Qixels Kingdom Castle Attack review

We first discovered Qixels last year, when we reviewed the Qixels Turbo Dryer, and I've bought several recharge sets since then, so Pierre was delighted to receive the Qixels Kingdom Castle Attack set to review.

We tipped everything out of the box and were impressed with the large number of pieces in the box. As well as the templates and pin boards needed to make the Qixels designs, you get 1000 beads (which sounds a lot but they won't last that long !) and lots of interlocking plastic sections and accessories to create a 3d castle world. 

Pierre was most impressed to discover that it includes a fully working drawbridge.

Like most parents, I started off by studying the enclosed instruction leaflet, which shows you how to assemble the castle.

Meanwhile, Pierre had jumped straight in and was gaily slotting the pieces together. He was quite right - after telling him that he hadn't put certain pieces in the right places, I noticed on the box that it says you can create your own designs. Oops, as you were then ! The pieces are quite tricky to slot into place but once they're in, they've very sturdy and Pierre did eventually manage all by himself.

So, on to the Qixel cubes themselves. If you're unfamiliar with the brand, they are very similar to a square version of Hama Beads, but the great thing is, you don't have to faff about with an iron - you just spray them with water for them to swell and stick together. Juliette said they are like a cross between Hama Beads, Aquabeads and Minecraft, which is a pretty good description !

The pack includes several double sided paper templates - dragon, Viking, ogre, battleaxes, knight, king ... - that you slot under the plastic pin board. You then follow the colours to press matching Qixel beads on top. If you're a Qixels pro, you might have noticed that in our enthusiasm, we forgot something important, but more about that in a moment !

I find they fall over much less frequently than Hama Beads so they are less frustrating. Within a few minutes, our first design was ready to spray with water. Half an hour later, we came back to pull it off the pin board and - oops - realised that in our haste, we'd forgotten to use the second part of the pin board that makes it much easier to remove. I prised it off with a knife but broke it in the process. It can be salvaged by adding extra water to the broken bits but Pierre and Juliette had already moved on to some more designs.

Juliette made a very funky metallic dragon.

Making sure we added the top sheet this time, Pierre made a king.

There is a handly little spray bottle contained in the box which keeps mess to a minimum.

This time, it was a piece of cake removing it from the pin board.

They're fairly fragile, but they're robust enough for you to play with them in the castle, climbing ladders, going across the drawbridge and scaling the towers to steal the flags, as well as battling the ogres and dragons..

There are even clever open squares that allow you to attach accessories to your figures, such as the plastic flames coming out of the dragon's mouth.

It's a lovely kit that combines a fun manual activity, creating the Qixels designs, to hone your fine motor skills, some 3d logic constructing the castle and finally some imaginative play making up stories with them. Plus, once you've finished playing, they look very cool on your bedroom shelf.

Castles and dragons are always a popular choice, but this is just one of the Qixels products available. The award-winning range includes :

Qixels 3D Maker - Once they have mastered the technique of Qixels children can take their designs to the next level with the 3D. There are a variety of 3D characters to create including aliens, bugs and jungle characters. (RRP £24.99)

Theme Packs - There are so many cool designs to create including Dinosaurs, pirates and even monsters! Once created, these pixelated characters can be used as individual toys to play with or make great a bedroom decoration. (RRP £9.99)

Mega Refill Pack – The fun is as endless as your child’s imagination with the Qixels refill pack, the pack includes 1500 cubes including 750 glow in the dark cubes (RRP £12.99)

So many hours of fun to be had, simply make, spray and play! No need for glue or heat so you can let your kids get on with the fun without needing your help (but you do need to keep an eye on younger children so that they don't put them in their mouths).

The Qixels Kingdom Castle Attack Playset has an RRP of £29.99 and is aimed at children aged 4+.

for more information : https://www.character-online.com/qixels-kingdom-castle-attack-play-se

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.