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Lonpos 303 Brainteasers Take On The Challenge ( For a 2nd Time! )
While LonPos 303 Pyramid & Rectangle Games are unique brainteaser puzzles that will challenge both children and adults to solve a number of carefully created games, there is more to the story than this. This challenging set of brainteasers was submitted and approved in the beginning of 2007, but that wasn't good enough for Mic-o-Mic Americas, the company submitting Lonpos 303 for our review. They have submitted it once again to be re-evaluated under our far more detailed and objective evaluation standards. Some of us were nervous, wondering what if it didn't pass under our new standards yet Lonpos 303 passed our evaluation once again!
The puzzles come in two formats: 2D Rectangles, where there are 256 pre-set problems to solve and 3D Pyramids, where there are 47 pre-set problems to solve. In both the 2D and 3D puzzles, you can create your own additional ones if you desire. Without question, you have a challenging task to task on.
To play 2D puzzles, you take out the 12 colorful pieces of puzzles from the box and put them on the tray. It will only take a few moments. Now comes the REAL challenge. To play 3D puzzles, you will need to turn the box over, with the pyramid puzzle board facing upward. Carefully read about the problems, set the problems up, then solve them. (I can assure you that for most people, that is easier said than done.)
Further Details About Lonpos 303
There are 303 puzzles you can solve, all with the pieces in the conveniently sized box they come in. The size of the box provides a convenience which makes Lonpos 303 a great item to take along for on-the-go fun. Now just imagine this...It is actually possible to set up over 360,000 problems with this one pocket-sized group of brain teasers! Whether in school or at home, this is a great way for a child to develop strategy skills, eye-hand coordination and greater motor skills, while they are actively engaged in productive and creative play.
It is great to have one individual striving to solve the mysteries which the Lonpos 303 brainteasers contain, but why not take this to an entirely new level of play? Just imagine for a moment, having two or more people, competing against each other to see who can solve the games first! This method of play contributes to a far greater level of critical skill and motor skills development. Lonpos 303 has potential for very strong sales in some of the largest retail chains due to the convenient product packaging footprint and price point.
There is a feature of the Lonpos 303 which might easily be overlooked...the detailed instruction booklet. The instruction booklet has clearly-written instructions which also include puzzle problems to look at as well as illustrations that are easy to read and learn from. All too often, people will purchase a product such as Lonpos 303 which is great for travel, yet they will simply toss the instruction booklet which may come along with the product, assuming it is just excess and of no real use. The detailed information booklet for the Lonpos 303 provides added value which will make your play with the brainteasers even more rewarding.
Lonpos 303 From A Different Point Of View
Industry professionals from our list of evaluators provided plenty of feedback about Lonpos 303 in their reports. After viewing our videotapes from the consumer hands-on evaluations, performing their own evaluations and completing their reports, these evaluators gave Lonpos 303 a powerful group of reports which really caught our attention.
Industry Professionals View Of Lonpos 303
It is so intriguing how industry professionals can say so much with so few words as you will see in the excerpts from the evaluators reports which are provided below;
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Child Pyschologist, PhD / Behavioral Analyst
- "The science of Play, (the interaction of a child with an object for recreation and learning), is one of the most important experiences in their development. A child's development both psychologically as well as physically are influenced directly by a child's experience in Play. Lonpos 303 not only delivers the appropriate type and level of experience in Play, but exceeds what is expected to such a degree that it even applies to adults.
We never cease our learning and development regardless of age. Every moment of the day delivers a new experience which has a direct impact on your life on multiple levels. The key difference with children is that their experience in Play helps to shape their personalities and behavioral patterns which in turn will follow them the rest of their lives.
The Lonpos 303 games or brainteasers,(however you prefer to define them,) serve as a perfect model of stimulation and positive influence. The stunning level of influence on intellectual skills alone for a child, from repetitive Play with Lonpos 303, is absolutely astronomical. Now add to that critical skill development, motor skills, and the rest of the recipe of what we define as vital concerns of development in a child, and you have the sum of what Lonpos 303 will have an impact upon.
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"In my review of the video tapes from the evaluations by fellow professionals as well as consumers, I was able to gain great insight into the full value of this product and the full significance of its value. Lonpos 303 goes well beyond just general consumer Play; it even extends into use with Special Needs children and use for physical therapists. Lonpos 303 requires visual and hand coordination to remove and place each playing piece of the puzzles. Hand/Eye coordination, visual perception from colors and shapes, the list goes on and on in how many different facets of this product can contribute to improvement of skills. Lonpos 303 serves as an excellent tool for a physical therapist to train a child or patient in their therapy, to learn to use or re-learn how to exercise their motor skills..."
