Kirby Ice Cream Tower Game Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Amy Peacey
As a mum of a four year old daughter, I am always on the lookout for fun games that we can play together at home. Anything colourful and featuring familiar characters is usually an instant hit with my daughter, so the Kirby Ice Cream Tower game caught her eye straight away. The bright pink and yellow packaging is attractive, and the little Kirby characters and colourful ice cream scoops looked really appealing. I thought this would be a lovely game for us to enjoy together, particularly on a rainy afternoon when we wanted something different to do.
The first impression of the game was positive. The box is bright, eye catching and full of character, and the little figures are cute and appealing to young children. The idea is simple enough to understand: you take turns stacking the different ice cream scoops to build a tower without making it fall over. It sounds like a fun combination of balancing, coordination and taking turns, which are all useful skills for children of this age to practise.
I also liked that the game is designed for between one and four players, so it offers the possibility of playing as a family rather than just with my daughter. The recommended age is four and over, which made it seem like a suitable choice for her birthday.
Unfortunately, this is where our experience became a little disappointing. Although the idea sounds straightforward, we found that stacking the pieces was much more difficult than expected. Getting the ice cream scoops to balance on top of one another was fiddly, and it took quite a bit of patience to get the tower built.
As an adult, I could appreciate the challenge and the coordination needed, but for my four year old, it quickly became frustrating. She initially wanted to have a go herself, but when the pieces did not balance easily and the tower became difficult to build, she started to lose interest. She lost patience quite quickly, and what I had hoped would be an enjoyable activity together became more of a struggle than a fun game.
At this age, children are still developing their fine motor skills and ability to concentrate on activities that require repeated attempts. I think a game like this needs to offer a good balance between being challenging and allowing little ones to experience success. Unfortunately, we found the stacking aspect a little too tricky to keep her engaged for very long.
The character pieces are definitely the strongest feature of the product. They are colourful and fun to look at, and fans of Kirby may enjoy the familiar designs. The ice cream theme is also appealing, and the idea of building a tower is a nice concept.
However, attractive characters alone are not enough to make a game enjoyable. I would have preferred the pieces to be easier to balance, particularly given the recommended age range. A game that is frustrating to play can quickly end up being put away rather than becoming something children regularly ask to get out.
There is potential for older children, or children who particularly enjoy balancing challenges, to get more enjoyment from it. With an adult helping, younger players might also manage better, although this does mean the game requires more supervision and assistance than I had anticipated.
Overall, I wanted to love the Kirby Ice Cream Tower game because it looks so appealing and has a fun concept. However, our experience was underwhelming. My daughter was initially excited by the colourful characters, but the difficulty of stacking the pieces meant that her enthusiasm did not last very long.
For a game aimed at children aged four and over, I would have liked it to be a little easier and more immediately rewarding. It may suit children who enjoy a challenge and have plenty of patience, but it was not quite the success I had hoped for with my daughter. Sadly, it is not a game I would rush to recommend to other parents of four year olds especially at £20.
Rating: 1/5
You can buy this product from Amazon https://amzn.eu/d/0ggWTZnW.
The RRP is £21.