Hasbro Ji Ga Zo Review
Written on Jun 6, 2011 by Brian and filed under Hasbro, Reviews
Ji Ga Zo is an interesting combination of a personalized puzzle and technology – not something we often say, even at KidsTechReview.com. Hasbro’s Ji Ga Zo is also one of the few products featured at Toy Fair 2011 that’s actually ready to buy. It only took one nasty weekend in March to incentivize us to get Ji Ga Zo in the hands of some antsy kids to see what it was all about.
Ji Ga Zo follows a fun and simple premise. Kids, or adults, use the included software to select and crop any image. It could be a nice portrait of one of the kids, or even the family pet. The key in getting started though is to use a photo with a good amount of contrast, using the included software to crop in tight around the face. The software is pretty good, though as is common with things like this, it leaves a little to be desired in terms of usability. Frankly, a web-based program would have been better and less hassle. Either way though, a few times through the process though and most will get the hang of it with little issue.
The end result is a color-coded puzzle map that can be printed out. While it’s best to print on a color printer, you can manage, though it’s much more difficult, with black and white. What’s kind of fun in the configuration process too, is you can either print the original image, or not. We preferred not to print it, so kids were excited to discover the end result, without knowing what it was supposed to be.
If it’s your first time through, you also have to remove the Ji Ga Zo pieces from the cardboard backing. This is definitely a parent’s job, and the most frustrating part of the entire process. The instructions to peel the board apart aren’t terribly clear and while we didn’t damage any pieces, it’s pretty clear that over-excited kids could. Each piece has a Sepia-colored side and a pastel colored side, both with an icon to aid in assembly.
Hasbro recommends using your puzzle map to find each piece, assembling Sepia-side up. We actually found it much easier, and faster to work upside down, assembling with the pastel colors up. This also ads to the excitement since kids have no clue what they’re assembling until its complete. The puzzle is only 10” x 13.25” when complete, so it’s pretty easy to use the lid or some such to flip it face up. The other fun benefit of working on the pastel side first is that if more than one person is working the puzzle, it’s easy to assign colors to work it in tandem.
During assembly, pieces go together well, they all fit the same way. Each one features an identification icon, which can be fun in themselves. Kids enjoyed placing the cake for instance, or the horse, dog, umbrella, etc. A couple were tough for kids to understand, but that did little to lessen their enjoyment. The only issues we had during assembly were early on, it’s easy to bump the pieces and shift them off the grid. But once a few larger chunks get assembled, it’s less of an issue. It would also be less problematic if you assemble in order, either left to right or top to bottom, but we never found an audience who would work in such a linear fashion.
The net result of the completed Ji Ga Zo is fun. The picture itself came out well each time we tried it, people who didn’t participate at all in the puzzle were able to identify the picture at the end. That may not always be the case though, you really need to start with a quality photo that frames the face well, with plenty of contrast. But it wasn’t so much the end result as the getting there that kids really enjoyed.
Conclusion
Ji Ga Zo has so many uses – from an indoor rainy day project, to being a great gift for all ages. It’s also pretty cost effective at $25 MSRP. If you do a great Ji Ga Zo too, they make for fun wall art, especially in a kid’s room. Our only complaints are minor, the software could be better, or web-based and the task of removing the pieces the first time could be easier. Overall though, kids and adults had a lot of fun with Ji Ga Zo and at the MSRP, we find it to be a good value.
Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars
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