An Editor's Note: There was so much more we wish we could share with you from the Child Pyschologist, PhD / Behavioral Analyst's report, but we need to keep the evaluation summary within reasonable limits in size. You can rest assured though that she had an overwhelming amount of information in her report in reference to the value of the Lonpos 303 and its use with children and adults.
I was simply dumbfounded with some of the key points of information which she outlined in her report. I never imagined such a simple product could have such an incredible impact upon so many people, in so many ways. We will now see what the Plastic Design Engineer had to say...
Plastics Design Engineer / Q.C. Evaluator - "Plastic materials have been a dominant topic of apprehensive concern. When I purchased this Lonpos 303 for evaluation, I was lacking in excitement. This was due to the fact of all the issues associated with plastic materials in toys and games, and what I assumed would make my evaluation of this product a more lengthy task to perform. Once that I actually sat down, examined the box and the pieces within the box, my assumption changed to a far greater level of excitement. Seeing that it was CE marked, made it quite clear that this product may possibly have some good potential.
To start off, the Lonpos 303 pieces comply with European safety standards and the package can bear the CE mark. In addition, the product itself, (Lonpos 303), complies with all appropriate ASTM standards. By meeting these standards, the concern with BPA, lead, and other materials has been removed. For the benefit of the laypersons reading this, the product has been independent lab tested with the results confirmed by this product guide staff.
The combination of the Lonpos 303 product box, carrying case, and game pieces, provides not just a quality recreational tool, but rather a recreational tool which is convenient and safe with the target age market it was designed for. There is a choking risk with the small pieces, but it is the responsibility of the parents or buyers of the product to be responsible, and take appropriate steps to avoid toddlers from having access to the game pieces. After evaluating the Lonpos 303, I can recommend it for approval as a safe and sound product."
Consumers Say It The Way It Is
Consumers have no hesitation in telling you what they think of a product when given the opportunity, and it isn't always what you desire to hear. This being the case, performing random hands-on consumer evaluations of products really tells you a lot. The REAL opinions that let you know just how good a product actually is and if needed, how to improve upon it.
There couldn't possibly be a better location to perform our hands-on consumer evaluation of products than a busy tourist area, and a local private school, in the beginning of Fall in Las Vegas. We decided to take Lonpos 303, and a variety of other products to the Fremont Street Experience and a private school facility to get real feedback from consumers via hands-on evaluation and capture everything on video. The results from this segment of our evaluation proved well worth our effort.
At both locations we had the same responses whether from a child, a teacher, or a tourist. Everyone who chose to be a participant was quite animated in their body expressions as they worked hard to solve the puzzles of the Lonpos 303. It was rather humorous to watch this one man who carefully laid out the instruction book, looking at the diagrams and using them to try and figure out the solution to the brain teaser puzzles.
While the man referenced earlier was striving to solve the puzzles, close by to him at the same table was a young boy maybe 10 years of age at most. This boy put all of the pieces in a pile and in minutes had the pieces all back into the carrying case perfectly without even looking at the box or instruction booklet. Soon after, the little boy noticed the man trying hard to figure out the puzzles, sat back down and completed the same puzzle the man was trying to complete in a matter of minutes!...(and doing it without the instructions or diagrams!)
What brought the comedy to the scenario was what happened next!
The little boy noticed how the man was having such difficulty and offered to help. Uhhh...that wasn't a a good idea. The man blew up at the boy and said, "Are you saying I'm stupid or something?" The man suddenly realized he was screaming at a little boy and that there were plenty of people around. He paused for a moment with his mouth open then said, "Ooops, I guess I made a bad judgment call.." To the surprise of everyone, the little boy replied, "It's okay, people make mistakes." Instead of people getting all upset, laughter broke out and within seconds, everyone was to the point of cackling with laughter over the situation. I guess in a way you could say that no matter what the situation, the Lonpos 303 still contributes in a positive way!
Putting all the humor aside, the end result of this evaluation was one heck of a video tape for our staff psych to evaluate and a lot of consumer evaluation feedback forms which were quite favorable. The Lonpos 303 pulled it off well in this segment of our evaluation.
