Bloxels! What in the world is Bloxels? That was my question when I ran across this game at the toy store. But…on the box cover was a picture of an iPad and a little video game. It immediately caught my attention as I was looking for something fun to bring home to Zach.
It’s always easy when I want to surprise Morgan with something – her interests are so varied, and she loves just about anything and everything. Zach is a bit more difficult.
His interests always involve very expensive items like go-carts, fancy scooters, and computers. You know…the things I can’t afford or just pick up on a whim when I want to surprise him.
So here was Bloxels. The picture on the box sure made it look like something Zach would enjoy. I had been browsing the aisles for quite a while now looking for just the right toy for him, and Bloxels was in my price range too! I decided to go for it.
All you need to get started is the Bloxels game and an iPad or other smart device. The app is free!
I was actually searching for things to put in their little Halloween buckets, but last year I decided that I would just get them each a decent toy instead of a bucket full of Halloween “treasures” that would most likely get thrown away.
I had already picked out some Shopkins for Morgan! Easy! On to Zach! This year, he was going to get a set of Bloxels.
What a great find. Still wondering what Bloxels is?? Well let me explain…
What Are Bloxels?
If you go to the Bloxels Website, you will see their motto which says Bloxels is a hands-on platform for kids to build, collaborate, and tell stories through video game creation.
Meet Bloxels, a first of its kind technology that enables you to build, capture, design, play and share your very own video games. Designed with blocks, a universal element of childhood play, Bloxels cultivates imagination while encouraging discovery and experimentation.
With Bloxels, you can realize your own video game ideas, build and animate original characters, develop villains, add in power-ups, and more – all done directly with the Bloxels Game Builder Starter Kit and then activated with the FREE Bloxels Builder App and your mobile device.
Basically, you place the little multi-colored blocks on the game board to set up your layout for the game and build your character. Then, you use the free app to capture a picture of what you have created, and it converts it into a game layout on your iPad or other smart device. You can also share your creations with others.
Zach was so sweet – he took lots of time explaining how this works to Morgan so she could eventually create her own character.
It took Zach and Morgan all of 5 minutes to figure this out. It took them that long because they chose NOT to read the directions! Kids these days are amazing. They can figure out anything if it is technology based!
After a few minutes of creating their platform and their character, they were off to the races playing their new game. They decided they wanted their character to have a sword, so they cleared the game board and started all over. And 5 minutes later, they had a new character who was wielding an impressive sword!
A Word from Zach – the King of Bloxels
I think Bloxels is pretty cool! Taking blocks out of the board is tedious, but it’s all worth it. I have made two characters, one on a scooter and one with a helmet, armor, and sword. I use the warrior-like character. You have to fight, which is easy with the simple controls. A to jump, B to hit.
I mastered them in about two seconds! I’m more interested in creating the pixelated world than fighting monsters. You make worlds and characters by downloading the Bloxels app, placing blocks on the game board, and finally, scanning it in the app.
It’s pretty interesting in my opinion. Keep calm and Bloxel on! (Wow…that could be a bumper sticker)!
What Does Amazon Say About Bloxels?
The description on Amazon’s Website says the following:
- Build your video games with a mix of physical and digital tools that include designs to help get you started creating your first game
- The Toy Insider STEM 10 winner. Get into the game — hands-on video game development — with Bloxels video game creation platform
- The Bloxels Builder app is free to download to your compatible device (not included)
- Create game rooms, characters and game art using the 13″ x 13″ Gameboard and 320 blocks in eight different colors
- When creating game rooms, each color in your design represents a different element, like green for terrain, blue for water or red for a hazard. When working on art, the color blocks represent the pixel art
When I first picked up this box at the store, I wasn’t sure if it would be a hit or not. I’m always struggling to find toys and games that get Zach engaged. This one was perfect.
Here he is capturing the image he created on the game board with his iPad. Then, the Bloxels app imports the image he created into the game.
I like the fact that he has to use his imagination and think things through to complete the design aspect of this game, instead of just sitting down and playing a game on his iPad!
I’m also happy that these designs can become more complex as he creates more and more on this game board. Overall, I’m very impressed with Bloxels. I would love to see some sort of expansion kit using this same idea for some more advanced programming skills.
If your children are in to technology, this is a great toy for them to own. I’d love to hear you thoughts on it if you end up getting it. And like Zach said before…KEEP CALM AND BLOXEL ON! Until next time…
And just after about 30 minutes of creating and re-creating, here he is playing the game with the characters he created himself! Cool, huh?
