Dollhouse Miniature Drop-Leaf Table and Two Chair Kit

It's a kit (my bad,I didn't read good enough before I bought it) so if you have never done a model make sure you do it on a day that you have a lot of patience or if you are always patient go for it. It's real delicate so would not recommend it for a small child. After assembly it's real cute. I painted mine instead of staining it . Also it's plastic not wood. Again I needed to read thoroughly before I bought it.

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Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway - Island of Sodor Playboard

I only received the playboards. The product picture shows a table and product features list table rack. No table received.

When my wife ordered this we thought it was a table but once the package arrived there was no need to return it. great buy but remember this is only the PLAYBOARD

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Bratz Play Sportz Xtreme - Cloe Kick Boxing

My niece is a big bratz doll fan. I ordered the doll for Christmas and it arrived in a timely manner and in great condition. Needless to say it was the gift that my 8 year old niece played the most with that Christmas day.

This Cloe rocks, because she comes with these unique arms, unlike the other typical Bratz.

Her top, though feels cheaply made. One of the red straps came off when my sister tried to change her.

Her jacket got a hole in the hood. Perhaps it was there on purpose...

Her pants fit perfectly :) It's made out of a stretchy materiality that slides over her legs easily.

This Cloe is awesome. She comes with a helmet. That teaches kids how to be safe :) So yay for the two stars for educational-ness

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Step2 Naturally Playful Sandbox

My husband and I bought this for our 2 1/2-year-old daughter and she absolutely loves it!She plays in it every day.We liked the idea of natural look so it would not stand out like a sore thumb in the backyard.It is big enough to hold my daughter and two of her friends.She also has a 6-year-old cousin who loves to play in it.They play for hours in it.The sides have little blocks on the corners for the kids to sit while in the sandbox and they are sturdy enough for an adult to sit on.The cover is high and rounded at the top so we are able to store all of her sand toys in the box.We are very happy with this purchase and would recommend this Step 2 product to anyone looking for a sandbox for young children.

Great sand pit! However buy safe sand. There are 4 grades of sand(Fill, plaster, masonary, and Play) and only one grade is suitable for children's sand boxes:play sand. It should be silica free (depending on the state you live in) and is often sterilized. For this reason it is more expensive than the fill sand that is sold in the hardware store.

Crystalline silica, a colorless mineral, also called quartz, is an ingredient in sand, exposure to crystalline silica dust can cause lung diseases such as silicosis, inhaling airborne crystalline silica dust also has been associated with other diseases such as tuberculosis and lung cancer.

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I want to thank M. Beatrice for planting the seed in my mind about "safe" play sand.I read the review, bought this sand box for my one-year old daughter and went to Home Depot to buy Play Sand.The label said it was specifically for use in sandboxes and washed, filtered, etc., so I bought four bags.

When I was unloading it at home, the red warning label caught my eye "Warning:This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer".I couldn't believe it, so checked the sand manufacturer's websiteand sure enough, it's silica sand, known to cause cancer.Good grief and it's legal to sell this stuff for children's sand boxes?

Yes, it's cheap, less than $20 for 200 lbs.But what price do we put on our kid's health?Back it goes and I begin my search for exorbitantly priced "safe sand".(For ideas, type in "safe play sand" in your search engine.) But who cares?At least I won't have to worry about my daughter spending hours playing in a toxic pit!Thanks again, M. Beatrice....

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My 2 year old son loves this sandbox! I chose it because of the natural color (we live in Texas and it seems the hot sun bleaches out most of his toys). Two children can easily play together in it because it's long rather than round or square. Also for the size, it's a really good value! We had his birthday party recently and had a bunch of one to four year old children really test it out so I know it's very durable! The lid fits securly and the little bit of rain or sprinkler water that has fallen on it has not seeped in. Niether have any bugs or animals so far! My nieghbor's 7 year old son likes it also, so it's good for all ages. I highly reccomend it!

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Never gets wet, never leaks, cover stays on through the harshest of weather! I am still impressed. Well worth every penny!!

Save 10% Off

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RoseArt smART Tabletop Easel with Markers and Pencils Included, Packaging May Vary

Why I Should Test/Review Products Before Production #1:

This product, despite the cover is NOT made for children BECAUSE, quite plainly, it is too smart for most people under the age of 12. As a school teacher, I would know.

Specifically, this product is NOT a wise purchase for a child BECAUSE:

1) It puts dry-erase markers right next to regular markers, so they are easily confused.

2) The dry-erase board doubles as a normal easel, so a ruined board ruins the entire stand, it's entire appeal.

3) It IS portable, but in order to be so portable, the clever design is too complicated for children to get used to or use properly; it takes an elaborate unfolding & refolding process to even set it up or take it down.

4) The markers/pencils are SMALL and will not fit unless placed precisely, so a child will not place them back neatly, thus destroying its portability.

5) The markers/pencils are an NON-STANDARD SIZE, so even if said "child" is smart enough not to ruin it in the first 30 minutes, the markers/pencils will run out and be irreplaceable.

