guess before the alarm sounds?

The game consists of:

1 Clock It! light up alarm clock (this does require 3 AAA batteries)
1 key
80 double sided challenge cards
Clock It clock shaped board
1 wipe clean drawing board
1 wipe board pen

The first job is to put the batteries in the clock which does require a screwdriver, don’t they all these days! And you obviously need to have the batteries but if you are a family household like mine, we have a permanent stash for any toy or gadget that enters the house and requires batteries.

The Clock it! clock although looks a little basic at first, is actually what adds all the fun to the game and is quite clever in the way that it works. You can select various modes on the back using the key, either just drawing, just describing, just miming or a combo of all three.

You control it by pressing on the yellow handle at the top and the relevant action and number light up.

Onto the game play for Clock it! of which there are number of variants depending on how many players you have and whether you want to mime, draw, describe or do a combo of all three.

Decide on a number of rounds you wish to play and see which team or individual wins the most. Firstly you need to set the cards out around the clock it board. The cards are double sided, one side with a word of an item, the other with a picture of an item. You can either stick to one or do a mix of both. Then place twelve cards around the clock, one by each number.

One player is picked to be the first describer and they take control of the clock and need to hide the front from the other players so they don’t see what number the describer is performing. A top tip in the instructions is that the describer and the people guessing are sat at opposite sides of the table – we found this worked really well!

Once you’ve guessed correctly, you take that card away from the clock and the describer presses the handle down to give them another number to describe. Play continues until you have either guessed all twelve cards or the alarm bells sound so the quicker you are the more cards you can collect.

The timer clock with it’s ticking sounds and alarm bells really add excitement and fun to the game, keeping everyone on their toes during play. Once the round has ended you move onto another player or team to be the describer until your desired amount of rounds has ended when you can declare the ultimate winner!

Our pro’s for the Clock it! game:

If you like charades style games then this is perfect for you whether you are acting, drawing or describing
The alarm clock adds so much excitement and tension to the game and keeps everyone on their toes.
The bright coloured cards are eye catching and engaging and with 160 different objects you rarely see a repeat within a round of games
There are many variants of the game to keep interest and change up the way you play
It’s a game for all ages and can be played with just 2-3 people or 2 larger teams
Perfect for Christmas, parties or just all round family weekend fun

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Hot Wires Plug & Play Electronics Set

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Fiona Martin

With British Science Week upon us, John Adam’s Hot Wires Plug & Play Electronics Set is the perfect toy to generate interest in electronics and circuits for children. Miss M age 9 was very excited to try this out as apparently has recently done a similar experiment at school with some wires and a light bulb so she was eager to get started and see what she could create.

The kit contains everything you need to make over 100 experiments along with a full colour instruction booklet that sets out each one clearly. The connector parts are numbered for ease of use and there are many parts such as lightbulbs, speaker, finger sensor, buzzer, switch, LED lights… the list goes on to the extent that once you get the hang of it you can come up with your own creations.

Miss M didn’t waste any time and was straight in the box, creating before I even got a look in and the next thing I knew, she had an invention ready to show me – it’s that simple!

Miss M and her brother had created some sound effects and thought they were hilarious as I don’t think they were expecting to be able to make multiple sounds from what they saw in the box! After calming them down, I managed to record this brief clip of the sounds effects in action:

Next up they decided to make a doorbell. With it having been my birthday the day before they couldn’t believe it when they pressed the finished doorbell, and the tune was that of ‘Happy Birthday’ which none of us were expecting and it was a pleasant surprise.

Overall we absolutely love this Hot Wires set, it’s safe, it’s simple to use and the possibilities are endless. Miss M can use it independently and create some amazing things that both children enjoy looking at and playing with. She’s managed to expand some sets with further pieces to change the pitch of the sound that she made. This really is good to get children thinking, learning and experimenting with electrics in a safe and educational way.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

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John Adams Sands Alive Play Sets – Review

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Fiona Martin

Sands Alive play sets from John Adams are a delight to young children who love sand, enjoy using their hands to be creative and like having fun making things. My two children were excited about the idea of playing with sand indoors and I found these sets to be quite well contained and easy to clean up.

We received the Classic and Animal set to try out. They both come with a tray to play in, a bag of sand and various moulds to shape the sand with.

Both children sat quietly playing, enjoying the texture of the soft sand through their fingers. It’s a great product that’s non sticky, really soft, making it great for kids of any age to play with.

Mister B loved the paw tracks roller which led to lots of imaginative play with some of his figure toys over the animal prints. What is quite amazing is how well defined the sand is one you stamp it or mould it. The edges are really smooth and clear to see. The shapes are easy to press out of the moulds with a few light taps.

Miss M was very proud of the sand ball that she made and it did look quite impressive. The animals were good although a little tricky for younger ones to get out of the mould easily, but we are practising and they are getting better as we get to grips with the moulds. We also made lots of towers for the animals to live in.

The children really enjoy playing with Sands Alive, it’s creative fun that they can play with in the house. We just used an art mat underneath and found it simple to hoover up any excess. I think these are great play sets for children, ideal gifts and something they will enjoy time and time again. A different, new texture that is great to explore!