Tuesday 21 April 2020

National Stationery Week with Cross Pens - A Review

As I work from home, it is fair to say that I have accumulated a fair amount of stationery over the years. My collection includes everything from post-it notes to pencils, paperclips to pens and staplers to sharpeners and I like to keep it all nicely organised.

I was therefore really keen to be involved with National Stationery Week this year, which is happening this week up until the 26th April 2020. With the lock down still in place, it is also the perfect time to support National Stationery Week, by getting your stationery out and writing a letter or drawing a picture to send to a friend or family member to let them know you are thinking of them.

My children and I have decided to write my parents (their grandparents) a letter this week, to let them know just how much we are missing them. They live only half a mile away from us, so it has been so hard to not be able to just pop round and see them every couple of days like we usually would, so we thought that writing a letter would bring a smile to all our faces instead.


In collaboration with National Stationery Week, one of their sponsors Cross, kindly sent us a lovely gift of a Wanderlust Pen, which I am really excited to use to write my letter with. I have always considered Cross to be a premium brand and their products appear to me as being sophisticated, professional and most importantly excellent quality.

The Wanderlust pens have been inspired by Planet Earth and as someone who loves to travel, the idea behind these designs suits me just perfectly. Mine is the Antelope Canyon Ballpoint Pen, which is just over 5 inches in length. It has a lovely and elegant curved clip, which complements the white lacquer and gold plated engravings beautifully.


This pen will cost you £65.00 on the Cross website and it comes nicely presented in a premium gift box, making it the perfect stationery treat for yourself, or as a quality gift to celebrate a special occasion or birthday.

Overall, I am absolutely in love with my Cross pen and it is a pleasure to write with. The pen just glides across the paper and writing seems much more effortless. I am definitely going to treat myself to some other items in the Cross range in the future and if you would like to take a look at some of the products available, then you can visit the Cross website or their social media pages on the following channels:



If you would like to find out more about National Stationery Week, then check out their social media channels below. I have also found some fantastic competitions over on Twitter in celebration of #NatStatWeek, so be sure to check out the hashtag too!



*Disclaimer - We were gifted a Cross Wanderlust Pen in collaboration with Cross and National Stationery Week. All opinions and thoughts are my own unless otherwise stated.



Sunday 19 April 2020

Rubik's Cage from Ideal Games - A Review

Over the past couple of weeks, we have written reviews on some of the great family games available from Ideal Games. However, as much as we have enjoyed playing these together, we also love a good puzzle. My eldest son has always been a fan of Rubik's and as had various original 3 x 3 cubes over the years. He still hasn't managed to successfully complete it yet, but has certainly enjoyed trying and he has definitely got closer than me in his attempts.

We were therefore really excited to learn more about the Rubik's Cage, where unlike the original cube that is for a sole player, this puzzle can be played by 2-4 people at a time. It is a 3 in a row strategy game, which although sounds easy, it is definitely not as simple as it may first appear.


The box is quite small, so it is easy to take away with you and use as a travel game and there is a clear window at the front, so you can see the product inside. It is bright, colourful and certainly eye catching, with the phrase "Drop It, Twist It, Flip It, Win It" written across the bottom. The rear of the box provides some brief details as to how the game is played, along with some supporting images and a list of contents.

On opening the box, we found it included:
  • 1 x Rubik's Cage
  • 24 x Cubies
  • Instructions

Setting up the game is really easy and you simply start with the Rubik's cage empty. The number of cubies each player has, depends on whether you are playing a 2, 3 or 4 player game. We played a two player game first, so this meant that each player selected three different sets of coloured cubies. For example, I chose red, blue and orange and Riley chose white, yellow and green. In a two player game, each person should have 12 cubes. 

The object of the game is to be the player who manages to align three of their coloured cubies in a row on one face first. This row can be vertically, horizontally or even diagonally, which might sound simple, but once the game is in play, anything can change.


Each player must take it in turns to make a move, which can be any of the following:
  1. Drop a Cubie - This is when a player places one Cubie into any of the eight sections.
  2. Twist the Cage - This is when a player turns one layer of the Rubik's cage 90 degrees in either direction.
  3. Flip the Cage - This is when a player turns the cage upside down by rotating it 180 degrees.
It is also important to remember that you cannot simply reverse the previous players move, no matter how much you may want to!