All that to say, I understand why it was marked down to $11 at my local Office Max and is awesome for a thrifty gal like me. ;D

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HeroClix Star Trek Tactics Game Starter Set

This has been a long-time coming! Finally, a table-top starship combat game that is easy-to-learn, but not so easy that the gameplay suffers (like a recent collectable WARS amongst the STAR(s) game that comes to mind).

The models are quite nice. They are relatively sturdy and well-painted (and I don't mean just "for a factory-painted model"). Some will complain about some of the ships being out of scale, but if you consider that the model represents the approximate location of the vessel and that true scale would make some of the models impossibly small or impossibly large, this can easily be forgiven, overlooked, or forgotten in the glee of playing with little plastic starships.

The rules are the same as Heroclix rules, which makes this game EVEN EASIER to pick up if you've played Heroclix before. Some have scoffed at this compatibility with quips such as "Superman would never fight the Enterprise!", but I think they're missing the point. The rules are the same for EASE and SIMPLICITY, probably not as much for compatibility's sake. But, I suppose if you wanted Superman to fight a miniaturized U.S.S. Reliant, who could stop you? Let's see Khan fight his way out of that one.

In conclusion, although I am not a big fan of collectible games of ANY kind, I will no doubt pour significant resources into this game.

I picked this up and got exactly what I meant to: some mostly good miniatures.The Clix dial on the Bortas barely works, and the Enterprise is, to be blunt, a terrible miniature; the sculpt and the paint job both may be the worst in the entire line.(One of the boosters I also purchased turned out to be the Reliant, and these two should have similar hull details, but I found it interesting that the Reliant has phaser emitters painted and sculpted where the Enterprise does not...)

I tried out a couple of games, mixing the starter ships and some boosters, and found that the Heroclix system makes for a rather bad joke when it comes to playing a starship combat game.However, as that was only a secondary concern, I'm not too worried.The miniatures are mostly good (again, the Enterprise is an exception, and photos suggest that the Excelsior isn't great, either), and work well to support an expanded edition of the old Fasa Star Trek Tactical Starship Combat Simulator.At most, the Rhode Island and the Bortas might benefit from a quick (and light) wash, but otherwise, they look like professional quality minis; and the Rotarran is just gorgeous, as is.

If you're looking for a good starship game, look up Star Fleet Battles, A Call to Arms, or the out-of-print Fasa game(which still has a lot of unofficial fan support online), but consider these minis, as there are few better lines available.The plastic on the minis is nice and hard, so as to preserve find detail with good, sharp edges, and minimize the bends and other warps found on the softer versions put out a few years back by Micro Machines.While you're at it, if you like Heroclix, or you want a quick, not terribly accurate game that just give you an excuse to play with your toy starships, you may even like the included ruleset.From what I can tell, there are a lot of fans of Heroclix out there, so if the system grabs you, have fun.

For serious gamers:

1. Good, hard plastic, highly detailed and pre-painted starship minis; some lack detail on the underside, but you rarely see that part, anyway.(Could be a bummer, though, if they ever get around to Romulans...)

2. Maps are pretty, but the scale is unworkable.The wreckage on the Wolf 359 map isn't even to scale with itself, though I guess you could just treat it as artistic renders representing areas of debris and high radiation...The DS9 map is just a travesty; again, pretty, but the scale is a joke.The station is 22 inches across, roughly, which would make any ships moving around the map fit better with fighter combat of Star Wars than with Star Trek.(Really, could one fly the Enterprise-E around through the docking arms of the station and maneuver for combat?On top of that, could a Vorcha-class attack cruiser fit, doing the same thing, with two or three other ships? And that's just assuming a 200-300 pt. match.There's plenty of room to squeeze a lot more ships onto the map, if you really wanted to...)

3. Clix bases are a bit too big for standard hex maps; be prepared to either make due with not being able to see the hex a ship occupies, or to rebase the entire lot of ships you might choose to get.(Of course, as miniatures make close range combat a challenge anyway, this may not prove too much of an issue, and the bases provide handy labelling for your ships; instead of talking about D7-A, you can refer to it as the IKS Klothos, and the base will clearly define what ship you're talking about.)

4. The included dice, at least in my starter, weren't terribly well-balanced.They had an odd penchant for rolling doubles.So, move them to your Monopoly game set, and, if you're using d6s for whatever you play with these minis, get some good, high quality dice from Chessex or some such company.

But, there you have it; the review of a gamer who only bought this for the minis; but, hey, when some of the Star Trek-style minis on the market average $7-$15 in today's market, unpainted, who could complain about spending $20 for 4 pre-painted ships?

All in all, you mileage may vary, but I'm happy with the purchase, even though I think they could have done several things differently.

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I love the fact that a Star Trek miniatures game has finally been made with simple rules and easily attainable prepainted figures.The maps included in the pack are outstanding, I especially like the Wolf 359 map and the Deep Space Nine map.

