[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I was skeptical about this product because I have a 13 year old boy who is "cool." He used to love building but that just isn't "in" right now. I placed the Meccaspider package on the table and didn't say a word. I just wanted to watch the initial reaction. My 10 year old daughter was trying to rip it apart right away, but my 13 year old just eyed it suspiciously. Finally, he said it looks cool, I'll try it (score 1 for Meccaspider). Fortunately, it rained over the weekend, so this was the perfect thing to take out and have my children put together. If you want 2-3 hours of uninterrupted quiet time to yourself, this is the toy to get - ASAP! I did not hear a peep from them. For 3 hours, my 10 year old daughter and 13 year old son sat together and yes, helped each other out. My daughter found it a little difficult, but she just turned 10. She was able to build many parts of the structure, but she definitely would have needed more adult supervision, my 13 year thought it was challenging, but it was "really cool" and he would definitely build again. Now, the moment of truth, trying it out. Thankfully, I had 5 "c" batteries, in the house, but it is a very uncommon battery type, so I would definitely make sure that you have those on hand. After holding our breaths for a few seconds, it light up! They then proceeded to play with it for a few more hours. The water gun roulette was definitely a favorite and the whole family participated in that game. Everyone actually put their phones away to play with the Meccaspider. One of my favorite parts was when it followed my daughter around like a pet. I tried to convince her we didn't need a dog, I don't think it worked. Spiders are not the best pets. This product has great reviews for me, because it was something that both of my children could do together. It would have been a bit frustrating for my 10 year old if her 13 year old brother wasn't helping her, so the age recommendations on the product are pretty spot on for the toy. The 13 year old put his phone down for almost an entire day, so that means it had to be awesome. It has been over a week since the original build and I am impressed with the longevity and structure of the Meccaspider. My daughter thinks it is her pet and has it follow her around and my son is experimenting with new tricks and has learned something new every day. I thought it was going to be the games that kept the 13 year old interested in the toy, but it is actually the engineering part. He is intrigued by the wiring and the "how" of the spider. It has definitely been more education that I originally thought it would be. He has already asked for others in the series. As a parent, I thought the manual was extremely parent/child friendly. It was color illustrated, easy to follow and in several languages, which is always a bonus. This is definitely something I would recommend to friends with children in this age range for holiday gifts, since at this age we are always struggling with ideas.
