Cheap Learning Resources Giant Magnetic Insects

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Bought this for a coworker's child's birthday. Kid absolutely adored it, learned all the insects quickly. This was after a few days of giant insect magnets decorating our lab fridge though, haha.

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Discount LeapFrog: iQuest Interactive Talking Handheld 4.0 - Purple

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I got this for our grandaughter because she was struggling in some classes and I thought that the electronic "toy" format might help her study a little more. It is too soon to tell if it has helped her grades, but I have no doubt that it can and will, if she uses it even half as much as she uses her Nintendo! We loaded batteries and gave it a test run before we gave it to her and I didn't want to put it away. The questions were fun and challenging (it's been a looong time since grade school years for both of us!), and it was very easy to lose track of time playing. I've looked at a LOT of similar educational systems, but most of them were either too advanced or too "babyish" for the granddaughter in 2nd grade. Until I found this LeapFrog, I was sure that the kids in second through 6th grade were just "lost children" in the realm of educational games. The cartridges that came with the unit were 4th-6th grade (and her older sister could play with it, too!), but I felt they were easy enough to not be frustrating for a smart 2nd grader, but still something she could use in later grades and not be bored. Now that some time has passed, I need to find out just how much she is using it (or if N-DS games won). Unfortunately, sometimes there's just no way to get a child to use the educational tools (even the games) when they have free access to stuff that is more "fun" to do and requires no thought. *sigh* Still, I would definitely recommend this LeapFrog system to anyone who has a motivated child. It IS fun, challenging, and flexible enough to grow with the child's educational level for more than one or two years.

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Little Tikes Discover Sounds Cell Phone Review

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We just got this cell phone (rated for 6+ months) for our 11 month old son about a week ago.

Durability:

It has been dropped from heights, thrown across the room, beaten onto the cement outside, and drooled on a lot. And I can't find a scratch on it. It's very durable.

Sound:

This toy is much quieter than many other child toys we have. This is a huge thing for us since some toys just seem SO loud. It has a child saying the numbers when the numbers are pressed and has three set sounds for each of the green and red phone buttons.

What my child thinks:

I know this is still his newest toy but my son seems to like it very much. He gets ahold of my cell phone about half as much since we got this one. He likes dragging it around with him so that must be a five star infant rating!

*EDIT* We've had this phone for 3 years now and had to change the batteries recently for the first time. It still works great and after being not played with for many months, it's become a new/old favorite for my son to play pretend. I expect it will last through both our kids.

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This phone has taken a beating over time and doesn't have a scratch on it. The thing I love most of all is the volume. It is pretty quiet. My baby can hear it just fine and press the buttons over and over with out it getting on anyone's nerves.

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Love this toy! Rubber around phone keeps my baby safe from banging it on his head or his mouth. Perfect for a teething baby who loves phones! We take it in the car and it keeps him busy.

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the phone is durable but the volume is too low and no way to turn it up. it needs more interactive sayings to keep the baby's interest. i wouldnt buy it again.

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This phone interested my 1-1/2 year old for about a day and has been collecting dust ever since. It just can't compete with the real thing. The sound effects are also very quiet and hard to hear. I didn't like how the 2 upper buttons don't each make one consistent sound when pressed--it makes it harder for kids to play and pretend.

Cheap Kimmidoll Junior: Aesha Lock-up Journal by Kids Preferred

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I ordered this journal for my neice's 5th birthday. She had been wanting a diary with a lock and this was just too cute not to get.

It was even cuter in person and seemed fairly durable. The little heart lock is precious, but isnt the highest quality. Actually took me a few tries to unlock because it is not spring loaded, you have to turn and pull simultaneously.

Overall a great journal, highly recommended!

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Science Educational Products - Superabsorbent Diaper Polymer 1 Lb Review

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List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Today's Bonus: 60% Off

Fun stuff! Great for chemistry demonstrations. This is the kind that makes a solid glop, not snow.

Put about 6 grams of sodium polyacrylate in a 400 mL beaker, then pour about 300 mL of water (from a decent height to facilitate mixing) into the powder. Distilled water is tops and you can use less, but tap works as well. In about a minute, you have a goo that will cling to an upside down beaker like a tween to her iPhone. Reverse the effect by adding a few grams of sodium chloride (salt) and agitating (stirring) until you see a structure change (common cold booger to watery allergy snots).