The figures have a great paint job (especially the Klingon ships) and great detail.

The only figure I have a problem with is the Enterprise.5 minutes after opening the package I went to put the figures on display, when the Right Nacelle (engine) of the Enterprise just fell off.I really don't like the mold they used for it.They could of made the nacelles one peice that glues to the body instead of each nacelle gluing idnividually (this is a weaker design).

So If you buy this set, just watch out for the fragile Enterprise engines.Now I have to get the Rare Reliant so I have a reason for the Enterprise missing a Nacelle when I play it.

KHAN, KKHAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN!!!!

Read Best Reviews of HeroClix Star Trek Tactics Game Starter Set Here

I was super excited when I learned that there would be a Star Trek HeroClix set featuring the ships.I absolutely love it.This set is the starter set that comes with a few maps and other things to get started playing the game.As with most of the other packs like this, the clix themselves aren't anything special.They are usually right in the midddle of the pack compared to some of the others in the game.The sculps are awesome though.I can't wait until they release the Borg cubes to go with these.

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Perfect for anyone that loves Star Trek and Heroclix. The combat mechanics translate perfectly from the original game to this expansion.

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Ducky Shaped Pinata

It's a piñata.... pretty self-explanatory. It's exactly as described, and relatively durable. Looks exactly the same as pictured. Good value.

This is not a real piñata. Piñatas are meant to put candy in them and kids to break them. This is too small and thin to hold any candy. This is just a very expensive ornament. Very disappointed.

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Mini Dolphin Electra Lamp

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Megabloks 80pc Lrg Mega Bloks Bag

We have two children, 4 and 2, and originally got these for the younger one for his first birthday.Even then, he could use the blocks a bit because they are easy to put together.In the year and a half since then, they have steadily become the most-played with of all our kids' toys and show no sign of losing popularity.Both kids love to play with them so much that we've realized it's time to get a bunch more so they won't have to share as much (and I can build even taller towers).

These blocks don't stick together as tightly as Legos, but that also means they're easy for kids to take apart, which is often what they love doing.They've been quite durable, and the storage bag has even held up well for being used so much.The stitching is starting to come apart around the zipper, but what can you expect for being used almost every day for over a year?

My son recieved this when he was one, but did not play with it much. I took it back out of the closet when he turned two and now it has become one of his favorites. He is starting to name colors (which this is perfect teaching tool) we also use it for color matching/association. Then there is the good old fashioned I-build-it-and-you-knock-it-down fun! The blocks are easy for a toddler (and infant) to grasp and build with. It has been a wonderful confidence builder in my son who now claps (for himself) when he thinks he is done building. I love that there are eyes as part of the set. It makes making animals fun and enjoyable for all. The bag has held together well for reusable storage. The best part is I can now get things done while he plays for at least a half hour with this!

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We picked up this set as well as a 40 pc set from local stores and our son, who is 18 months old loves stacking them and then taking them apart.

We also have two other small sets that he got for his 1st birthday and all 150 pieces will fit into this 80 piece bag, which is very nice for storage.

Keep an eye out for prices though.We picked up this 80 piece set with a $5 dollar off coupon at Baby's r Us for a total of $12.The 40 piece set at Toy's r Us was $10.

I love Amazon but the $45 price tag I see on this set today is a bit ridiculous.

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Who doesn't remember playing with Lego when they were a kid? I know I spent many hours and beyond making worlds with mine in my youth and naturally want my own son to have the same fun. With Lego Quatro being discontinued, we opted to start him off with Megabloks. On one hand these are great. They are big enough that even a young toddler can handle them with ease. They are also easy to put together and take apart. Unfortunately, they are far too easy to take apart as my son quickly became frustrated when his towers would consistently fall over. Being not quite two he's really in that stage where he just wants to build towers, and that is hard with these blocks as they don't lock together at all, but rather just "sit" on top of each other.

As much as I wanted to like these, I have already had to put these away and replace them with Lego Duplo. The Duplo lock together nicely and my son can finally build the towers he wants. A younger child might have problems using Duplos (putting them together and pulling them apart) though and so these Megabloks would still be the best option in that case. Just be aware that the "play span" of these may be disappointingly short.

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I'm extremely happy with the blocks themselves however, the title said this was an 80 piece block set and wheel base.There were not wheel bases included.If you are trying to find wheels, this is not the kit for you!

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Lalaloopsy Square Table and Chair Set, 3-Pack

I got this delivered to my doorstep yesterday (I LOVE being a Prime Member) and we quickly took it out and set it up. My two younger girls fit perfectly at this table. I will be using it for craft time, snack time, and maybe for their meals. Maybe I will have an updated review later on about its durability.

My only complaint to the company or the shipping service is that the box showed up and it was in its original box. There was nothing covering the product to disguise it. I am always worried about not being home for package deliveries and something "disappearing" from my front porch, especially if one knows what is inside the box already with the picture right on the front.

