There was a bit of disagreement here at The Madhouse about whether Cupets is an abbreviation of Cute Pets or Cube Pets but they could both be right ! (Just for the record, it's short for cube-shaped pet.) They are collectible figures that can be used with a smart device and, if you're a child of the eighties like me, the concept will probably remind you a bit of Tamagotchis - remember those ?!
There are twelve different Cupets to collect - Alpha the wolf, Gum the pig, Tweet the bird, Zola the mouse, Shorty the snake, Bush the wild boar, Radar the bat, Bubble the frog, Hardy the tortoise, Kit the cat, Cup the dog and Soup the fish, which is the one that we got.
You can use a free downloadable app, available on the App Store or Google Play, to unlock a virtual version of your Cupet on your smartphone or tablet. You can even play in Augmented Reality (AR) mode, using the camera and a unique Quick Response (QR) code, if you like. You must look after your Cupet and keep its four bars representing health, energy, hunger and happiness full up so that it performs well in the four mini games. You can collect coins (and get bonus free coins for liking the Facebook page) to buy food and accessories for your virtual Cupet or play with them, give them medicine or make them do exercise to keep them in tip top condition. There are more things to unlock as you work your way through the different levels.
It's a fun app that gives young children a little taste of what it's like to have a real pet to look after. The suggested age is 3+ (presumably as a safety issue for the physical Cupet?) but the little games are quite tricky for very young players. The augmented reality aspect adds some extra fun and the plastic toys themselves can be played with like other collectibles such as Littlest Pet Shops, Zoobles, etc or they can be attached to school bags or phones as cute accessories. (You don't actually need them for the app once you've used the code, unless you want to play with the augmented reality function.) The main attraction is the app though, which is quite addictive even for grown-ups !
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £6.99
for more information : http://www.flairplc.co.uk/brands/Cupets/
Disclosure : We received a Cupet in order to write an honest review.
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these are adorable, the concept of real toys pairing up with apps is such a good idea.
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