8.7.2013

This is a visually stunning, reassuringly sturdy and just downright fun product which was bought originally about two years ago for my little relative, then aged three. As a jigsaw, it was perfect and kept her entertained for months. As a game, it lacked a little something, in my opinion. That is, until I made one or two 'modifications'.Right from the start, her six year old sister was jealous of her. I took that to be a good sign that I had purchased something of great appeal to children of a wide age-range. However, the little one's reluctance to share the fishing rod meant that their relationship was becoming somewhat fraught. Indeed, the older one had begun to hide one or two of the pieces,no doubt to teach her sister an early lesson about the depletion and sustainability of some of the fish stocks in our oceans. Clearly somebody had to do something and, since I bought this, their mother indicated rather vociferously that, that somebody was going to be me. Not a problem - a couple of minutes with an HB pencil, a piece of string, a hobby magnet and some glue left us with a fairly decent second fishing rod, even if I do say so myself.The novelty of simply catching the magnetic sea creatures was therefore adapted to include a significant level of competition. Melissa and Doug's very responsible suggestion there about returning your catch to the depths from whence it came is a jolly good idea. If nothing else, it keeps the game going so much longer. That is, if your rods don't become entangled of course, which can be quite a hazard with two people overfishing the same rather small area of water like this.While I was about it, I decided to make the game even more competitive, by writing a value on the back of each creature. Since I was dealing with two half-pints and not the head chef of one of Rick Stein's fish restaurants, I kept these figures simple... the numbers one to ten seemed obvious so we went with those. Then, I put this whole game inside a deep cardboard box and invited my two anglers to brings their Thermos flasks and a wireless and to meet me at the water's edge. They both thought they'd found a way of cheating as well, with a quick peek over the side of the box for each of them. Ah, but that's when the sea became suddenly turbulent, as I spun the box and all its contents round a few times. Then the competition began again! One decent catch is worth the same as several 'tiddlers', but there is no way of knowing where these 'big fish' are. This adaptation brings much more realism to the thing. So much so, that they continue to play with this beautiful puzzle in this manner to this very day!This is a beautiful item which captures the interest of any child although, in my opinion, a second fishing rod (however 'Heath Robinson' it might have to be) gives it a lot more longevity as a toy of significant interest.

13.6.2016

This is a great toy, I bought it for my 1 year old son for Christmas, and it has been a big hit in our household (even with his 3year old sister).PROS=> FUN - Both kids instantly took to the game, and still enjoy playing with it on occasion.=> BUILDS CO-ORDINATION SKILLS - as you can see from the video this is a great toy for building hand eye co-ordination skills. There is lots to learn about magnetic attraction, moving a dangling object and of course fitting the puzzle pieces into the right spot.=> COLORFUL TEACHING TOOL - vibrant colors and a great opportunity to learn about different sea creatures=> EASIER TO STORE THAN OTHER PUZZLES - because this one has flat magnetic 'buttons' on it,

24.1.2016

Bought for my 22 month old daughter. She is obviously a bit younger than the 3 year age guideline, but we always play it together, so she always has me supervising her.The rod we were supplied with looks a bit different to the one in the picture, with a red plastic tube holding the magnet on the end – see photo – but otherwise it is the same as the Amazon picture. It seems well made and sturdy and hopefully being wooden it will last.My daughter picked the game up very quickly and enjoys catching the creatures on the fishing pole and returning them to the correct slots afterwards. It’s great for her hand-eye co-ordination as well as problem solving, when working out which shape goes where.

2.5.2016

It's a great magnetic puzzle board teaching my 2 year old numbers, colours and helping to build on problem solving and fine motor development.My own problem with this, the numbers really should be in chronological order for increasing those early counting skills and additionally to make it easier to figure out which car fits where as once they've been taken out of their slots, it is just a blank wooden background and various wriggly outlines as your only basis to figure out which car goes where, which is incredibly tricky for young children and may cause frustration from time to time.I also received a strange red magnetic cylinder object attached to a red piece of string ,

23.9.2011

I can't say enough about this puzzle. My daughter has had it for almost a year now and she still get's delight from it. Excellent quality too. Really stands up to regular use. And somehow it's easy to keep together, maybe because of the magnets weight?I'd recommend from 2yrs onwards because to begin with they get fun from just "fishing" and removing the pieces from the puzzle with the pole and magnet, then soon, as they get older, they get more dexterity and can fit the pieces back in place by themselves. And they can keep catching the fishies all over again! Also choosing which sea creature your going to catch next seems to be part of the fun. And now my 3 yr old likes to have the fish talk to each other!

22.1.2011

The set that arrived is slightly different to the picture - the fishing rod now has a red longer cylinder shape magnet section which I assume makes it easier to pick up the fish pieces and also makes it less of a swallowing or choking hazard with the internal magnets securely enclosed.The wooden rod and board are very high quality and it is a fun game with the added bonus of being a puzzle to fit pieces back in the board. It could have been even better if the button metal bits on the jigsaw pieces stood proud (instead they are flush, tack head style buttons) so you could take the pieces out by hand as well and use it as a conventional toddlers jigsaw.