:-/

4 stars because of packaging or lack there of.

such a cute little table my daughter loves it and it looks so cute in her room. i would def recomend buying this

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This little table set is so cute and sturdy. My 4 year old just loves it. The table and both chairs are padded and have such cute little prints on them. The packaging is great and it arrived quickly. We set this table up in my daughters room and she uses it as a coloring table but it folds up so easily we like the idea that it can be moved to the patio or other rooms as needed. It is very versatile and the possibilities are endless!

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Ticket To Ride

This is an excellent game for 2-5 players, and especially for kids.I was initially put off by the theme and the mentioning of winning the $1 million dollar prize on the advertisement.I immediately thought there would be paper money involved and it would be like Monopoly where I would have to be a banker,,,and yech.But no, I was WRONG. There is no fake money involved!Just little cards with different colors.Easy, but challenging. It is a game where you can be nice and not mess with your opponents supposed destination, or you can try and block them.You get points according to the tracks you lay and connections you make.

But please, I love Amazon, but their Days of Wonder games are all overpriced.You can get this and their other games much cheaper on designated game sites.Do a search, read other reviews, boardgamegeek is a wonderful place to look and compare games.This was one of the first games I bought and I just keep finding more neat games to buy that you can't find here.

***Fast forward 2010*** This is still a great game, that hasn't changed.Just want to note that Amazon does have better pricing on this and other games now, especially when free shipping is involved.

Every year I buy my daughter at least three board games: one for Christmas, one for Three Kings Day and one for her birthday.It has become a tradition we both enjoy.I purchased TTR after reading excellent recommendations from other gamer parents on Boardgamegeek.I was not disappointed.

The game components are well made and beautiful, and the box is designed to store them well.This is very important, as the game has lots of pieces: cards, colorful plastic trains and wooden marker tokens.

Each turn lets you make decisions, play is never merely mechanical.Each time you play you will be able to choose one of three different actions: claim a train route, collect train cards or gather destination tickets.Each of those actions implies further decisions:Do you take a red train or a blue train?The short Duluth or Phoenix?Risk the big payoff tickets or keep only the safer, smaller points destinations?

The instructions are simple enough for non-gamers and children, but game play is engaging for all levels of play.The game accommodates both laid back and cutthroat gaming styles.

If your family games you should add this to your collection.If you are new to gaming and need a place to start, this is a fine first buy.

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When I first heard about Days of Wonder's newest game, Ticket to Ride (Days of Wonder, 2004 Alan Moon), I was excited. But how could I not be for all of Days of Wonders games so far have been fabulous, and it seems that each successive game gets better and better. And Alan Moon with a train game (shades of Union Pacific) sounded like a winning combination. I had an opportunity to play the final version of the game, and was quite impressed with how the game looked.

And is the game any good? The short answer is that once you play this game, you'll never play TransAmerica again. It's a fantastic medium-weight game one that plays equally well with two to five players. The components are superb, the artwork is great, the game is downright fun (and nasty sometimes), and the total package is a very strong contender for the Spiel des Jahres 2004. (which it won!) After my first playing, I ranked it an 8; but after multiple playings the rating moved up to a 9, then a 9.5 and if I keep playing the game at this rate may move into my top ten list. Game play is very tight, and I found that game scores can run very close making for an exciting game, all the way down to the finish.

Each player receives forty-five train cars in one color, and places a matching round token of that color on a scoring track. A large board is placed in the middle of the table, with a map of America (circa late 1800's) superimposed upon it. Thirty-six cities are there, each connected by one or two "railroad lines". These lines are made up of one to six spaces, and are one of eight colors: purple, yellow, black, white, green, red, blue, brown, and gray (neutral color). A deck of "tickets" is shuffled, and three are dealt to each player. Players may discard one of them, but must keep at least two of them. Each ticket has two cities on them, and a point value that a player will receive if they connect those two cities, or lose if they don't connect the cities. The remainder of the ticket cards are shuffled and placed in a face down pile next to the board. A pile of train cards is shuffled, and four are dealt to each player. The remainder are shuffled and placed next to the board, then five of them are turned over and placed face-up next to the draw pile. The player who has traveled the most goes first, and then play continues clockwise around the table.

On a turn, a player may do one of three things. They may draw two cards, one at a time from either the face-up cards and/or the draw pile. Each card shows a different color of train car matching the eight different colored spaces on the board. There is twelve of each color car in the deck. There are also eighteen "locomotive" cards, which function as wild cards. When a player draws a face-up card, the card is replaced immediately before they draw another card. A locomotive card counts as two cards if drawn when face-up, but only one if drawn when face-down. If there are ever three locomotive cards face-up at any time, all five cards are immediately discarded, and five new cards are drawn. If the cards run out, the discard pile is shuffled back to form a new draw deck.

The second thing a player may do is to draw three ticket cards. They must keep at least one of them, but have the option of keeping all of them, if they like. The others (if any), are discarded.