The winner is the person who manages to get three of their Cubies of the same colour in a row on one face of the Rubik's cage first. If the game continues until all pieces have been played then it is classed as a draw.

Overall we absolutely loved the Rubik's Cage and felt it was a great addition to the Rubik's puzzle range of toys. It is really easy to understand how to play, but we loved that you needed to think carefully about your move to prevent your opponents from winning, making it the perfect family strategy game. With an RRP of £19.99, I think that it offers good value for money and can definitely keep you entertained. It is available to purchase from toy retailers including Smyths Toys, Asda and Amazon and I would happily recommend this product to others.

If you would like to find out more about Rubik's or other products in the Ideal Games range, then you can visit their social media pages on the following channels:



*Disclaimer - We were gifted this Rubik's Cage puzzle for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product and our experience. All opinions and thoughts are my own, unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Monday 13 April 2020

Junior Rummikub from Ideal Games - A Review

During the Easter Weekend, we have continued to enjoy playing some of the games that we were kindly sent from Ideal Games. Today we have decided to review Junior Rummikub, which is a fast paced numbers game for the whole family to enjoy.

The front of the box is a lovely bright red colour that features some fun graphics including a cheeky monkey, a cute blue rabbit and some vibrant colourful stars. It is really eye-catching and also shows you some of the game pieces. The top right hand corner identifies the game as being suitable for children aged 4+ and that it can be played with 2-4 players.


The rear of the box provides you with a brief overview of the game, which gives you a good idea of how it is played. There are also some images of the actual contents that are included, along with a list. The box contains:

  • 40 Tiles (1 to 10 in 4 different colours)
  • 4 Joker Tiles
  • Star Counters
  • 4 Tile Racks
  • 1 Instruction manual

We carefully removed all the items from the box and began to set up the game. The instructions were relatively straight forward and it was very simple to get everything into place. Once we were ready to play, I read out the instructions to the rest of the family and although a couple of my children didn't quite get it intially, this all fell into place once we began to play and in just a few minutes it all made sense.


The aim of the game is to collect as many stars as possible by creating Runs of numbers or adding to them. A Run has to comprise of at least 3 tiles and these tiles must also be in consecutive number order. In addition, all numbers in the run must be the same colour.

To begin, we each selected a playing rack and 6 stars, before turning all the tiles over on the table face down to create a tile pool. I then told each player to select 6 tiles at random and we each placed them on our tile rack, whilst ensuring that our opponents could not see which tiles we had selected.

The oldest player then starts off the game play by trying to lay down a run. If they are unable to go, then they must pay the bank one star and pick up a tile from the pool. The person to the left then takes their turn. Once a player is able to lay down a run, then the next person has the choice to add another tile or tiles to the run laid out, or alternatively they can start a new run of a different colour.


To help you to earn stars there are a series of rewards and for every tile that you manage to lay down, you can claim one star. If you manage to lay a run then you can also claim another star and on the last tile played which clears a player's rack, then this also entitles you to a further bonus star.

For example if I was to lay down a new run consisting of the numbers 3, 4, 5, then I would score 4 stars. It is very simple to pick up once in play and as soon as we had finished our first round, my children immediately requested to play again.

There are also 4 Joker tiles that can be drawn and these are very useful and valuable tiles, due to the fact that they can be used as any colour or numbered tile in a run. You can also use two or more jokers in the same run which can make the game quite exciting.

The game is complete once a player manages to successfully lay down all of their tiles from the rack. The remaining players must then each pay the bank one star, for each tile that they have remaining. The winner is the player with the most stars, but in the event of a tie, then the winner can be determined by who managed to put down all of their tiles first.


Overall my family and I really enjoyed this game. Whilst I initially thought it would be most ideal for my youngest son Riley, it ended up being something that we could all enjoy and it has been a great addition to our family collection. Everyone picked up the idea of the game very quickly which meant that no one got frustrated trying to understand how to play. I particularly liked the fact that it was helping my youngest son with his numeracy skills, as well as encouraging him to use logical thinking. With an RRP of £22.99, I think that this is great value for money and I would definitely recommend Junior Rummikub to others.

