Fun Family Games from Tomy - Review

We love a good games night and with the evenings getting darker even earlier now, there is no better time to shut the curtains, grab some snacks and setup camp in the living room playing board games.

We have a good selection already but you can never have too many, so when we were asked to try out some new games from Tomy we of course said yes.

We were sent Pop-up Darth Vader and Greedy Granny, both perfect games for younger children and also if you just fancy a quick few games before bedtime.

Pop-up Darth Vader is based on the classic Pop-up Pirate, a game I loved playing as a child but with a new twist of one of my sons favourite film characters. The mini Darth Vader sits inside the barrel and you place tiny little light sabres in slits around the sides, eventually one of the light sabres makes Darth Vader pop up, sending squeals of laughter and slight heart palpitations through the three of us.


It even has its sound effects including the Star Wars theme, light sabre sounds and Darth breathing, it is lots of fun and great for any Star Wars fans out there. It is a great twist on a game loved by generations and is something children of today can relate to, I love it and so do the kids. It is one of those games that doesn’t take long to set up and can be played just a few times as a boredom buster.

Unlike the original Pop-up Pirate this version is only for three players, although this is perfect for us it may not be for everyone, it also requires an AA battery (not included) to play the sound affects.

Greedy Granny works in a similar way, you balance Granny’s biscuits on her tray and you have to spin a spinner with a number on it, you take a biscuit and then press a button next to Granny’s chair the number of times on the spinner, if you are lucky she stays asleep if you’re not she wakes up, throwing her biscuits everywhere and in a rather comical fashion her false teeth. The winner is the one to collect one of each biscuit without waking Granny up.

Greedy Granny is a really funny game with the same heart stopping finale of Pop-up Darth, you don’t know when she is going to pop but once she does it makes you jump out of your skin.

These games would make great additional presents for Christmas, the perfect something extra to play on Christmas Day and beyond.

Pop-up Darth retails at about £14.99 which is more than the Pop-up Pirate version but if you have a Star Wars fan then that little extra is worth it, Greedy Granny is £19.99, this is a little more than I would normally pay for a game, however, if you can find her on offer somewhere then she is a fab fun game which will have the family laughing out loud.

We were sent these items to form this review, all words, opinions and pictures are my own.

Family Time at Drayton Manor Park

I spent many a happy hour at Drayton Manor Park when I was younger, I remember my first time having the life scared out of me on the Shockwave and getting soaked on Storm Force 10, I remember when the Haunting opened and probably one of my favourites, beating my mates on the Wild West Shoot Out.

But now with children, going back isn't just about the thrills, its about having a fun day out with my family with rides that everyone can enjoy.  We've been a few times with them, my daughter was a about 2 last time we visited, it was then she fell in love with Rosie and Thomas. Her excitement to go back meant we were being asked if it was time to go to Thomas Land pretty much every day leading up to our visit.

With both of them now old enough and tall enough to go on everything it meant we could have a proper family day out with everyone going on the rides.  Thomas Land is ideally aimed at younger children, my son who is almost eight still thoroughly enjoyed the rides and me at a mere 21 plus a few years had equally as much fun. My 5 year old daughter absolutely loved all of it, although she was reluctant to go on the Troublesome Trucks ride to start with, after she had seen how much fun it was she was on them and enjoying them immensely.

Each of the rides offer something different, whether it is the Captains Sea Adventure which is kind of like a static river rapids, to Rocking Bulstrode who was in his own way was a bit like the pirate ship, there was something for everyone big and small.

We popped in for a bit of a blogger catch up in the VIP suites in Sodor Airport, the perfect way to warm up and have a cuppa, the VIP  rooms are really well laid out and are available for private parties. I can't imagine anything better for a child who loves Thomas and his friends than a party at Thomas Land. a day there with food, rides and an incredible view over Thomas Land.

After this we headed over to the zoo, you can take the train over to the zoo however we thought a walk would be good and we'd catch the train back. I think this is one of the reasons why we have loved Drayton Manor so much, both of our children have always loved animals and it really breaks the day up from just being all about the rides It also offers an element of calm amongst the mayhem.

As we wandered around the many enclosures it was difficult to choose a favourite animal, but I think mine has to be the endearing meerkats, my son chose everything as he is a proper animal lover, my daughter loved the parrots and my husband liked the black leopard best. There is a wonderful selection of animals for children of all ages, from the exotic, like flamingos and tigers, to more domestic animals like guinea pigs, with plenty in between.

A trip to Drayton Manor wouldn't be complete without a trip through the Dino Trail, my son was five the last time we went and he loved it then, nothing has changed and he still loved it now, he was even a little bit scared of running through them alone. It is the perfect place for a photo op and although we probably looked a little crazy we all got into the spirit and did what any normal person would do when faced with the fearsome T-Rex....run!

The children had a good half an hour play on Spencer's Outdoor Activity Park which is located next to the Dino Trail, there are a lot of picnic benches in this area so a great place to stop for some lunch. Next to the farm area of the park is the Discover Thomas Exhibition and Terence's Driving School, the kids were brilliant at the driving and there wasn't a huge queue so they had lots of fun learning to drive round the track.

After we finished walking round the zoo, we headed back on Thomas to Thomas land, a highlight for my daughter, as we chugged along back through the trees it was a welcome treat for my feet which by this point were aching. Once we arrived back at Thomas Land, we managed to squeeze in a few more rides as well as a chat with the Fat Controller, the perfect ending to the day before we headed through the gift shop and home.

Although only Thomas land was open during our visit, once the season starts properly on March the 12th, there will be plenty of thrills and spills to enjoy, with many rides for the young and old,  including the monochrome big wheel and the old faithful pirate ship.

Whatever you look for in a family day out, Drayton Manor Park is sure to have it, I shall leave you with one final momento of our day, a little video my son and husband made on the Troublesome Trucks, we all thoroughly enjoyed this ride.

NB: Thank you to Drayton Manor for inviting us to visit the park, all opinions and pictures are my own.