The third thing a player may do is play cards to place their train cars on the board. A player may play one through six cards of the same color (including wild cards), to place the same amount of train cards on a corresponding line on the board. For example, Las Vegas is connected to Salt Lake City by an orange line consisting of three spaces. Three orange cards must be played to put three trains of that player's color on those spaces. No more players could then place anything between those two cities, and if players want to connect those two cities with their lines, they'll have to go around the long way (if possible). Gray lines can have any color cards played to place trains on them, but the cards played must match the number of spaces in the gray line, and all of the cards must be the same color. When placing trains, the player doing so receives points 1 point for one train placed, 2 points for two trains, 4 points for three trains, 7 points for four, 10 points for five, and 15 points for six trains. Some cities have two lines connecting them, both of which can be used in a four or five-player game. In a two or three-player game, however, once one of these lines has been used, the other cannot.

When one player, after taking their turn, is down to two train cars or less, the final round begins. Starting with the player to their left, each player has one final turn, and then the game is over. The trains on the board are counted to make sure that the points were totaled correctly during the game, and then ticket cards are revealed. If players can trace a continuous path between the two cities on their card with their color train cars only, they receive the points, and move their tokens accordingly. Otherwise, they lose the points, and must move their token down the scoring track that many points. The player who has the longest continuous track also gets ten points. The player with the most points is the winner!

Some comments on the game...

1.) Components: As usual, the components for Ticket to Ride are supreme. Days of Wonder has, by far, more superior components for their games than any other company. The board is fantastic, with a nice map, and when the train cars nice plastic cars in bright colors are placed on it, the whole thing looks pretty fantastic! The cards are of the highest quality, and are about half the size of normal playing cards. Each color card not only has a different train car on it, but they have symbols in the corners to help differentiate between the colors (good for the color blind). Everything fits into a wonderful plastic insert that is in a beautiful, sturdy box the same size as Days of Wonder's other Big Box Games.

2.) Rules: The rules are only four pages large, colorful, illustrated pages but only four! The game is being printed in many languages and has the distinction of being the first major game release that I know of that has been produced in Korea, something which is rather dear to my heart. The game can be explained in about 5 minutes, and I am very pleased at how easy it is for people to pick up. Even people who have a hard time understanding simple games ("No, John, you cannot attack people in Settlers of Catan!") had an easy time picking up the game and I was amazed at how fast strategies were picked up.

3.) Strategy: When I first was taught the game by Eric Hautemont, CEO of Days of Wonder, I didn't think that strategy would be that important. Then, he beat us, scoring 162 points to my 82, and my friends 54. I was floored! I thought that I was doing well, during the game, but realized several things that I missed afterwards. I found out in the game that there are different strategies, and was impressed with how they differed. One can ignore their ticket cards and just try to place long trains, hoping to get a lot of points. Or one can try to complete as many ticket cards as possible, not worrying too much about how long of trains they place on the board. Then, there is the middle ground but is a compromise of the two strategies enough to win? Not to mention the fact that players must watch other players, and occasionally place trains to mess them up.

4.) Cutthroat: This gives the game a real "cut throat" atmosphere. Sometimes the best move for a player is to place train cars between cities they don't care that much about just to stop another player either from getting the longest chain of cars, or completing their tickets. This can cause some enmity, but it's all in good fun, and I really enjoyed the player interaction from taking cards to placing trains.

5.) Holding cards: It's fun to get a big hand of cards (there is no upper limit). Players try to hoard cards so that they can place long trains of cars, scoring the big points. Also, players must always keep in mind that everyone else is watching them, trying to determine where they are going. The longer a player keeps the cards in their hand, the less they tip their hand. However, if one player suddenly uses up all their trains, causing the final round, and you are stuck with a huge hand of cards, it can be quite devastating. My wife found this out the hard way. She was about to connect three cities that would complete two of her tickets probably winning the game. Another friend of mine, in the same game, had the same problem. Either one of them could have won the game, but because they held the cards just one turn to long they lost. Of course, I was the evil guy who caused the game to end, but I got my just desserts, losing by only one point to yet another player and the winning point was caused by her having the longest continuous train of cars.

6.) Fun Factor: And yet, even with the bluffing, and the other little nasty tactics, the game is extremely fun. The decisions are short, causing the game to move quickly, but can be quite stressful at times. Yet these decisions really make the game fun! Blocking someone else off, using your own lines, pulling two locomotives from the draw pile, or finally connecting those two cities all of this adds up to a wonderful time of fun!

7.) Time and Players: The game runs quickly, because the decisions are important, but don't bog the game down to much. I was impressed with how well the game scaled, but found that the two-player game was much different than a five-player one. Both were fun, but needed different tactics.

As you can see, I really enjoyed this game. I think it has strong possibilities of being one of the best games of the year. Alan Moon has always been one of my favorite designers, and this is one of his best games in years. Days of Wonder has put a lot of time and effort into producing this game, and it shows. When I first played TransAmerica, I thought that it was a boring game -what was the point, and where was the strategy? Fortunately, the strategy and fun in this game are wonderful. I don't need a "dumbed-down" game to introduce new folks to the wonderful world of board games. I can just use games like this tremendous, fun games, filled with tactical choices and enjoyable times.

