Category Award News

WINNER

Mars Space Station

By: Playmobil

Age: 6+ years

RRP: £84.99

Playmobil is going to Mars with the Mars Space Station.  Join astronauts on an adventure to explore the red planet, equipped with rock collecting kits and a fully furnished laboratory for dissecting samples.  The set features a detachable roof to allow access to the illuminated command centre and comes complete with a fold out ramp with rotating lock, a firing cannon, two docking stations and cool lighting and sound effects.

More information at: www.playmobil.co.uk

Available from: John Lewis

Buy now from –  www.amazon.co.uk 

What the testers said “Great attention to detail, a very complex toy, loads of play value”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak

By: Wow! Stuff

Age: 6+ years

RRP: £59.99

Appear to Disappear! Using the Wow! Stuff app (included) you can recreate iconic scenes from the Harry Potter films.  To start enjoying the invisibility cloak simply cover yourself, friends or family or even objects with the cloak.  Then photograph or film using the app on your phone or tablet and set our imagination free.  You won’t believe your eyes!

 More information at: https://www.wowstuff.com/

Available from: Argos

Buy now from – https://www.amazon.co.uk/

What the testers said “Really easy to use app.  The whole family had fun, and the adults uploaded their photos to social media, provoking questions of ‘How did you do that?’  We all loved the cloak”

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WINNER

Learn & Dance Dino

By: Vtech Electronics

Age: 2-5 years

RRP: £39.99

Includes 9 great action plates that will customise Dino’s voice style to dino, robot and monster, Dino’s emotion to happy, angry or sleepy and dancing style to ballet, marching or hip-hop.  There are 27 combinations to choose from – includes fun sing along songs and melodies.

More information at: www.vtech.co.uk

Available from: Argos

Buy now from –  https://www.amazon.co.uk/

What the testers said “We loved this! Lots of smiles and laughter”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Baby Xylophone

By: Halilit

Age: 12+ months

RRP: £18.99

The Halilit Baby Xylophone is a high quality, fun and colourful 8 note real musical instrument that has been specifically designed for young children to make real music.  The note bars are accurately tuned to make a delightful sound, and the chunky shape with rounded edges make this instrument safe for prying fingers.

More information at:  https://shop.halilit.co.uk/collections/halilit/products/baby-xylophone

Available from: Amazon

Buy now from – https://www.amazon.co.uk/

What the testers said “Traditional toys really are the best! Some of our tunes left a lot to be desired but fun was had by all”

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WINNER

Playmobil: The Movie Del’s Food Truck

By: Playmobil

Age: 5+ years

RRP: £44.99

Del, a crazed food truck driver helps Marla find her way in the exciting Playmobil worlds.  Del’s Food Truck features a removable roof and windshield for easy access to the detailed interior.  The truck has a sink, fridge, burritos sleeping serum, enchanted hay and more.

More information at: www.playmobil.co.uk

Available from: John Lewis

Buy now from –  https://www.amazon.co.uk/

What the testers said “We’ve seen the Playmobil film and so our little ones really loved playing with Marla and Del’s truck”

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WINNER

Cog Puzzle

By: Bigjigs Toys

Age: 18+ months

RRP: £14.49

This beautifully designed cog puzzle will keep little ones entertained for hours as they watch the patterns move.  Simply twist the red handle and watch the cogs spin.  Includes 7 removable cogs.  Made from responsibly sourced material.

More information at: www.bigjigstoys.co.uk/cog-puzzle

Available from: Boswells

Buy now from –  https://www.amazon.co.uk/

What the testers said “Taking it apart and putting it back together so it all turns as it should, my son loved this and when one cog remained still, he’d try and try to get them all back in the right place”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Dice Academy

By: Asmodee UK

Age: 8+ years

RRP: £10.99

Get ready to test your knowledge and your mental skill.  Roll the dice and be the first player to match each theme to a word which starts with the letters you’re given.  Be focussed, you can’t match two dice of the same colour.

 More information at: www.blueorangegames.eu/dice-academy

Available from: Amazon

Buy now from – www.amazon.co.uk

What the testers said “I could see this helping my daughter with her vocabulary and maybe her creative writing too, very enjoyable, and fun game”

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WINNER

HUE Animation Studio

By: HUE

Age: 7-13 years

RRP: £49.95

HUE Animation Studio is a moviemaking starter kit including HUE HD camera, HUE Animation stop motion software and a 60-page book full of creative ideas.  With the click of a button, children can start animating anything they choose, allowing them to learn 21^st century skills through balanced play.

More information at: www.huehd.com/products/hue-animation-studio

Available from: www.huehd.com/products/hue-animation-studio

Buy now from –  www.amazon.co.uk

What the testers said “Brilliant product, highly creative and educational. It might spur on a young film maker of the future”

HIGHLY COMMENDED

LeapStart Go

By: LeapFrog

Age: 4-9 years

RRP: £49.99

This sleek, easy to hold, stylus triggers videos and audio responses using the adjustable 1.44 LCD screen and built in speaker. LeapStart Go makes it easier for preschool to primary school children to understand more advanced information with activity sets like The Human Body and School Success (sold separately).  Cool interactive video effects let kids zoom in, explore and interact with a variety of learning concepts by touching the stylus on interactive charts, book pages and more.

 More information at: https://www.leapfrog.com/en-gb/store/p/leapstart-go/_/A-prod80-605903

Available from: Amazon

Buy now from – www.amazon.co.uk

What the testers said “It really helped my little boy want to read for himself”

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All of the votes are in, all of the toys have been tested and the eleventh Rainbow Toy Awards 2019 are ready to be announced…You can follow each announcement this morning on Twitter @rainbowawards

Or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rainbowawards as well as right here on the live website…

Our testers are, as you know by now, the children themselves and forms are returned by adults on their behalf.  For each toy we ensure the adult writes down what the child’s reaction is and what they say.  We’ll be giving you some of the comments and feedback for each product as we go along.

The awards are then chosen by adding up the scores our mini-testers have given to place the toys in order. We always stick to our categories thus have a limited amount of WINNERS and HIGHLY COMMENDED products – to win a Rainbow Toy Award is a huge accolade and well deserved.

So without further ado, let’s see who has come top and won in the Rainbow Toy Awards for 2019!

It’s nearly time – who will be our 2019 Overall Champion? The testers are going through their forms, filling in and sending back, and we are collating.

On Friday November 1st – we will announce the Rainbow Toy Awards 2019!