I keep a baggie in my purse when I go to bars. My friends are sick of chemistry, and really sick of solid drinks. I still think it's hilarious. Be sure to dispose of this stuff properly, i.e. not in YOUR drains. Your chemistry-hating friends' drains are fair game.

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I just have to say amazing. I used more than I should have being skeptical: it kept absorbing the more liquid I put into it. Please use the right proportions so you do not waste it. Many uses for this product

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Changing a toilet? I paid a plumber to come and change out in one house and saw that he used this type of polymer powder to dry up the remaining water in the tank and bowl after the final closed valve flush. Now replacing my own toilets in a new house with this trick...no water in the hallway...just scoop out the gel.

Cheap Haba Fantasy Blocks

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My son loves these blocks, and I wish I had these blocks growing up. They are top quality, but two of the blocks have a small red knob inserted into the top. My dog and my son worked together to remove the knob on one of the blocks, and I later found it in my son's diaper.

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I love Haba toys, but although this set is rated for 1-4 year olds, we had to put some of the pieces away as they are just too small for my grandson who loves to put EVERYTHING in his mouth. I'd given them to him for his first birthday, and although he really likes them, some of the blocks are just too small for a one year old. I am going to buy the Fantasy Jigsaw blocks to give him more to play with though and just put away the little parts till he can handle them.

Haba makes really nice, well made toys.

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We now have 3 or 4 sets of them and the kids make wonderfullly creative towns, buildings and towers out of these blocks. They are always the first blocks by kids choose to play with at our house. These will be kept for the kids forever.

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Gorgeous blocks which look great even after our puppy got ahold of them. However, some of the blocks (the half rounds and the dome shaped ones) are too small for my 17 month old. She put them right in her mouth and the entire block fit right in there (and she is petite!). Also for breastfeeding moms, the dome shaped ones look awfully like breasts so the little ones are really drawn to putting them in their mouths (no kidding). Still, we just put away the domes and the half rounds and still are left with a great assortment of gorgeously colored durable SAFE blocks from a reliable European manufacturer. The best assortment we've seen including beautiful graphics, holographic details, some prismlike blocks, columns, blocks with holes with columns, a block with a bell, an arch and two shaped like mini staircases. Even the 11 year old is helping out with design for the toddler! Just put away the smaller blocks until your child is old enough not to put them in his/her mouth.

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My son loves the blocks. The look like no other blocks and he gets a kick out of the block with the bell inside and the clear plastic blocks that look like ice cubes. To my horror, he can put a few of the smaller ones entirely into his mouth so I took them away so he can play with when he's older. Watch out for this if you buy these wonderful blocks.

Best ETA hand2mind V-Shaped, Metal-Backed, Dual-Scale Thermometer (Set Deals

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List Price: $19.95
Sale Price: $11.43
Today's Bonus: 43% Off

We ordered these to use for Science class and experiments. They are exactly as described and seem to measure temperature accurately. I marked these 4 star instead of 5 because they are difficult to use with elementary science students. I've not been able to find easy to read reliable classroom Celsius thermometers for elementary students, particularly the younger ones who are just learning to read the thermometer. We liked being able to count the degrees by ones, but the markings are so close together that it is hard to read.

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Review of Talkatoo Voice Recordable Pendant: 'Green Monster' with Clip

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I originally bought this for myself to help me remember things I think of when I can not write them down. However, when I opened the package my daughter loved the face and smiled every time I played my recorded voice, so now I leave it for her at the sitters. Every time she starts to get fussy, they play the recording for her and she gets distracted and calms down.

The battery died quickly, but it was fairly easy to change once I got through all the glue they used to assemble it.

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This toy was terrible I replaced the battery at the cost of $5.00 and it still did NOT work. I would love a refund I was that displeased with the product! I think the concept is great, but the product is not usable. I would never recommend anyone buying this product!

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This arrived in non-working condition, and I chose to have it replaced. It worked for a couple days and then spontaneously stopped working too. The recording device in it is extremely poorly made. I think you can pretty much guarantee if you buy this it won't work within a few days of owning it. A shame because it's a cute idea.

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My wife bought me one, a couple of Christmases ago. I keep it on the case I take to work, and she will randomly leave me cute little hellos. I enjoy having it around.

