Smashers by Zuru collectible review

One of last year's top toys was L.O.L. Surprise, the cute doll collectible that involves patiently peeling off seven layers of packaging to reveal the surprises inside. This month has seen the release of another fun collectible with an element of surprise, but this time it's sports-themed and requires destructive urges energy rather than patience to open it - as their name suggests, you have to literally smash them to open them !

I don't like gender-stereotyping and, as Pierre has two sisters, he has always been very happy to play with their dolls, craft kits, glitter and even princess dressing-up outfits (I have photos that will undoubtedly come back to haunt him on his wedding day !), but I must admit, here at The Madhouse, it is mainly Pierre and Madhouse Daddy who are into sports. Football, rugby, basketball, ice hockey, it doesn't really matter ... they'll happily spend a Sunday afternoon watching a match, while the girls are like me and lose interest very quickly. While probably targetting boys, Smashers will definitely appeal to children of both sexes aged about 4-12, because their cuteness, gameplay and collectibility will appeal to anyone who isn't really into sport.

The packaging is brilliantly thought out. Throwing the plastic ball on to a hard surface will break it into pieces and reveal the character inside. However, it doubles up as a bit of a puzzle as kids can try to put it back into a sphere. This is a great idea, adding extra playability and avoiding the complete waste of packaging in similar toys such as Kinder eggs or the surprise toys that you find in machines outside supermarkets, where the empty plastic cases are discarded as soon as the treasures have been retrieved. I would recommend opening one at a time or it gets very hard to piece them all back together though !

Speaking of doubling up, we were also very impressed with the accompanying Smash Bus, which acts as both a storage case for your collection and a fun playset.

You can use the flipboard to ping your Smashers across the pitch and try to score a goal. It's rare to find a collectible that you can actually play with actively so Pierre thought this was fantastic fun ! We got the football bus but there is also a basketball one and I wouldn't be surprised if other sports are added at a later date.

There are currently 100 wacky sports characters to collect featuring three sports : football, basketball and rugby. Each pack comes with a collector's guide so that you can track your collection - you can also download a free Smashers collector's app.  Pierre, who is also a big Pokemon fan, loves the fact that they each have their own Smash Point Value so you can trade and battle with them. As with all good collectibles, there are also special rare Sports & Golden Trophies to look out for, as well as both good and bad sports characters. Prices start at £1.99, so they're a great pocket-money option.

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*** Don't miss my giveaway where you can win a lovely Smashers bundle to start off your collection ! ***

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