Reminiscent of the Subbuteo game so coveted in the 70s, the LEGO Championship Challenge is a superb modern equivalent that fans of six years and older will love. The pitch is simple and quick to construct, though the small pieces are numerous and nimble fingers are required to fix the finer parts such as advertising stickers, elastic bands that give the goalkeepers their quick reflexes, corner flags and nets. LEGO novices may require some help, whereas graduates will complete it with relative ease. Choose from the two teams, one in green and white stripes, the other in red and white, then toss for the kick-off and get one of the small balls included in the kit moving. Each LEGO man is mounted on a sprung plastic board, and once the players are in position, it is merely a matter of pressing the board to flick the ball from feet to feet. The firmer the press, the longer the pass. The ball may prove difficult to control to begin with, so be prepared for multiple throw-ins, particularly when playing against younger coaches. But the main obstacle to free-flowing play may just prove to be laughter-you will enjoy the mistakes as much as, if not more than, the successes. Though missing a referee, this game is fun, accurate to a point, surprisingly challenging and interesting, even for spectators. The teams sport a variety of hair styles, (including baldness and sweat bands) and clothes, adding to the interest and fun. [+]

Jack Stone is a tough and brainy crime fighter who just happens to be a small plastic LEGO unit. This 137-piece set features everything needed to create a police tower, prison cell, helicopter, bad-guy car, and police cruiser. Besides the Jack figure, there are three other cops and a bad guy. The included siren brick, featuring a non-replaceable 3-volt battery, can be installed in the police car for hot pursuits, atop the tower to signal the helicopter, or anywhere else you choose. When activated, it flashes lights and makes a loud sound. Of course, the LEGO bricks can be used to assemble the vehicles depicted or entirely new creations. -John Moe.

Like many of the best Lego toys, Lego Dinosaurs come under the "why didn't anybody think of this before" category-much like their popular and successful Star Wars collection. Simple to build, beautifully designed and-most importantly-fun to play with, Lego Dinosaurs should appeal to budding palaeontologists and budding engineers alike. Though the dinosaurs aren't museum-quality models, they do offer a great deal of playability. Like all the sets in the collection, the pieces that come with the Styracosaurus System can be used to create four different dinosaurs: not only the mighty Styracosaurus but also a Triceratops, a Centrosaurus or a Camarasaurus. Moreover, all four Dinosaur Systems, the Styrausaurus, Brachiosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Mosasaurus can be mixed and matched to create new prehistoric creatures both real and mythological, limited only by the child's imagination. -Ted Kord.

The Technics Duel Bikes is a set of bikes that allows you to joust to your hearts content. The fact that there are two of these bikes in one box makes it great if there are two kids involved-each one comes with separate instructions and separate coloured bags. Each bike comes with three different designs in the manual, but the personalisation of the designs is up to you-something that takes about an hour because of the 33 sets of instructions. Then the jousting can begin. The duel bikes design means that when you get hit, your driver will spring out of the cockpit. This is great fun and should provide hours of challenging play, regardless of your age. The Technics Duel Bikes are great for two players, as you can usually be sure that you'll have the right pieces (attaching to the right pieces). And with extra designs available to download from the Lego Web site, the build can just go on forever. -Stuart Miles.