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My 5 year old loves this. His dad or I can leave messages on it for him to listen to at a later time. He carries it almost everywhere.

Buy Learning Resources Reading Rods Word Building Activity Set

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List Price: $34.99
Sale Price: $22.99
Today's Bonus: 34% Off

I bought this for my son when he started really showing an interest in sounding out words. I wasn't sure if he would think that it was fun to use... but he did! It is a fantastic teaching tool. I definitely recommend this for the early readers!

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These are a great idea and we were super excited to get them. The fittings are way too tight on the blocks and are even difficult for an adult to put together and take apart to build different words. My kids quickly became frustrated with this aspect and eventually they went into the closet to collect dust. They would have been PERFECT had they went together more easily like legos. We use our traditional wooden letter blocks for word building more than we ever use these. You just have to invest in a couple of sets of those whereas these come with enough duplicate letters to allow word building.

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This arrived and the marker isn't a very good one, which is alright. What is concerning to me is that the writing on the rods seems like it will rub away quickly. There are parts of the letters that are already not there, so that's not a good sign for the longevity of this product.

The activity cards are helpful and my daughter does love making words with the rods, however.

Rhythm Band Musical Steel Triangle 6 Inch Reviews

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It was just want I was looking for, only a little larger, but it still works for the age group that I purchased it for.

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I got this item to use for Shamanic Journeys. It works great along with a hand drum and rattle. It also works great to walk through your backyard and chime to stir up all the toads before you move. Or I used it to startle the birds and annoy my neighbors cats.

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this is a fun gift and toy for anyone. it is made of the best quality. the most wild of children cannot damage this item. great item.

GeoSafari Jr. Talking Telescope Review

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List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $28.42
Today's Bonus: 43% Off

The removable telescope does not have good focus. Although the included slides are educational, I don't think kids will want to listen more than once. Also there are not enough "scientific" slides; too many pictures of animals.

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This is a great toy. Kids will use it a lot then put it aside for a while and then use it again. It does seem to interest younger kids (around 7) while the content of the "slides" really won't be retained unless they use it when they're older. Still, it focuses them toward science and many fun facts. It's very durable. The detachable telescope is an added plus.

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My 4 year old daughter is obsessed with the solar system.. stars, planets etc. I looked at many telescopes and knew she would not be able to understand what she was seeing. This is perfect ! The slides are clear and fun to look at..it tells you about the slides and she is actually able to answer questions on the quiz. It is educational and fun. I would not recommend it for older kids.

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I bought the talking telescope for my son's 4th birthday knowing that he loved everything about science. He likes to switch the slides (especially the ones about the solar system) and enter the codes to hear the comments. You can put all the slides in the little drawer in the back, it is durable. You can detach the telescope from the microscope to play with it. He is just starting to listen to the quiz but it is still a little hard for him to get the answers right. Like everything, I hope we do not lose any of the slides so my second child can play with it later on. Good looking product, durable, fun and educative. I am happy with my purchase.

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My son has been asking for this since last Christmas This year we bought it for him and have no regrets. He is fascinated by the slides and retains a lot of the information. The toy is reasonably well-constructed, but we have only had it for a few weeks, so I can't say for sure how well it will hold up to the abuse the kids give it.

Reviews of Hohner Kids / Clatterpillar

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VERY happy and most satisfied with the tamourine. It is the same one used in our grandchild's Kindermusik class and all our grandkids love playing it.

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LeapFrog LeapPad Ultra Kids' Learning Tablet Reviews

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program We've owned the original LeapPad, LeapPad2, and recently the LeapPad2 Power. We've also owned the InnoTab and InnoTab2S. Our favorite has been the LeapPad2. But then in walked the LeapPad Ultra . . .

SO, HOW ARE LEAPPAD2 AND LEAPPAD ULTRA THE SAME?

Both have a front and back camera. On the LPU it's now placed to the left and off to the side.

Both use a stylus. On the LPU it's placed on the bottom instead of the side. This helps with the whole left-hand right-hand dilemma.

Both have a cartridge port for additional games, and uses purchased apps. Previously owned games will transfer once you register, and old LeapPad cartridges will fit.

Both come with preloaded apps. The LPU comes with 11 apps, the LP2 only 5. When you register your LPU you get one free app (pick one of 3 preselected apps, not any app in their app store bummer!).

