Sam’s Safari Adventure
Approx. price: £19.99
Age range: 18mths–5 years
Website: www.wowtoys.com
Sam’s Safari Adventure is a colourful plastic playset from WOW Toys, featuring the company’s familiar friction-powered operation. The set comprises Sam the 4 x 4 safari truck, a safari warden and tracker and two animals – an orang-utan and a hippo.
The set has a built-in story. The warden and tracker are moving the animals to a safer area, and they have food and water to keep the animals happy during the move.
Kids will make up their own stories as well, of course, and key to this is the appeal of the characters. The animals are cute and the safari warden and tracker are very nicely detailed. Sam the safari truck is chunky and tactile and a quick push sets him off with a nice engine sound – he literally rocks and rolls, with a rocking motion in his cargo bed as he moves along.
This set proved to be a hit with toy testers aged two and five. Imaginative play was soon taking place, with the figures attracting the most attention.
Over time, the older child lost interest, while the younger tester remained enthusiastic. Interestingly, it was Sam the truck who became the favourite, having played second fiddle somewhat at first.
Three months after first playing with this set, our two-year-old tester was still occasionally grabbing Sam and looking for one or two of the figures to start a new adventure.
Durability is very good, with the figures tough and Sam showing no signs of slowing down even after several expeditions over the demanding terrain in the back garden.
Value is enhanced by the fact that you don’t need to pay for batteries, thanks to that friction power, and this set can also be used with others from WOW Toys to build up a more extensive world.
The gentle animal conservation theme will also be a selling point for many.
Durability: 4/5
Longevity: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Score: 82%
Conclusion: A colourful, enjoyable playset that appeals especially to younger children in the stated age range.
