MB Games Inflatable Connect 4 - Review

Initial thoughts: Everyone I mention Inflatable Connect 4 to immediately says "That sounds brilliant!". I was no exception - when GTG was offered the chance to review this toy, I was totally prepared to fight off  all other potential reviewers. In the end, I cunningly managed to avoid fights by just not mentioning the fact that we'd been sent one. Ha!

This toy is pretty straightforward: an inflatable Connect 4 frame (about waist height to an adult) that uses small balls rather than counters to play the famous game. It takes about 10 minutes to inflate, and is reasonably robust - I certainly wasn't worried it would pop when the kids played with it. It's a bit smaller than you might expect, which means it's perfect for inside or out - and the frame sits on a quite wide and solid base, so it's more stable than I expected, too.

We liked: To test this toy, we took it on a week's beach holiday where it was tested by 10 kids aged from 4 to 8. They loved it. It was used as a bed, as a door to a secret den, as the roof to their beach tent and as a raft. The kids took the base off and used it as a pet shop (they made the smaller kids sit in it and pretend to be puppies).

After a couple of days, they realised that when the balls are inside the frame they could be punched out - this was a great game. Then they realised the smallest child's head would fit through the holes - so they played "Guess which hole we're going to put Harry's head through next". Not in the official guidelines for the toy, but they had fun.

We weren't keen: You might technically consider this was a failure because after a week the only game the kids hadn't played with Inflatable Connect 4 was, erm, Connect 4. But they had so much fun playing with this toy that I can't fault it - and I'm sure they''ll get around to playing the game eventually. In the meantime, the adults loved the nostalgia value and did use the toy for its intended purpose. 

Overall: When I suggested bringing this toy back home after our holiday, my niece and nephew begged to keep it at their house, which shows how much they loved it - maybe one day they'll get around to playing Connect 4, who knows? Fantastic fun for kids and very flexible, with a lovely nostalgia element. 

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