Review: Swinxs

Written on Nov 20, 2009 by RuthJS and filed under Reviews, Swinxs

Swinxs is a new interactive game console that is designed to get any number of children and adults up, moving, and thinking.  And, in this reviewer’s opinion, it truly deserves all the accolades it has received since it was introduced in the United States (including those from National Parenting Publications Awards, Creative Child Magazine toy of the year and the National Parenting Center seal of approval).

Out Of the Box

Swinxs is an interactive gaming console that can be used indoors or outdoors. While you might be hesitant to have kids play with it outside, the running and sillyness that happens with Swinx is perfect for outdoor play.

Styling? This Y-shaped, apple-colored unit is lightweight, but sturdy and stable. The shape, size and weight makes it easy to carry, even for little hands.

The unit is sealed on the bottom to keep out dirt, dust and sand as kids play.  Even the power/USB cord connector can be sealed to keep it from getting dirty or damaged. So it’s truly suited for the 4+ crowd.

Durrability? During the course of our testing, the unit was (accidentally) dropped, kicked and knocked over, and it is no worse for the wear.

Simplicity? There are only three buttons: power/volume, red and green, which make the console very approachable and quite easy to use, even if you aren’t the manual-consulting type. Small children can easily understand operate the unit as long as they know red from green.

How does it work? Swinxs comes with four colored wristbands or “tags.”

Each player picks a tag and then swipes the Swinxs emblem over the light on the top of the console. The Swinxs greets the player by color (“welcome, blue!”) to confirm that the color has been registered, and then invites players to start a game. Additionally, several of the games can be played by just one person, while others can be played with as many as 99 people, and not all of the games require tags.

What about the games? The console comes with 10 games pre-programmed into the unit, and there are many more FREE games that you can download from www.swinxs.com.  The cord that works with the plug to charge the battery also has a USB end that connects directly to your computer to make downloads easy. But, did I mention that the downloads are FREE? Plus, the best part about the downloads (other than the fact that they are FREE), is that, even though they don’t cost any additional money they are of the same high quality as those included with the unit, making the Swinxs a gaming device that can actually grow with your child.

The games themselves are both active and educational, and I can honestly say that they are even fun for parents. Some of the games require a lot of running and jumping like SwinxDash (run an obstacle course determined by the players and then let Swinxs time the race). Other games include quiet activities like Sound Game (each player is assigned a sound based on their tag color and then they listen carefully and swipe their tag every time their sound plays). And, if you don’t find a game that you like, simply find someone with a little programming knowledge and write your own game to share or just use on your own.  What kid doesn’t want to say they created their own computer game?  What a sense of accomplishment!

What I Like About Swinxs

Here are the attributes that make me love this toy (in no particular order):

• Swinxs is scalable to the number of players you have (1-99)
• it’s truly interesting for a wide variety of ages
• the battery is rechargeable so parents don’t spend their time with a screwdriver and disposable batteries that just end up in a landfill
• there are dozens of free games that you can download
• it’s not meant to be disposable or just last a year or two, rather, it grows with the kids and remain interesting for many years
• Swinxs can be used outside and encourages running and big muscle movement
• if you (or your significant other, as in my case) have any programming knowledge, you can develop your own game via the website that you can then download to your Swinxs or even share with other users
• its simple design is easy to use and is neither gender-specific nor too “baby-ish”
• the voice used for directions is very clear with good diction making it very easy to hear and understand, even for small children, so you don’t automatically have to turn the volume to the loudest setting just to play the games

What I Would Change

The only thing I would change would be to include a list of games that are pre-programmed on Swinxs and their description in the manual. This information is available online, but it would be nice to see it in the manual (0r at least a reference to the online descriptions). Other than that, this is an excellent toy.

In a Nutshell

If I could, I’d give the Swinxs 6 out of 5 stars, but since I can’t, it receives a strong 5 out of 5 and an Editor’s choice. Swinxs does run $150 at retail, but with so much gaming depth, active play elements, online support and fun for all ages, including parents we find it to be an excellent value, while offering many years of use potential.

The Swinxs console and accessories are available from Amazon.com.

Rating – 5 out of 5 stars – Editor’s Choice

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