Reviews Revisited March 2013-2018 2/2 Sorgenfresser, BioShock, Shiny Hair, Raptors and Star Wars...

I get a lot of pleasure from looking back at a review item later on and knowing I was right with my initial opinion. Some things stand out as being great, while others not so much. Here's a look back at some of the best or most reliable things we have looked at over the past 5 years....

These items we reviewed in the the second half of March 2013-2018...

Biff the Sorgenfresser or Worry Eater was a big hit here from the day he arrived in 2013, although to my knowledge my children have never actually posted any messages into his mouth. These were new and exciting 6 years ago and I'm delighted to say that they are incredibly popular now, used in schools, homes and other venues UK wide. He still looks as good as new, yet he's been a constant on someone's bed for 5 years, been fed a multitude of sticky things and been washed a few times. Nice one Biff...

Also in 2013 I still had a bit of time left to play games, and I was pretty good. I posted a first look at BioShock Infinite and reading back it's a post I'd forgotten existed, but one I really like. Sadly I never actually fully completed this game despite getting the Platinum trophy on the first BioShock. I need to work smarter, play harder...

2014 saw us working with a brand new company who have gone on to great things. Good Bubble are based very close by to me and make excellent quality organic children's bathtime products with natural ingredients. Their Cloudberry hair and body wash smells amazing and makes my boys' hair shiny shiny and less tangly,.. Now available in Holland & Barrett, Ocado and Boots - nice one Amy.

The end of March 2015 saw 3 big reviews which are excellent products that have continued to impress. The Kano Raspberry Pi Computer Kit has been constantly updated and upgraded as new technology becomes available. It is still one of the neatest and smartest ways to give your child everything they need to learn to code and find their way around the workings of a computer.

The Hotpoint Ultima HULT943 Washing Machine which I was sent to review by Co-op Electrical has been fantastic. My previous Hotpoint was over 9 years old and had completed 10,000+ washes. My new one isn't so accomplished just yet, but it's proven just as reliable and it holds 9kg of washing...bliss.

Also in 2015 was a review that went badly wrong to start with and involved lots of phone calls and emails with couriers. It's not every day you end up with a mystery 7lb trolley wheel embedded in a 3 ft photo of your kids, but that's how my parcel was delivered. Unbelievably it took several attempts before the courier believed it hadn't been put into the box by eFrame before collection. Thankfully they re-sent and this gorgeous eFrame custom framed photo is at the top of our stairs.

In 2016 we got to play with some of Hallmark's Itty Bitty's. I'm not usually a teddy bear sort of person, but these are excellent. Cute, soft, cool and really perfectly shaped for small hands to hold, we've all got some now and we've bought them as gifts - in no small part because they're only £6 each!! Bargain. This is most of our Star Wars collection.

Plague Inc was a brilliant, if a little deadly, game app. and it translated so incredibly well to Plague Inc. the board game. We play this regularly and it's a great one for everyone to play together, even if it is officially rated 14+.  Looks complicated, totally isn't.

A year later and we were reviewing a more complicated game for Asmodee (previously Esdevium Games). When I Dream is a beautiful game where all other players give hints to player being the 'sleeper', who then has to try and guess all of the items they found in the dream. The sleeper can just list or they can weave a story including those items, which makes them much easier to remember. It's hilarious really and quite addictive once you start. "Just one more story"...

The last item is something we reviewed last year and I especially was very taken with him. Fingerlings are available in lots of different varieties and they're all very cute, but I have a real soft spot for the Fingerling Untamed Raptor. I did a quick 20 second video and I should have turned him upside down because he really gets excited then. The batteries last ages as well...

We were originally sent most, if not all, of the items in this post by the brand or a distributor for review. I have included them in this post on merit because they deserve to be here. I've not been given any payment or incentive to include anything shown on this page...