Whacky Shots World Warriors Power Pack Review For Yulu Toys (age 6+)

Whacky Shots World Warriors are collectible rubber toys which are different from most because they come with trading cards, obstacles and targets and they really fly...well, they certainly launch across the room once you get the hang of the power launchers...

Your Whacky Shots Power Pack is packaged in blown plastic with a cardboard backing, which really doesn't do the product justice and you won't have anything to store it in afterwards. There are 8 Whacky Shots included in the pack, as well as 2 Power Launchers, 6 Crash Cones, 1 Net, Instructions and 8 Whacky Shots Trading Cards with bases.

There are 60 different Whacky Shots in Series 1. 8 are included in the pack. They fall into 4 teams - Earth Heroes, Invading Aliens, Mutant Beasts and Rogue Robots, but their colour also determines where they are in the Power Wheel - fire beats nature, which beats electricity, which beats water. water beats fire and atomic beats everyone

The aim of the game is to master flinging your Whacky Shots. The net and cones are brilliant for practise, and you'll also find that the back of the included leaflet has a special circular target too. It's harder than it looks and took us a few turns before anyone was scoring anything. Position - Stretch - Launch sounds so easy...

The Whacky Shots Launcher is easy to use once you know what to do and which way round to use it. It has a prong which clips up to give the correct angle of launch - this is brilliant as it would be very likely to be broken within a short time if it was fixed in position. Just place the Whacky Shot on the launcher, pull, pull some more, let go.

There are a multitude of ways you can use the Whacky Shots, launchers, net and cones to play either alone or competitively. My boys had invented their own method of scoring within moments. There are also lots of ideas online.

The net is a bit tricky to get to stay on it's frame, it could do with elastic or a drawstring around the edge to hold it in place, although it's more dramatic when it is knocked off and floats off the table. The cones are a great addition and make a fantastic tower. They are really susceptible to static electricity though and we actually never managed to make a tower of 6 to bowl over because they stuck to our hands and we spent too long laughing.

When you want to raise the bar and the competition, add the trading cards. They don't have to 'match' the Whacky Shots, they will always have a chance of winning or losing against your opponents because of the Power Wheel. They are also given a score for different skills and qualities. To bring the cards together with the Whacky Shots they have stands and you can use them as targets. Knocking over your opponents cards with a well-placed Whacky Shot is very satisfying.

Whacky Shots has so much potential that you really do have a whole games compendium in one bundle. There are so many ways to play, from casually aiming at the net or blasting cones everywhere to an all-out 15 round battle involving extra points for power wheel bonuses. You can collect and trade the Whacky Shots and the Whacky Shots Trading Cards, or you can play solo, challenge yourself and build on your aim and precision.

I think Whacky Shots is the sort of game that will keep a child busy for a whole week in the Summer, and despite the small parts, it's ideal as a holiday toy and exactly the sort of thing we buy for our children to keep them happy and busy while we we're packing picnics or enjoying yet another rainy morning...

The age rating of 6+ is right because your child does need the maturity to not wildly fire around the room, at animals or people. The Whacky Shots won't hurt if they hit, the rubber is very soft, but you wouldn't be happy if you got one in the face.

You can find out more about Whacky Shots on their website, where they have loads of different game ideas, instructions, videos and of course you can find out about the entire range. Whacky Shots are available now rrp £14.99 for the Whacky Shots World Warriors Power Pack which we reviewed. Other sets are available, starting at £5.99 for a Single Pack. Available at toy shops instore and online, including Amazon (affiliate link*). 

We were sent the Whacky Shots for review. They don't pay the bills unfortunately, nor are they convincing enough to send out to work, so my *Amazon link is affiliate, meaning I earn a few pence in the pound if you order through my link, but you don't pay any more.