Scanimalz – The Perfect Blend of Toy & Technology {Review & Giveaway}

My girls love playing with my phone.  Wait, did I say love?  That’s not the right word.  They are completely and utterly obsessed with my phone.  They love taking pictures, watching videos, and playing games.  In fact, when they are losing their minds, the best way to get them back to reality is to hand them my phone.  A little technology time seems to fix everything and they quickly rejoin the land of the sane…well as sane as a 2 and a 4 year old can be.  So of course, I was thrilled when this little guy arrived at my house.

What is it, you ask?  The Purple Bear Scanimalz!  Adorable, no?  These QR code adored toys were first debuted up at Toy Fair in NYC in February to rave reviews, and are just starting to hit retail locations.  Fact: I’m so jealous of all those that get to go to Toy Fair each winter; it’s on my short list of “must go” places.  So naturally, I was honored to receive this little piece of Toy Fair wrapped up in a Limited Edition Official Beta Tester Purple Bear (and its own glass/plastic case!) right there on my doorstep.  I opened it right away and was determined to figure out how it worked before toddler hands came and took it away.

As it turns out, setting up Scanimalz is easy – just download the free app (that’s right, I said FREE) to your iPhone, Android, or tablet by going to the Scanimalz website.  Once downloaded, open the app – caution: you might want to decrease the media volume on your phone, this app can be extremely loud – and retrieve the unique QR code that’s located on the bottom of your Scanimal.This code is a one time activation code; every time after this, you’ll scan the code on the Scanimalz’ belly.  Open the tag, scan the activation code inside, and enter your registration information.  Remember, you need to register your new friend in order for your name to appear on the game leader boards.  You want people to know you’re winning, right?

Once registered, you’ll have access to 4 different games: Scantz in Your Pantz, Scanyon Jump, Scannon Ball, and Scanic Attack.  And each game has 3 individual levels, so there are variations within the game to keep it interesting.  When you complete levels, you’ll collect points.  You’ll also get daily bonus points and Scantasy spin points to sweeten the pot.  The more points you have, the better the chance of your name appearing on those leader boards I mentioned earlier.  You can also trade in points for rewards to virtually deck out your Scanimalz.    Also, if you own multiple Scanimalz, you can also select which Scanimal you want to play with.  There are currently 8 Scanimalz available online, each priced at only $9.99, and you can find them online or at specialty retail shops like Learning Express (select stores), Aahs, and Puzzle Zoos.  They will also start arriving at Toys “R” Us stores in the very near future.

After getting a little time to play with the Scanimal myself, I handed it over to Greenleigh.  Despite being recommended for kids 3 years and up, I was afraid that this toy would be a bit too advanced for her.  I mean, she’s only 4 years old and while she loves to play games on my phone, she doesn’t always understand them.  Turns out – she totally got this toy.  Sure, there’s a bit of a learning curve when picking up any new toy (especially one that involves technology), but before I knew it, she was happily switching from game to game and collecting points.  She’s still not 100% on how to redeem them, but that’s okay since she doesn’t have that many at this point.  We’ll cross that bridge when we have oodles of points.This toy is actually the perfect balance for the preschooler age group because it’s tangible with a technological twist.  She could hold the bear and play with it on it’s own (without playing the video games on the phone), but the games on the phone brought it to a whole new level.  While she was holding the bear, she could watch it on the screen “in” one of her games.  Scantz in Your Pantz was no doubt her favorite game and she actually got pretty good at it.  And she loved getting to “take a picture” of the bear’s tummy when she completed a level to get her points.  Combining the toy she could hold with a game where she could watch her toy play, kept her interested and gave this toy some staying power in our house.  As a mom, I love that!

And now you can be a Scanimalz Beta Bear Tester too, because one lucky reader is going to win this limited edition (1 out of 1,000!) Purple Bear Scanimalz!  Just enter using the rafflecopter form below and it could be yours.  Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided the Purple Scanimalz Beta Bear pictured above to facilitate my review. No other compensation was provided. All thoughts and opinions are my own.