Pop-a-Tops Dino Scores And Pet Factor by PlayMonster Review

Reviewed by Deborah Banasko

As a parent of a 10, 7 and 3 year old I can say with confidence that kids get bored easily. If we go for a meal or a long car journey, I like to be armed with easy entertainment that takes up minimal space in my bag and I love anything new and different.

I was asked to review two games that fit this request perfectly; the Pop-a-Tops Dino Scores and the Pet Factor from Play Monster. The packaging on both games is so bright and fun, they have real shelf appeal. The Dino game is red and green and slightly more stereotypically unisex than the very-pink Pet Factor.

Looking at the Dino Scores first of all. Everything is contained within the game for ease of transport, and the Pop-A-Tops dome lid lifts away to reveal a tin cylinder full of the game cards. The artwork on the bases of both games was really lovely. They operate on the old fashioned pop-o-matic dice system as they used to call it when I was young. I just love the sound it makes! You lay the game cards out on the table with the dinosaur pictures facing upwards, and press the domed lid so that the dice lands on a category, for example size, speed, weight, attack, defence or players choice. You then select a dinosaur which you think will score the best in that category. The other player does the same, but this can be a carried out as a race to grab the best card so once you’re familiar with the game it can get quite competitive. Or it can turn into an argument if you’re in our house, so expect game cards to get bent when two set of hands go for the grab!  The winner keeps the card and the person at the end with the most cards is the overall victor.

You can shorten the game by setting a score to reach, for example whoever wins 5 cards first is the winner.

Another fun twist is for the person who pops the dice to shout “highest” or “lowest” as they press the lid, to determine if the lowest or highest figure wins.

This is a similar idea to Top Trumps, and is designed for two or more players. There are 32 cards in the set, so in time you learn which cards are best and how to win the game, which can make it a little less exciting. We adapted the game at times and shared the cards out, playing it more like Top Trumps but the dice chooses the category. This just adds another dimension of play to get more play out of it. Play lasts 5 to 10 minutes, which is ideal when you are out having food as it’s fun, quick and easy to tidy away.

The Pet factor Game has the same general appearance, with the pop-o-matic dice and the game pieces contained within the domed container. The game was pretty much the same too, only using cute pets rather than dinosaurs. The categories are size, cuteness, cuddliness, rarity and fame. I can appreciate why they would create two versions of what is essentially the same game, so that it is accessible to a range of children depending upon their “likes”.

I did notice that the Pet Factor game had a really strong popper top that worked as well as I remember from my childhood, yet the Dino one was a little hit and miss and felt less firm to press. I would say that 1 in every 5 presses didn’t work as the dice didn’t flip. Perhaps we were unlucky.

The Dino game cards are similar thickness to normal playing cards, with bright and very detailed quality artwork. I am pretty terrible at remembering dinosaur names so I loved that they were written beside the picture on each card. It’s great for young dinosaur enthusiasts to play and learn cool facts at the same time.

However with the Pet Factor game I found that the facts were less educational other than when it came to the animals’ size. It was a little more cutesy I suppose, and whilst the target audience of pink-loving little girls would love this, as a parent I have to question why a decision was taken to give useful facts in the “boy” game and not the girl version. Just a point to consider.

I always think it is such a shame that companies market games for girls and boys using stereotypical colours, as granted the pink pets may have great shelf appeal for little girls but my little boys love pets too and this is a lovely game for them. In our house pink is just a colour so they will still play it happily, but I do know a lot of boys who sadly wouldn’t.

Essentially both are enjoyable games regardless of this, and the photographs on the Pet cards were just gorgeous. We did a lot of “oohing” and awww-ing”.

Pop-a-Top  games also have  cake and alien themed designs, and these games are slightly different from the pet and Dinosaur versions so you could either collect them all or get one for each of your children or nieces and nephews at Christmas.

The target age for these games is 6 to 12 years, and I am inclined to agree as a younger child wouldn’t get as much out of the game as they would require some help to read the larger numbers on the cards. I would probably buy this for a child up to the age of around 9 personally, but older children would still happily join in.

The price of £8 for each game is fantastic and very fair, considering the different twists you can create to the basic game. This would make a fantastic birthday party gift or Christmas stocking filler, and it is something you can keep getting out when you have a spare few minutes or need something to pass some time at a restaurant. As the tag line says, “Pop, Play and Pack Away!”

Rating: 4/5 stars

RRP:      PlayMonster Pop-A-Top Dino Scores £8

               PlayMonster Pop-A-Tops Pet Factor £7.99

The Pop-A-Tops Dino Scores can be purchased from Amazon here.

and the Pet Factor can be purchased here.