Equestrian Fun with Star Stable (PLUS Your Chance To Win)

Star Stable is a 3D virtual game which combines both equestrian role play and fantasy fun that the children (or kids at heart) can enjoy. It's ideal for those that love horses or animals in general and being a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) they can chat safely online with friends to build their social skills without even leaving the house.

Apart from many educational benefits which include teaching your children about caring for animals, they can select and name horses for their personal stable before training them, competing in races and solving mysteries along the way. There really is so much to do and Minxy in particular has really liked this game so far. It's also far cheaper than riding lessons or purchasing her a new pet which many mums and dads will appreciate!

Making Predictions For The Year Ahead

On New Years Eve 2013 we began a new tradition. It is just a bit of fun and a great way to bring the extended family together, to not only celebrate the end of a fantastic year but to make our predictions for the year ahead too. 

It all simply began over a few glasses of wine cups of tea and a buffet dinner by discussing what exciting things we had planned for 2014, with holidays and weddings being mentioned by all. We then decided to make it competitive, as families often do, so the pads of paper came out, the glasses went on and there was hush in the room as we sat on the edges of our seats.

Smurfs 2 *Review and Giveaway*

To celebrate the release of The Smurfs 2 in cinemas today, we have 2 games to giveaway on a platform of your choice!

You can play as a variety of characters, each with a special ability, as you help to rescue Smurfette who has been captured on her birthday by evil Gargamel and the Naughties. There are different worlds, as featured in the movie, including the Enchanted Forest and Paris, which you must work through fighting villains along the way! 

 Jamster in particular loves playing this and has found it fun unlocking new Smurfs to control, collecting Smurfberries, Smurf Coins and Blue Vials in the process. He has managed to defeat Azarael the Cat and the Naughties and is soon to challenge Gargamel himself to free the little blue prisoner.

The game is suitable for 1-4 players and for children aged 7+ but its fairly straightforward and younger children shouldn't have any difficulty playing this platform game either.

You begin at the safety of Smurf Village from which you travel through portals to the different levels of the game and even once complete you can take on extra objectives and ensure you find every coin to make it more challenging.

*** Win ***

For your chance to win 1 of 2 The Smurfs 2 games from Ubisoft you can enter via the Rafflecopter entry form below.

The giveaway closes on 16th August 2013.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can purchase the game here:

*We received 'The Smurfs 2' game for the purpose of this review and giveaway. 
The opinions given are honest and our own*

Just Dance Disney Party *Review*

Getting fit and having fun is the perfect combination and Just Dance Disney Party provides just that. While the Mini Mes get to dance along to their favourite songs from a variety of Disney shows and movies, I get to burn off some calories (which you can track) having a boogie with Wii remote to hand!

The game is suitable for ages 3 and over so the entire family enjoy it. With 25 songs from movie classics including Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Tangled plus tunes from Disney's latest shows like Hannah Montana and Jessie there is something for both old and young to appreciate.

Beautiful costumes from Rubies

The choreography, which includes all new duets where you can select which character you wish to copy, is easy to follow with next move icons displayed in the bottom corner of the screen. The more correct moves you make the higher your score will be and there are even gold moves for extra points too. 

You can play individually or together as a team and try the different modes for added variety which include Freeze & Shake and Balloon Pop .

The graphics are fantastic and are brought to life with immersive visual effects and the environments from the actual movie or show you are dancing along to. The game is very easy to navigate and we were really impressed!

You can create your own custom playlist or select from the ones available and there is the option to put on Non-Stop Shuffle for a dance timing of your choice; 15, 30, 60, 120 minutes. There are options to have certain songs play in alternative languages and with the lyrics scrolling at the bottom you can sing along and learn the words as you dance too.

In the main menu there is a Parents section where you can track game stats, progress, medals and read health tips - I found this really useful to see what calories I had burnt and to check how long the Mini Mes had been playing.

The game was fun, with a nice variety of songs including the Mini Mes favourites (and mine) and there were dances of different pace and difficulty to suit every ability. The calorie tracker was greatly appreciated by me trying to lose weight! I would recommend this for Disney fans and also for parents trying to get fit as it doesn't feel like exercise but helps to shred unwanted weight. It could do with some songs from Toy Story for Jamster but he still loved the game and dressing up to play regardless of that.

You can buy your own copy from Amazon

 

The beautiful costumes that we received were from Rubies. They were great quality and a comfortable fit - the Mini Mes have worn these many times since receiving them already.
You can purchase the costumes here: http://www.rubiesuk.com

*We were sent Just Dance Disney Party and 2 costumes for the purpose of this review. The opinions given are honest and our own*

My little Skylander fan(atic)

When Jamster first saw the Skylanders starter pack advert on TV and turned to me with wide eyes and an open mouth, I knew that it was something he would love. I pre-ordered the set and put it away for Christmas.

Ever since he received it he has spent many rainy days sat at the Wii, remote to hand, playing away silently. I'll admit I have joined in from time to time quite frequently  to help him on his quest.

He's used his pocket money to purchase more figures...

We HAD to go to see the Skylanders first when we went to Lollibop...

...and he has the t-shirt and posters to match his favourite game too.

His favourite Skylander is Wrecking Ball as "his tongue sticks out and he is cheeky" but he loves Dark Spyro too as he is "totally awesome" apparently!

He can't wait until the release of Skylanders Giants - something no doubt Santa will HAVE to get him for Christmas this year!

What do your little ones love?

Project 366, 161/366 - Darts

Most probably think darts is a pub game for old men but it's surprisingly fun! There is more to it than 501/301 and we play other dart games too like cricket and killer. Here are some of my darts (and a vodka and coke). I have a lovely collection of pink flights and stems in my pink case hehe.