Both have additional accessories you can buy like gel skins, carrying cases, ac adapters (now included with the LPU), and headphones.

Both have a mic, and volume (now moved to the top right side of the tablet, I find it awkward here). I couldn't find a contrast button on the LP2--it's very bright.

HOW ARE LEAPPAD2 AND LEAPPAD ULTRA DIFFERENT?

LP2 has an age requirement of 3-9 years. LPU is upped to 4-9 years.

Faster processor. However, the LP2 took 5 seconds from the time you selected an app to load. The LPU between 10 13 seconds depending on the app. This part is a bit of a struggle with small kids and I'm not quite sure why this didn't improve. A big disappointment is that it took LP2 only 21 seconds to reach the main app screen, but LPU 59 seconds!!! This is a huge disappointment, I really hope that changes with the next LPU2 (because you know there's going to be one).

LP2 is smaller with a 5" screen (480 x 272). LPU is larger (about the size of the InnoTab) with a 7" screen (1024 x 600 resolution). In fact, the LPU reminds me a lot of the InnoTab in shape and size, but the LPU is much more solid. It looks and feels like quality hardware. The color scheme is much the same as the LP1, with more white than green, or pink (if you purchase the pink one, there's no pink on the green, or vice versa). The LPU also seems more durable.

LPU video recording is now at 480p. That's not high definition, but it's better than the 240p the LP2 offered.

LPU is more touch friendly and pressure sensitive. This was always a problem for us. My son started using the LP2 when he was 3 and preferred to use his finger over the stylus, but the LP2 wasn't always responsive that way. LPU is more like an iPad. The stylus is more for writing games, but you can still use it to select apps and navigate.

LPU uses a rechargeable lithium battery that can be charged using the included AC adapter, or USB chord. Get up to 9 hours of play. We haven't used ours long enough to know if it really lasts 9 hours, but I'm assuming it does, or is fairly close. Battery life indicator is on the top right corner, just like you would find on most tablets (as well, the Internet connection quality). The LP2 used a battery compartment and took 4 AA batteries, the LPU's battery is internal.

LP2 comes with 4GB of memory. LPU has 8GB! More than enough for our needs.

LPU includes some new apps. The one I was most excited about was their Utility Suite. This includes a calendar, calculator, notepad, clock, voice memo, and stopwatch. This was a nice bonus! The Innotab came with a few of these apps, and I always thought it was a nice touch. As well, LPU comes with a standard MP3. I wondered why LeapFrog made us purchase this as an additional app, (it only became included with the new LP2 Power).

LP2 works a lot like an iPad and tilts with just about everything, including the menu screen.

Power button has been moved to the back.

LPU comes with a Pet Chat App. I'm not so big on this one, just because I think texting is crazy enough, and here we are teaching little kids to text. However, that's what we do these days, so I guess they might as well learn--safely, and responsibly, using pre-assigned completed words (no OMGing and LOLing here). Kids can send each other emoticons, but not pictures. To use this feature kids have to pretty much be in the same room, or the same house. The two tablets do not connected over the Internet, they just communicate by being in close proximity (about a 50 foot range). My son hasn't had an interest in this one, mainly because he has no one to chat with yet.

There's a parent control access. Parents can enter a code to lock down what you don't want your child to have access to, such as purchasing apps from the app store. By the way, setup was very nice, I thought the process was very easy to understand, and found our wireless connection very easily.

One thing that's really cool is the new peer-to-peer play apps. We haven't been able to test this yet either, as we only own one tablet. But I'm really looking forward to my kids being able to play games together. (Again, players must be in the same room, no racing with kids across town). Through the Pet Chat app kids can play additional simple games like tic-tac-toe.

LPU has thick rubber that runs along most of the sides of the tablet for extra padding. LP2 was just plastic all the way around. Still, you probably want to purchase a gel-skin for this anyway.

Okay, let's talk Internet capability. This is the exciting addition. The InnoTab 2S kind of touched on this, and I mean, kind of, because they didn't allow for any browsing capability. It was only for downloading apps, which you still couldn't do directly over the tablet. LPU knocks it all out of the park. Now kids can use LeapSearch to connect to the Internet using a kid-safe-browser. Kids can search for images, videos, and websites by category, and view content that has been preapproved by LeapFrog's panel (a bit 1984 to me, but makes sense). Apps can be purchased through the LeapFrog store and synced over the Internet (we haven't used this feature yet). One nice feature is that kids can browse the app store and look at games, books, videos, and songs that they like and add it to a wish list. You can enter your code and purchase it for them.

