It’s no secret that I’m a huge geek. I love retro toys and technology. So when I was asked to do a Lite Brite Ultimate Classic review, I happily agreed. Read on to find out how we got on and what we thought of the rebooted toy. We received 1x Lite-Brite ultimate classic and 2x Lite-Brite mini’s for the purpose of this review. Both are available now from John Lewis.
Lite Brite Ultimate Classic Review
Lite-Brite was a popular toy back when I was a kid in the 80’s. I had this toy and spent many hours designing cool art work. The rebooted ultimate classic version has an RRP of £19.99 and is suitable for children aged 4 and over. It requires 3x AAA batteries which are not included. Rather than spending ages explaining how Lite Brite Ultimate Classic works, I made this Lite Brite Ultimate Classic review video so you can see for yourself…
As the video shows, the set includes 214 pieces… The Lite-Brite board, 6x templates and then 207 pegs. The included templates are: A unicorn, elephant, dune buggy, flowers, a ship on the sea and finally, a mountain scene.
What Lite Brite Say
Children will have hours of fun combining peg art and light with the Lite Brite Ultimate.
Easy to use and fun for ages 4 years and up, simply follow the pre-designed pattern or create your own bright and colourful masterpieces.
With over 200 round pegs in white, yellow, blue, pink, orange and green plus six templates to follow, you can create four different light shows to enhance your art – from blinking, pulsing, steady and random. Built for travelling, this is a perfect take along for any car ride or road trip.
Our Thoughts On Lite-Brite Ultimate Classic
I guest I best start this Lite Brite Ultimate Classic review then… The templates included with Lite Brite Ultimate Classic are a great starting point. They are hard to follow at times though, as there’s no grid. So you do need to concentrate. We loved that the pegs stay in securely – even if you accidentally knock the board over. (You can see us accidentally do this in the blooper reel at the end of the video, above).
The varying light patterns take the large Lite – Brite from good to great in Syd’s eyes. She loves seeing her creations flashing in the dark. The light goes out after a few minutes, so it won’t drain the battery either. The power button is located on the rear of the unit, so I’d recommend pressing it before you begin creating your picture.
I’d recommend buying a small sorting tray so your child can sort the pegs into colours. This makes creating their masterpieces much easier, and avoids having to pick so many pegs up off the floor. Other than that, I think Lite Brite Ultimate Classic is a brilliant retro toy, and I’ll definitely be buying a couple to give as gifts this year.
Lite-Brite Mini
Between the rubbish weather and us having to self isolate again this past week, we’ve not managed to get out and about with our Line Lite Brites just yet. That doesn’t stop them being great fun though. Sam is Autistic, and loves colours, lights and shapes. So it’ll come as no surprise that he’s loved exploring his Lite-Brite Mini, while we’ve been stuck at home self isolating.
Personally, I love that it comes with batteries included, so you can play straight from the box. This set comes with 4 templates (shown above), plus 85 pegs and the mini lite-brite board. With an RRP of £9.99, the Lite Brite Mini is a fab gift for birthday parties, or stocking fillers.
I think the Mini version will be perfect for popping into your bag or the car, to keep the kids entertained on the go. I’ve got grand plans of meeting up with a mum friend for a picnic over the summer, and keeping our daughters entertained with them.
Finally, if you found this Lite Brite Ultimate Classic review helpful, check out my review of another retro toy – Moon shoes!
