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Sky Castle Toys looks to introduce engaging sensory toys in a world where finding activities outside of screens is increasingly difficult. Reflex toys like the ball-and-cup have been around for generations. Older kids today can remember tinkering with analog toys like Etch A Sketch and magnets before screens became ever-present. Those toys are all still great, and Sky Castle brings new possibilities to players’ hands with GooToobz and Marvel DoodleJamz.
Getting Creative with DoodleJamz
Sky Castle has already delivered countless hours of fun with the original DoodleJamz. These “squish ‘n shape” creative toys allow kids to move colorful beads around an embedded image like the old magnet hair games. Rather than having to use a special pen, however, anything can move the beads, whether fingers or the provided plastic stylus with flat and curved edges that allow for precision art. Drawing is a therapeutic pastime, and the DoodleJamz makes it even easier and cleaner than finger-painting with movements that allow the beads to stay in place under the plastic guard sheet.
DoodleJamz goes to the next level with Marvel DoodleJamz, incorporating favorite comic heroes Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-Man into the fun. Player-artists can squish and shape different configurations to make the heroes’ faces glow or become blocked out. Creative players might give the Hulk a mustache or Iron Man enormous eyebrows. Others might make a relaxing meditation of it, delicately arranging the beads along the lines of the image or filling in certain fields. They can even combine the two, putting all the beads on Spider-Man’s eyes to give him fitting bug eyes. Anything can happen once someone starts doodling, and the famous backgrounds of the heroes makes it all the more fun.
Getting Gooey with GooToobz
In addition to drawing pads, Sky Castle brings out more play with GooToobz. These toys serve as self-contained, multi-directional ducts with liquid and glitter inside. The mazes present a triple sensory experience, as players can feel the squish of the goo being pumped between the main chambers, see the goo flowing thanks to the colorful dots inside, and hear the rushing, soothing flow. GooToobz make for hypnotic play, perfect to have at hand for any time people may need a moment to unwind or simply keep their hands busy while they wait. The plastic case is durable, though players shouldn’t poke it or try to squeeze both sides at once.
Many Ways to Play
Sky Castle brings eye-catching real-world design to GooToobz with GooToobz Gamers resembling video game console controllers and GooToobz Sips looking like everyone’s favorite beverages, whether milkshakes, soda pop, or bubble tea. On the surface, these are simple reflex toys where players squish liquid from one side to the other by applying pressure. While that is true and fun, players can make up their own challenges, like trying to get all the “boba” glitter isolated in one cup and then trying another round to get it into the second cup, rotating and flipping as they go.
The “controllers” for GooToobz Gamers comes with several varieties. The “Hydro” edition focuses on maximum experience with shiny glitter and louder sound. “Stealth” squishes in secret with no noise while still flushing colorful goo. “Nuclear” has wider spaces where beads can collide and rattle. No matter what a gamer’s needs, GooToobz has them covered.