Tom Vasel

Read Best Reviews of Ticket To Ride Here

The USA version of Ticket To Ride is fun but frustratingly cutthroat; I would not recommend getting the base set without the Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride 1910 Expansion, which offers three superior variants, more tickets (routes) and regular sized playing cards to replace the tiny ones included in the base set. The main problem with the base set is that whoever builds the big northern routes usually wins, exacerbated by the awarding of a "longest route" ticket worth bonus points. The 1910 expansion offers you the choice of eliminating the longest route bonus and awarding a "most routes completed" bonus instead, or using both of them, or neither. That helps tailor the win condition to best suit the group.

However, I still prefer the Ticket to Ride Europe with the Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride 1912 Expansion because of it provides more interesting challenges (ferries and tunnels) and adds stations players can use to get around being cut off in completing their routes. These stations can easily be used in USA or other versions. Europe still has the "longest route" bonus points award but this is easier to get for everyone because if you have to use a station to complete a route ticket, it no longer counts toward your getting the longest route award.

Another excellent option over the USA version is the Days of Wonder Ticket To Ride Marklin (Germany) version that adds passengers you can use to score crazy bonus points that add a whole new strategy to the game; unlike the stations in Europe, however, the passenger mechanic is not easily integrated into other editions. Another nice thing about Marklin is that it offers the most balanced map with a near equal distribution of long and short routes which are split up on the left and right sides of the vertical map. With Marklin, completing a ton of short routes is just as viable a win strategy as long routes in the USA base sets.

Both Europe and Marklin also split your initial ticket allotment into long (blue-backed) and short (brown-backed) routes; you get to choose how many of each you want to do--unlike the USA base set, which is totally random in its ticket distribution (long routes are harder to complete but offer more bonus points to win than short routes).

I also enjoy the Ticket to Ride Switzerland Map Expansion and Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries Board Game. Both Switzerland and Nordic Countries are designed for only 2-3 players, unlike the usual 2-5) so they are great options for smaller groups. They also offer the two most challenging maps.Unfortunately, Switzerland is out-of-print and online sellers are charging a fortune for it.You can play it and the USA and Europe versions online, however, for a much more reasonable cost (live opponents or vs. the computer).I've played the online version almost 1,000 times since August 2010 but I still love playing the board games.They are my favorite board games of all time!

One thing to watch out for, in my opinion, is that the original USA edition is initially fun but that fun can turn to frustration once you realize the easiest way to win is to just build the long northern routes. That problem is corrected with the 1910 Expansion by providing new route tickets, a new way to score bonus points, and two variants: Big Cities and USA Mega-Game -the Mega-Game uses everything in the expansion set and is my favorite way to play Ticket To Ride: USA). However, I still prefer the maps and additional challenges (like building ferries and tunnels) that are provided by the Europe and Marklin editions.

No matter which version you pick, if you know how to play one, the others are easy to pick up, and the rules of all editions are fast and easy to learn in about 5 minutes.

Ticket To Ride is, in my opinion, the best light strategy (or "gateway") game on the market to bring family and friends together.Actual game time may vary depending on the number of players, their familiarity with the maps and rules, and how quickly they can strategize and complete their turn (most turns are finished in a minute or less but some could last up to 5, especially when choosing additional route tickets). I'd say every version of Ticket To Ride (even with expansions) takes about 60 minutes on average but a game could last anywhere from 30-120 minutes (the difference between having 2 players vs. 4-5, for example, and/or if some newbie players need rules or strategy help, or are just really bad at making decisions and revising their strategy on the fly).

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After noting that Ticket to Ride continues to be one of the highest-rated board games at numerous board gamer sites, we bought a copy.

The board gamers are right. This German-made game beats familiar games like Monopoly and Risk hands-down.

OBJECT

Each player must complete a series of rail lines spanning cities based upon destination cards drawn at the beginning (and throughout) the game. Each destination carries points related to the length of the line, so a New York to Los Angeles line would score more points than Chicago to Boston. Incomplete destinations count against players at the end of the game, so completing them, even through circuitous routes is a must. The exciting part of the game comes from not knowing who is completing his or her lines, plus the ability to overlap lines, stymieing other players.

Game play takes between 30 and 90 minutes depending on the number of players and the speed at which they make decisions.

GAME PIECES

High quality throughout, the game includes:

A fold-out board of the United States and southern Canada, plus a scoring track around the edge. The cities on the board connect through colored track lines, each line between one and six units in length.

A set of destination cards showing lines that must be completed.

Five sets of forty-five train pieces. Each player takes one same-color set of trains.

A set of colored train cards that correspond to the colored lines that connect cities.

Scoring markers that correspond to a player's train color.

