MEGA Bloks Play 'N Go Table toy review

November 9, 3:51 PMChicago Children's Toys ExaminerRenée Carver

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  Playing with the MEGA Bloks Play 'N Go Table can help
children enjoy creative building and develop fine-motor skills,
hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving skills.
(credit: Renée Carver)

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The MEGA Bloks Play 'N Go Table allows children to build structures on its surface and then store the blocks inside and carry the table elsewhere for on-the-go play. Included on the Toy Insider Hot 20 Toys for Holiday 2009 as a hot toy for children ages 0 to 2, this portable play table and building set encourages creativity, is light enough to be carried easily around, and stores neatly away when playtime is done.

Playing with this MEGA Bloks building set will develop children's fine-motor skills and hand-eye coordination as they manipulate the blocks (sized big for little hands). Figuring out how best to fit the blocks together to create different structures will develop a toddler's problem-solving skills and ability to use physical objects to recreate a picture imagined in his or her mind. The bright colors and different sizes of the blocks encourage color recognition and beginning math skills. Once toddlers have built something, they can use their creation to act out stories and enjoy imaginative play.

We were sent a MEGA Bloks Play 'N Go Table for review, but they usually retail for around $40. This plastic building set play table is suitable for children ages 1 and up.

The folded play table has handles for easy carrying. The
gear in the center turns to lock the plates in place and
keep the stored blocks from falling out. The road molded
into the top of the table is fun for driving toy vehicles
around, but also eats into the available building space.
(credit: Renée Carver)

MEGA Bloks Play 'N Go Table features

The Play 'N Go Table itself stands on four legs that click under the surface of the table for storage or travel. Instructions for deploying the legs are handily molded into the plastic under the table. Two sides of the table sport handles for easy carrying

The top of the table is formed from four plates, which each have studs to which MEGA Bloks can attach and which together also form a round track around which an included plastic car can be pushed. A center gear locks the plates securely in place. Underneath the plates is a storage compartment that can hold the included building pieces.

Along with a toy figure and the toy car, this MEGA Bloks set comes with one-, two-, and four-stud blocks, as well as two high arches and a low arch. Families used to the tighter fit of LEGO DUPLO blocks may be surprised by how the looser fitting MEGA Bloks fit together, but young children often find these blocks easier to fit together than DUPLO bricks. Children can attach included stickers to the blocks to transform them into buildings (school, home), objects (tree, door), and props (soccer ball, teddy bear).

The stickers that children can add to their MEGA Bloks
are attractively designed, but also limit children's
imaginations by suddenly defining how each block is to be
used. (credit: Renée Carver)

MEGA Bloks Play 'N Go Table toy review

The strong points of this MEGA Bloks play table are its portability, how well the blocks fit inside for storage, and the creative way the tabletop allows children to stack the plates to construct multi-level buildings and incorporates a round road for the toy car. It is easy to toss this play table in a car to take it on a playdate or a trip to Grandma's house, and although it would be nice if the interior of the play table could store more blocks, and children will definitely enjoy building with it more if they have additional MEGA Bloks sets to add to the ones that come with this set, enough blocks are included for children to be able to experiment with constructing several different kinds of buildings and other structures.  

The weak points of this MEGA Bloks play table are how wobbly it can be (even with the legs popped into place, our testers had a problem with the table collapsing in mid-play) and the way the themed stickers and the shape of the plates' surface make it harder to enjoy a truly open-ended building experience. Once the stickers are stuck on the blocks, kids are somewhat locked in to having these blocks stand for specific objects or places. Also, it is fun to drive the car around on the play table surface road, but at the same time, the road takes up so much space that kids only have a border of studs around the edges of the table and a cluster of them in its middle to which they can stick their MEGA Bloks.

Overall, this is a cute building set play table for beginning builders. A few quality issues aside (the wobbly legs and the fact that the stickers peel off a little too easily), it is a durable product with sturdy, soft blocks. Chicago families can purchase the MEGA Bloks Play 'N Go Table at mass retail toy stores like Target or Toys R Us.

Families looking for other interesting building sets for toddlers and preschoolers might like HABA Sticki-Baustine Fit Together Blocks. Children interested in other alternatives to LEGO blocks might like the wooden LEGO-like Interlocking Blocks.

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