Junior Rummikub can be purchased from toy retailers including Amazon.

If you would like to find out more about Junior Rummikub or other products available from Ideal Games, then you can visit their social media pages on the following channels:



*Disclaimer: We were gifted this game of Junior Rummikub for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product and our experience. All opinions and thoughts are my own, unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Wednesday 8 April 2020

Brightening Up Our Day with Triominos Sunshine - A Review

We have another fabulous review for you today, this time covering the wonderful game of Triominos Sunshine, which is a bright and colourful version of the classic game Triominos. It is a fun variation of the well known Dominos, however instead of rectangular pieces, these are triangular shaped instead and if used wisely, you can create various formations and gain some extra scores too.


It instantly appealed to me from the outset, due to its portable size and handy travel bag packaging, which means that we will be able to take this with us on our adventures and holidays in the future. It can be played by 2-4 players and is recommended for children aged 6+ which I would agree is a suitable age.

The contents of our game included:
  • 1 x Handy Travel Pouch in Orange and Yellow
  • 56 x Triominos
  • 1 x Instructions
The aim of the game is simple and you must try to get as many points as possible by strategically matching the Triominos. Each Triomino is unique, so it is wise to think carefully before using a piece in the hope of achieving some extra points. The aim of the game is to be the player who scores the highest number of points and this can be done in a number of ways, by simply placing a piece down to adjacent numbers, or laying your pieces to create a shape such as a bridge or a hexagon.


We played this game initially with 4 players which meant that to begin we placed all the Triominos face down on the table and mixed them all up. We each then chose 7 random Triominos each and placed the remaining tiles at the end of the table to create a 'pool' of spare pieces. If you are only playing with 2 players then you each draw 9 Triominos instead.

In order to decide who begins, each player selects a Triomino from the pool and adds up the numbers on the tile. The person with the highest number gets to go first, which I think is a very simple way to select the starting player and also prevents any arguments.


The first player then places any Triomino of their choice on the table and adds up the value of the numbers. The next player must then try to place one of their Triominos next to the tile that is already on the table by matching the numbers on one side. This might sound easy but as the game progresses it can become quite difficult and requires some thought into your chosen move. Only one Triomino can be placed down per go and if you are unable to use any of your existing tiles, then you must select a spare from the pool. If you are still unable to go, then you can take a further tile from the pool up to a maximum of three times. For each Triomino that is selected this way, you must deduct 5 points from your score. If you select the maximum three pieces and still cannot place a tile then you lose an additional 10 points. This means that you can lose points just as quickly as you can earn them.

Bonus points can also be scored if you manage to create a shape such as the following:
  • If you form a Bridge you can score 40 extra points
  • If you form a Hexagon you can score 50 extra points
  • If you form a Double Hexagon then you can score 60 extra points
  • If you form a Triple Hexagon then you can score 70 extra points


The game comes to a conclusion when a player manages to place down their last tile and they then score a bonus of 25 points. In addition they can also add the total of all the points the other players still have on their racks.Each player then simply adds up their score and the person with the highest number of points is the winner!

Overall I really liked this game and I am pleased to have found a fun new game that is small and portable enough to come on our travels with us in the future. The handy zipped pouch is ideal for keeping all of the pieces safe and I loved the bright and vibrant colours. I would have liked the addition of a little score pad, so that you can keep a note of the points as you play, but we have simply used a small spare notepad instead. It is a strategic game that really encourages you to think and my youngest son Riley particularly enjoyed this game and working with numbers. With an RRP of £14.99, I think this is a very fair price for an enjoyable family game that can be used both at home and away and I would gladly recommend this to others.

Triominos Sunshine can currently be purchased online from Amazon, but if you would like to find out more about Triominos Sunshine or the other products in the Ideal Games range, then you can visit their social media pages on the following channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IdealGamesUK/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/idealgamesuk/


*Disclaimer - We were gifted with the game of Triominos Sunshine for the purpose of writing an honest review of the game and our experience. All opinions and thoughts are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains and Amazon affiliate link.