PLAY

Each player is dealt three destination cards in the beginning and must keep at least two. These form the basis for their lines. They also receive four train cards. To claim a line, players must create sets of the same color and number of train cards as the line connecting two cities. (The color of the lines has nothing to do with the player's train color, but the cards they have in hand.)

Each player, in turn, can perform one of three actions:

1. Draw two train cards per turn from either the set of five placed up for all players to see, or blind from the train card deck. (One card if one of the showing wild cards is chosen.)

2. Play a set of matching train card colors to claim a line between two cities.

3. Get dealt a new set of three destination cards, keeping at least one.

Players score points when they claim a line of track connecting two cities, the length of the track yielding proportionately higher scores. Scoring markers are moved around the 100-point scoring guide on the board perimeter.

When one player has laid all his or her train pieces, the other players get one last turn. Players then reveal their destination cards and add (or subtract, for incomplete lines) to their total. The longest continuous length of claimed track scores additional points, too. Highest point total wins.

REVIEW

Pros:

A gorgeous, well-made game that's easy on the eyes, Ticket to Ride combines simple rules and nail-biting game play with a significant level of strategy. You can't ask for more in a board game.

All ages will love this game. Even children as young as six can play since the rules are simple.

Will please folks sick of the usual board games everyone has.

Game play is short enough to allow multiple sessions of play.

The manufacturer has other games in the Ticket to Ride series that work off the same basic gaming system, though with differing degrees of skill (through additional rules and trickier city layouts). Expansion kits exist, too, so players familiar with the game can get an additional kick out of their existing set. Lastly, an online, multi-player, interactive version of the game can be played through the manufacturer's Web site.

Cons:

The manufacturer lists a game session as lasting 30-60 minutes. We've found it closer to 45-90 minutes.

Ticket to Ride has been around since 2004 and is beginning to show some age when compared against newer European-style board games. In addition, other games in the Ticket to Ride series eclipse the base game (though some expansions require the base game for play). For a game that plays similarly to Ticket to Ride but adds more depth of play, consider Ticket to Ride designer Alan Moon's Airlines Europe.

OVERALL

As someone who loves games, I found Ticket to Ride to be a great introduction to European-style board games. Nothing disappoints. Everyone who plays the game wants to know where to get a copy. Ticket to Ride has won numerous Game of the Year honors around the world, and it's easy to see why. Absolutely worthy of its stars.

UPDATE: For enhanced play, consider the 1910 expansion. It includes larger, easier-to-read cards, additional destinations, and more winning conditions. It makes a four-star game into five!

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Avengers Resin Figures - Loki on Letter Base "R"

nice quality of the sculpting, very well detailed even for the low price that was given to me. Shipped out to me really quick.

Wow what a great figure!, i hope to get the others over time. it looks better than i expected, YAY

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Deluxe Bulls-eye Ball 8.5 Foot Table By Berner Billiards

First, what's up with the rainbow on the side?I was installing this in a contemporary living/play room and had to hide it as best I could.Maybe ship some optional decals, but a huge, non-removable rainbow really limits this thing.I tried to paint over the rainbow side, but my Behr Ultra Paint+Primer didn't stick to it because its so glossy and plastic-y.Wiped right off.

Why did I have some paint+primer that matched the eye-burning blue of this thing?Because the vinyl-sticker cvoering on the upper-front covers was badly peeled back when this thing arrived, exposing the cardboard-colored presswood below.Rather than sending this behemoth back, I just peeled off the rest of the blue sticker-type covering on the front (not as easy as it sounds) and painted it.It's much flatter than the rest of the unit now, but I don't think anyone else would notice.

The next issue is the cage covering the play area.It doesn't work with the cage on.Balls are constantly hitting it, interfereing with game play.The solution was to just remove the front panel of the cage, which actually looks better in my opinion.So no problem.

For what it's worth, from the front, you see mostly black and the yellow board, so if you can set it up so that is your veiwing angle, it doesn't look quite as tacky.

One other minor gripe is that the stickers labeling the scores for each hole are a little cheap-looking.Also, the "player" button on mine didn't work when I got it set up.But that's not necessary to play really, so I'm just ignoring that.

All in all though, I am actually very happy with this thing.It's fun to play, and I haven't seen anyting else on the market quite as good for this amount of money.Speaking of, I also own the older non-"deluxe" verion of this skeeball from the same company, in all-white with multi-colored holes.Despite the rainbow, I like this one better.The other one is good too, but a bit lower quality, and the all-white is actually too plain.If you don't mind or can hide that rainbow, go with this one.

The Deluxe Bulls-eye Ball 8.5 Foot Table by Berner Billiards was assembled Christmas Eve as a surprise for the Grand children.Soon found out that two of the switches that register the score did not work.The balls could not push them far enough to engage the circuit and register a score.They both had yellow pain overspray on the levers which probably got into the switch mechanism.I contacted the seller a week later to explain the problem and was assured that 2 new switches would be sent.After waiting six more weeks I still had not received the switches.I contacted the seller again and was assured by David that he was sending out the switches that day.Here it is 2 weeks later and still no switches.The switches are not generally available that I can find but will have to try and figure out something to make them work.If I had it to do over again I would have contacted Amazon immediately to return the entire game rather than trust the seller to do what they said they would do.Hopefully, my complaint with the credit card company may have some success.The game is totally useless without all the switches functioning. I would never purchase from this company again.