26.2.2012

This is a great toy, it's fun to play with and educational too! I bought it as a present for my 2 year old nephew, he and my daughter also 2 played quite happily taking turns to find the colour or number car that I requested. The only down side is that the pieces don't do great if they get wet or damp at all, my other daughter (8 months) picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, only for a few seconds but the result was the picture starting to peel away. I would have expected it to stand up to the test a little better. In my experience with young children puzzle pieces are going to get sucked and have the odd drink splashed or spilt on them. This unfortunately will not last too long with that kind of treatment.

2.1.2012

My son who is crazy about cars absolutely loves this toy. I bought it for him at age 3 thinking that he was a bit old for this type of game but he was hooked immediately and played for 15 minutes at a time without getting bored. Although I have tried different methods of teaching him numbers, this is the one which stuck. Its also good for hand-eye coordination as you do need to concentrate in order to grab the cars using the truck magnet. The only slight issue I found is that the numbers are not written inside the spaces so it was tricky to find out which car fit into which space. I overcame this by writing the numbers in myself.

6.1.2015

I gave this toy to my nearly 2 year old grandson for Christmas and he got the gist of it within a very short time, smiling happily at his achievement. He quickly learned where each piece fitted and the names of each bug. He proudly presented everyone with a piece and afterwards replaced them all carefully, though not all in their right places for a minute or two! Enough difficulty to keep up interest! The board is lovely to look at, having a good variety and number of bugs, and will be something he will likely return to for a while. The lifting of each piece with the magnet requires careful manipulation and provides a lot of satisfaction. A pleasant update of the "old fish tank",

24.3.2013

I purchased this yesterday for my 20 month old thinking it would give her a challenge, ummm maybe not. Not saying she is super child but she can use it perfectly and replace all the shapes with ease. I think sometimes we underestimate our toddlers and age ranges on toys do seem set high. I am aware that this is often due to small parts and choking hazards however who leaves their toddler on their own for more than a few seconds.The puzzle is colourful and well made but be aware that a three year old would surely have very limited play left with this item. We own a huge amount of Melissa and doug products,

9.7.2017

My toddler loves this, and took no time at all to work out how to 'fish' the shapes out. Nice range of sea creatures. My initial thought that it would have been better if there were pictures under the shapes (making putting the puzzle back together easier) was unfounded, as my two year old worked it out pretty quickly anyway. Would be nice if there were two fishing rods so we could start a turn based game with it, but that's a minor point. As always with Melissa and Doug products it's finished to a good standard and is a well thought out toy. My toddler is happy getting all the pieces out (naming them as she goes),

10.4.2010

this product is recommended for ages 3+ but i bought it for my daughter at 23 months and she plays with it all the time. its brilliant. a great education game, helps with co'ordination, understanding about magnets and of course the 'sea theme'. a really nice present and a great toy. only thing i find a bit annoying is that she is too young to put the pieces back because she can't tell which goes where as she can't recognise 'shape' yet. we have wooden puzzles with a picture painted on so she can see where they should go. i hate that she has to wait for me to put the pieces back... but anyway i'm sure she will learn with time - i guess this is why its recommended for older children.

6.1.2013

Magnetic fishing games in their various forms were always a firm favourite with our children. This is a variation and suitable for younger children as it is a wooden puzzle with a twist, the pieces can be fished for when the puzzle has been completed. Our two and a half year old granddaughter has a few puzzles but she was really delighted with this new kind and loves talking about which fish she will catch next. My only disappointment is that there are not two rods -then this would definitely have been a five star product for me. I would have gladly paid just a little bit more for this addition. That way two children could play together or child and adult could each catch a fish!

9.10.2020

I'd previously purchased the Ocean Animals version, it was a hit and so purchased the Bugs and Insects. The finish is different, not as durable. My 21 month old son put a piece in his mouth and the image started to wear away like paper. The pieces are also looser and so he can just pick them out like a jigsaw rather than using the fishing net - defeats the object of practicing hand eye coordination. We also tend to use the fishing rod from the Ocean puzzle as it's more accurate than the net provided - my son finds the net frustrating to use as the rope isn't in the best position making it awkward to use. Not a bad purchase but not as good as other versions.

26.12.2010

My daughter will be two in a few weeks time and got this for Christmas. She opened it and immediately knew what to do after I fished out first fish. She fished all of the fish and put them back within about 2 minutes! That was a big surprise as it is rated for children 3 and above. I do not know if she has it in the nursery (have to ask) but that does not change the fact that she could do it in a nick of time in her age. Therefore I would recommend this toy for 2 and above, that is why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. But she has a great fun playing with it round and round so we are very pleased with it.

Bug-Catching Magnetic Puzzle Game - Reviews

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