WHAT'S THE OVERALL REIVEW?

Yeah, get it!

My son just turned 4, and by far this is the best "toy" tablet. With all of the incredible updates and additions, it's as if LeapFrog heard what parents and kids wanted, and redesigned a new tablet to accommodate our wishes--but still with the value and vision LeapFrog is known for. My only reservation is that the speed is slow and it sometimes crashes, or "fake" crashes and you're sitting there wondering what's going to happen. If it does crash just press the power button and hold it. I haven't lost any information, it just reboots. If you're in a position, I still think an iPad or a Nexus 7 is a good buy for a kid, with a good protective case. These "toy tablets" are great, but they have limitations. Buy into one knowing that they aren't perfect, but they sure are durable and kids do enjoy/love them.

Hope this review helps. Definitely would suggest passing on all the other tablets and purchase this one. Curious to see what vTech (InnoTab creator) has to offer in competition. One thing I would like to see on the LPU is an ability to add videos/movies. The InnoTab2 offers this ability, but you have to convert videos and I found it a pain, but would like to see LeapFrog improve on this and offer this feature on their tablets.

**If you haven't already taken advantage of this, here are two FREE app codes:

The Book of Super Awesome Stuff (e-book): 5813 1140 1518 1413

Alphabet Stew (game): 5813 0790 4610 4973

UPDATE: What is the deal with this LeapPad crashing so much???!!! That's unacceptable for small kids. Downgrading my rating from 5 starts to 4 stars. Time will tell if I drop my rating again..

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I wanted to get my 5-year old daughter a tablet of her own. She likes watching movies and playing games on my iPhone, but that just seems like mindless entertainment for the most part. The app store has lots of content (perhaps too much!), and I did not have a way of determining which had real `educational' value and which were just fluff. So, off looking for a kids' tablet I went.

I was surprised to learn how many kids' tablet options there are, all in the $100-150 range we looked into the Nabi's, the InnoTab, the Tabeo, the Kurio, the Contixo, etc. The reviews were generally pretty poor for all but the LeapPad and InnoTab products, so we bought one of each to try them out. We wanted to get the newest product available, so our comparison was of the LeapPad Ultra and VTech InnoTab 3S, which on paper are very similar both offer WiFi, rechargeable batteries, a kid-safe browser, have a headphone portal, have a 2-way 2-pixel camera, etc. What follows is how we thought the 2 products compared, and not to spoil the surprise ending but we returned the InnoTab and LOVE the Ultra.

[As a side note, we got an early Ultra that had the software issue many have referred to here. As soon as we connected to the WiFi it corrected itself, but that was an issue for the first day we had the device.... I think LeapFrog could have handled that a bit better, personally.]

WHERE DOES THE INNOTAB 3S HAVE AN EDGE OVER THE ULTRA?

-Price, clearly as the Ultra is an extra $50. This is the big one if I wanted a device and had $100 to spend, feature-for-feature this is hard to argue with.

-The buttons are on the front of the device, which makes them more accessible and easier to use than the Ultra's, many of which are on the sides of the device. So, on the Ultra, you had to flip the device over to access the volume, for example...this is a pain.

-The InnoTab has the option to add external memory, as I understand it. This is pretty cool, I suppose, but I've used

Best VTech - V.Smile - Backyardigans Deals

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My grandson loves to play this game. He enjoys watching the Backyardigans and thought that this was a great Xmas gift.

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He enjoys the show and almost always requests the game cartridge first whenever he plays his V. Smile. It is challenging for him (he is almost 3), and I have to help him at times, but he does not get discouraged by it. Would recommend.

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Our 5 year old loves this product! He really enjoys playing his V Smile. I'm happy that it has educational aspects.

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Bought this for my grand children and they loved it. The parents even loved it because it teaches and is a game so the children lean

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This game is ok but it broke after a few days just stop working there in tire line of games systems and games they have r junk. Buyers beware! Please spend your money wisely.KC I have had more probelms with vetch more than any other brand .Vetch is way over priced!! KC