Brio EMOs Mail Hub

...there" is beyond dispute - Brio are a Swedish manufacturer well known for making train sets - this is a train set based on........wait for it.....computers.

The track and characters of the network system are, according to the manufacturer "an original world of rail play that features the imaginary creatures who live inside your computer. They drive super-cool vehicles around the tracks. They can listen to their messages ...
...a more accessible range of Brio price wise.

Brio produce a wide range of toys, of which this is one - more information can be found at www.brio.co.uk, where amongst other things you can see the ranges available and find out about the history of the company. Apparently Brio started with a poverty stricken basket maker in 1884 and grew from there. They aim to make quality and durable toys that can be handed down - I still have my one ... more

That this toy was dreamed up after a rather wild night down a Swedish pub by a bunch of geeks is only speculation on my part. That, in my opinion, this toy is a little bit "out there" is beyond dispute - Brio are a Swedish manufacturer well known for making train sets - this is a train set based on........wait for it.....computers.

The track and characters of the network system are, according to the manufacturer "an original world of rail play that features the imaginary creatures who live inside your computer. They drive super-cool vehicles around the tracks. They can listen to their messages and interact in fun, new ways." Yes, as weird as it sounds - yet strangely popular in my house as I shall explain and, possibly for reasons of the idea not necessarily translating easily to the British market, a more accessible range of Brio price wise.

Brio produce a wide range of toys, of which this is one - more information can be found at www.brio.co.uk, where amongst other things you can see the ranges available and find out about the history of the company. Apparently Brio started with a poverty stricken basket maker in 1884 and grew from there. They aim to make quality and durable toys that can be handed down - I still have my one item of brio from my childhood, which is now 40 years old and if not quite good as new still in better shape than me! Quite a few of the toys are available in this country - though there does seem to be a bigger variety available in Europe - the French toy shops I have visited on rainy holidays have many more brio toys on display. Perhaps we British just prefer cheaper more throwaway plastic-fantastic toys - which Brio just do not produce. Anyway back to the mail hub....

What you get in the set and the idea behind it

This set comprises a "hub" for "email" - it is a raised platform for use with track, you can use Brio's network own or any compatible track such as Tesco, ELC or Ikea. The platform itself is made of very sturday and strong plastic and requires two AA batteries due to the fact that when you place the little character (Emo) on his docking station and put one of the three plastic "emails" in the slot the hub reads the email and makes a melodic sound and you hear what is either gibberish or swedish I am not sure. You get two bits of sloping track to go with this set and 3 plastic emails, which are little plastic envelopes with a chip in to make the sound. Further emails and characters can be purchased as part of the set and we also have more sloped track so that we can hook up to any of the 6 entrance or exit points to the hub; this enhances the play value.

The EMO character has a magnet for a foot and attaches to the hub and other bits of the range. He has two googly eyes and two attenae and is blue to go with the hub.

The sounds made by the hub are quite cute, and if you have other bits of the network set then a special train can be used to deliver the email round the track past the pretend virus character who thwarts you. If you are still with me you will see that it is indeed a weird idea. I don't think most adults really get how computers work so whilst I can see how kids are into computers these days to translate this into a train set concept is just plain bizarre.

Do kids actually like it?

Despite all that I have said about the concept being strange I have to say that this is one successful toy in our house much enjoyed by visitors and my girls alike. We have the hub and some other bits of the network system and the children really enjoy posting the emails and hearing the jingling jangling noise. They certainly don't "get" that it is anything about computers, to them it is just part of a train set, and that is just fine by me.

The manufacturer says that the age range is 3+, however my youngest has been playing happily and safely with this from the age of 18 months or so, it is a great toy for co-operation and construction and my two girls will often build together. Kids like wooden train tracks and Brio are very good at making them in general, they are well made and sturdy.

Buying this set - and here is the big advantage

We have this set because it was actually, and especially for Brio, quite cheap. We bought our bits of the set for about 90% (yes 90 and this was pre credit crunch) from John Lewis. This set should be £29.99 but at amazon you will find it for £14.85 and elsewhere such as www.woodentoystore.co.uk the whole range is at fifty percent off. This makes the set much much more affordable than most of the Brio range - but you are still getting the same quality. If you supplement it with passed on track and other bits and bobs as we have done then it is actually rather good - which is why I have given it 4 stars.

The set featured here is of great quality and I would actually recommend it - I am just still not sure how one earth or why they came up with the idea! 

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