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During assembly, I damaged the circuit board (one of two) on the back of the game by pulling the lead wire out of it.I've sent countless e-mails and placed phone calls to try and get a replacement with no success.If you buy this product, steer clear of gametables4less.They are 100% unwilling to assist you with anything.

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Make sure you have about an hour to put it together.It is lots of fun and well build.The only negative is that sometimes the scoring does not register in the 10 point whole.Other than that it is lots of fun at a reasonable price.

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Activity Table with Three Bins by KidKraft

table is great.One bin came broken beyond use.My 2 year old grandson loves it with his wooden train set on it.. It arrived in record breaking time!Great purchase!

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Magic: the Gathering - Phantasmal Dragon - Magic 2012

OH MY GOD is that A 5/5 with flying for four mana !?!?! oh....... its dies if it is targeted by a spell or ability wait wait wait what is that? lord of the unreal? that give the phantasmal dragon +1+1 and hexproof so its a 6/6 flying with HEXPROOF!? for four mana!!?! nnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yup one of the greatest combos in magic phantasmal dragon and lord of the unreal its truly a awsomecombo for two and four mana yeah

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Game of Life

If you have ever played the earlier version of life please do yourself a favor and avoid this "new" version like the blak plague. My friends and I used to play the old version every single day up to late hours. Once we learned the new version was out we ran and bought it. WHAT A DISAPOINTMENT!!!! Compared to the old version this one is HORRIBLE. It isn't fun. The new rules [are not good]. You can not bet anymore. Money isn't the way it used to be (what's with the litte pieces of carton?) Maybe if someone at MB reads this they will go back to the basics and bring back what was once a great and fun family game to play. Lucky for us we still have, and play with, our old and much better version of Life.

I used to LOVE "The Game of Life."A friend and I bought this over the summer for her nine year-old son.What a disappointment!The board is difficult to assemble, the pieces pop out of the slots throughout the game, and the spinner doesn't work very well.They also added these strange and meaningless cards basically makes the millionaire spot pointless, and they also changed the stock market.I really hope my dad hasn't thrown away my original game, because this one is not what I remembered.

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Black and Gold Star Fringe Skirt

The item came as estimated for shipping. The was color was perfect as in the picture provided online. I'm glad I had purchase this item, it went great with a black & gold party I had. I would recommend it,

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Hathaway Shuffleboard Table Cover

I never thought I would be in the market for a cover to a shuffleboard table, but there I was.I found this one on Amazon for the cheapest price, and bought it without hesitation.It turned out to be a good price, good product, and good shipping.Well done.I'm not sure how to get the wrinkles out (they had to package it someway), but that's my only complaint.

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Train Table | Activity Play Table

I was attempting to put this table together tonight for my son's birthday, which is tomorrow morning.I'm very frustrated that the manufacturer provided the incorrect number of pieces to assemble the table properly.I was provided 3 of one side and 1 of the other where I should have 2 of each.I am sad that all my son will see in the morning is a pile of particle board on the floor.We'll see how the customer service experience goes.In addition, there is a veneer finish on one of the other pieces that was damaged.I'm not sure how well the finish on the table is made.I am requesting a replacement piece for that part as well since I'll have to wait for the other piece to arrive anyway.Otherwise, I hope he'll like it.

This is an overall disappointing table.It is difficult to tell from the small pictures provided by the website.But, this table is NOT made of wood, but some particle board-like material composite.That's not really the main issue.The main issue is that the wood-like finish is extremely thin.So thin, that the stickers the manufacturer puts on the toy to indicate how to assemble the table PULL OFF THE FINISH when you remove them!Tears the finish off like a layer of cardboard.The picture top is 3 three separate pieces and the picture doesn't line up.The plastic edging is also not adhered very well and is coming away from the parts in several places.

Good beater table if you really don't care a bit what it looks like.Cheap doesn't even cover it.

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this was a wonderful investment for our grandson.He is autistic and the durability and interesting landscape kept his interest.

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ALEX TOYS Air Dry Clay Refill: Deluxe Pottery Wheel

I ordered the Alex Deluxe Pottery Wheel for a Christmas gift and this refill was offered with it. Price was very good when offered with the toy itself. Delivery was extremely fast.

I bought 3 of these for various girls in my life (ranging in age from 7 to 11). Only one has held up to any type of use. Two of the others died the first time out of the box, the other one died on the third pot. My daughter's is still going strong but she's only made one pot because the clay dried out in the box even though it was wrapped in what I thought was air tight packaging.We just ordered the refill and will see if it can hold up to pot number 2

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