Our 8-1/2 year old son unofficially declared that he was retiring from soccer at the end of the Spring season this year. This does not mean that he stopped enjoying the game. I could tell when he was so excited to have received the PLAYMOBIL Take Along Soccer Match playset. In fact, since we opened it, he has almost exclusively played with this toy.
If you are familiar with PLAYMOBIL building sets, then you know that building is part of the fun. To get to the playing part, you need to work for it. For the Take Along sets, there is minimal building, so children can start playing much sooner. The 22" x 33" soccer stadium comes in the form of a carrying case that holds all the playset's pieces inside.
(Click any photo to enlarge)
To set up the stadium, simply open the case and remove the black connector and the black handle. Then bring the two interlocking halves of the stadium together. The soccer field is made of green felt, so there was a thin layer of green fuzz all over the inside of the stadium. I had to wipe it down before I could apply the banner decals which go all around the inside walls of the stadium.
Next, I applied the number decals on the six PLAYMOBIL soccer figures. A smaller number was placed on the front thigh and the matching larger number on the back of the player's jersey. I thought it was odd that I received 3 complete sheets of number decals when I only need 6 large numbers and 6 small ones.
The rest of the set-up was just as simple. Our 8 year old son was able to attach the four kickers to their stands, assemble the two goals, and attach the goalies to their stands, which snap right onto the stadium.
Each kicker had a lever on the back of their swinging leg for you to tap to prompt the kicking motion. The goalies could move in a half circle as well as turn sideways to simulate diving for the ball. This set comes with two soccer balls, which is good because, more than once, the ball was able to escape the stadium when kicked hard enough.
The PLAYMOBIL Take Along Soccer Match playset is so easy to take with you just about anywhere your children need to be kept occupied or entertained. It retails for $59.99. This playset is recommended for children ages 5 to 10 and does contain choking hazards. You can learn more about this and other PLAYMOBIL sets by visiting PLAYMOBIL USA's website, as well as their Facebook and Twitter pages. For a limited time, you can receive 20% off all PLAYMOBIL Take Along items when you checkout with Code: US72A12C at PlaymobilUSA.com.
Thank you to PLAYMOBIL USA for providing the product sample, contest prize, and product information through MyBlogSpark to facilitate this review.
A NOTE TO 3G2S READERS: As an effort to give back a little, I will be adding an extra optional entry in some of my giveaways to "Like" the Facebook page of various small businesses that I have identified as needing a little love.
Good luck in the drawing!
