Review: FAMPs
Written on Nov 12, 2009 by RuthJS and filed under Mattel, Reviews
Short for feelings, attitudes, moods and personalities, FAMPs allows users to customize their computer’s look based on their mood, play games and meet up with friends online. Coming from Mattel, it’s no surprise that everything about this toy appeals to the age 6+ target audience. I reviewed the FAMPs starter kit.
FAMPs Starter Kit
So, What Exactly IS FAMPs?
New on the market, FAMPs encourages kids to “show your e-motions online.” In my opinion, it’s kind of a cross between Webkins and Facebook with all the innocence and parental controls you’d want for a 6-12 girl mixed in with age appropriate social networking. All that and there are cute little personality “charms” that kids can collect. (It must be something about the giant head that makes these figurines so adorable.)
Drew, the FAMPs Creative Charm
The idea is that you set up a profile that can connect with other FAMPs users. Using this profile, kids can create and send cards and e-mails to their friends, share pictures, and play games both online and using the software that comes with the toy. When you open the software, the background look and feel will change depending on which charm is in your Emote Ring (more on this later). Swap out the charm, and the look of the desktop changes to reflect the feeling, attitude, mood, or personality that you want to project (creative, happy, sad, bored, lazy, scared, love, silly, sleepy, hyper, shy or sassy).
Out of the Box
The Emote Ring Plugs Into a USB Port
FAMPs Software With Default Background (no charm)
You can start by just placing Drew in the Emote Ring and watching the desktop change to a creative backdrop. One of my testers exclaimed,”it’s like magic!” She was right, and it really is cool. I even had one tester who easily spent five minutes putting the charm in the ring and taking her out just to see the desktop change.
Drew Hanging in the Emote Ring
Just look for yourself . . .
The Onscreen Effects of Drew Hanging in the Emote Ring
Parental Controls
This is a great place to discuss the parental controls. During setup, parents can enter an e-mail address and password that allows them to enable or disable card sending or e-mail. Additionally, a parent password is required to send or receive a friend request, so parents can check and control with whom their children are associating online.
Parent control in action . . .
When your child tries to invite a friend . . .
. . . a parent password is required to submit the request.
The parent controls make FAMPs a safe place for children to play.
Games and Other Fun Things to Do
Once you’re all set up, it’s time to play! Each charm comes complete with it’s own game that can be played offline. Or, you can go online and play a Boggle-like word creator or a bubble-pop with faces. Both are fun, and you can match your scores with other FAMPS users.
FAMPS Games Included With the Software (Note: the other games unlock if you have the corresponding charm.)
If you’re not in the mood for games, you can send a note, create an e-card, or upload pictures. You can also browse the pictures that your friends have uploaded. My favorite activity was creating my own avatar:
Create Your Own Avitar Using FAMPs Designer
But, no matter what you choose, it’s easy to get hooked and spend some serious play time having fun in this safe, user-friendly environment.
All-In-All
FAMPs is an age-appropriate, safe bridge between Webkins and Facebook. Plus, it’s creative and just plain fun! The starter kit runs $17 and additional figures, believe me, you’ll want several, come in between $7-10. For those prices, we love the value and strongly recommend the FAMPs system.
Rating - 5 out of 5 stars – Editor’s Choice
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