Your Opinion Counts
Your opinion counts whether you realize it or not. Maybe you were not on of the hands-on evaluation participants, but your opinion still counts all the same. We welcome you to share your opinions about this game or the product evaluation summary itself in our "Ask The Toy Man" Blog / Forum for others to see what you have to say.
A Sampling Of Our Ratings Defined
While other organizations will define their ratings in a "blanket" method which simply defines each rating in an overall usage, we choose to take a different approach. Each individual rating that was assigned to this a product based upon our evaluation process, is briefly explained as to how that specific rating score was reached. The ratings for this product are listed below.
Critical Skills Development: Rating Level 5 - Critical skills development is a very strong concern in our evaluations, especially with recreational products which can be used in both consumer and educational market. Lonpos 303 is a game which draws our attention to the massive degree of critical skill development which can be developed from use of these brain teaser puzzles. Critical developmental skills impact your coordination, balance, muscular use and so much more. As one of our expert industry professionals stated about Lonpos 303, "The stunning level of influence on intellectual skills alone for a child, from repetitive Play with Lonpos 303, is absolutely astronomical. Lonpos 303 pulled a perfect score in this category.
FunFactor™: Rating Level 4 - The FunFactor™ with the Lonpos 303 puzzles was a challenge to determine. Thank God for having specific guidelines we have to follow. You would think at first that the FunFactor™ would be nothing short of a perfect score, but you need to remember that for the average person, brain teasers may be addictive, but they are not exactly fun. Yes, there is a good level of FunFactor™, yet there is a higher level of serious thinking and evaluation. The majority of the consumers participating in our hands-on evaluation rated the FunFactor™ at a level of "above-average". Granted, once people get their hands on the Lonpos 303, they are quite literally addicted, yet once again, the experience is not just high enough in the FunFactor™ to get a perfect score.
INNOVATION: Rating Level 5 - Lonpos 303 proved to be well beyond the point of just a simple product. The design of these brain teasers is one of the most innovative ideas we have seen in years. Every single evaluator and staff member held the same feeling; Lonpos 303 is truly a perfect example of true innovative design concepts. Simplistic, yet challenging, the product provides a vast number of challenges that will keep a person busy for hours trying to conquer yet another innovative puzzle design. Lonpos 303 pulls a perfect score in this category.
Marketing Value: Rating Level 5 - When it comes to marketing value, the Lonpos 303 was a hit. Based upon our own evaluation, and that of our hands-on consumer evaluators, we can easily rate the marketing value at the very highest. To be a bit different and in consideration of Lonpos 303 was evaluated a second time, under our new and tougher evaluation standards. Add to that a easily validated history of record sales across the globe, the marketing value is truly the very highest. The product is simple, has small usage of shelf space, and is more than evident of a good investment. Lonpos 303 pulled a perfect score in this category.
VISUAL APPEAL: Rating Level 5 - Visual appeal was a unique challenge to approach with Lonpos 303. When you think of visual appeal, you generally think of the visual aesthetics of an object or product at first glance; Lonpos 303 is a different creature in this regard. With Lonpos 303 you are not overwhelmed with an immediate WOW! yet at the same time it has a subtle appeal which draws you to look at it further. The colorful pieces in contrast against the black base/carrying case draws your attention; essentially visual appeal. The visual appeal is so strong that people are drawn to keep looking and be fascinated with the colors, shapes, and designs which can be made with Lonpos 303. Based upon these factors, Lonpos 303 pulls an easy full rating score of five .
WOW! FACTOR™: Rating Level 4 - Lonpos 303 scored perfect scores in most of all of our evaluation category pages, yet just didn't have the Wow! Factor™ needed for a perfect score in this category. According to consumers and our evaluators as well, the Lonpos 303 package and product itself does have a nice variety of colors that draws attention, but just not enough to pull a perfect score in this category. There just wasn't enough WOW! to make it happen.
| EVALUATION RESULTS - From evaluation for induction into "The Toy Man® Product Guide" | | Overall Rating: 5 | Seal of Approval: Approved | eco-Recognition
Seal: Not Eligible | Award of Excellence: Approved | eChoice Award: Selected |
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THE TOY MAN® SEAL OF APPROVAL
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designed for product recognition and validation."
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THE TOY MAN® AWARDS
"The globally recognized awards that are received by a limited few...
and give a product the well earned recognition it deserves!"
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