NOVIE REVIEW

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We were compensated for reviewing Novie but our opinions are genuine. We want you to trust our reviews. If you think we’ve missed something, please get in touch.

Click here for our Toy Review Catalogue to read our reviews before you buy!

WHAT IS NOVIE?

Last year the boys were enthralled by a little robot they saw on YouTube who did all kinds of tricks and was a little bit naughty. Sadly for them, this little Robot was very, very expensive. However, this year, VERY luckily for them, we were asked to review a little teeny super cute robot that has stolen their hearts. His name is Novie.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

Inside the little box is the robot, and instruction booklet. The instructions show the tricks and moves he can do with diagrams so even those who can’t read can learn how to use him, like Hero! The box is small and perfect for stockings too.

HOW TO USE NOVIE

To play with Novie you can just turn him on and enjoy moving your hands around him randomly as Hero does, as there are 75+ actions [we haven’t discovered them all yet] and so he’s highly entertaining, but there are also 12 tricks to learn through hand gestures which trigger the two infrared sensors on the front of his cube-like body. He has LED lights on his face and is pretty adorable. He’s the smaller version of BOXER – but we’ve never reviewed him and so this is all new to us! We did have a peep at BOXER and honestly, Novie is cuter. SO much cuter with his little transparent casing. Sorry Boxer.

His on and off switch is underneath him and the battery pack is where his robot back should be if you know what I mean. Haha.

There’s a button on the top to change the mode of Novie. He has three training modes – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. These correspond to the trick levels and Novie will improve each time he practices until he masters the trick he’s learning with you – and you can easily tell which mode he’s in because of the colour of his eyes. Blue for beginner, green for intermediate and white is advanced.

NOVIE HAND GESTURES

Novie uses hand-tracking technology which is pretty amazing. you move your hand around in front of him and he gets busy. He can perform 12 tricks and there are four tricks to every training level.

Beginner mode:

• Wheelie
• Wacko Walk
• Spinout
• Robowalk

Intermediate mode:

• Doughnut Peel Out
• Dance Session
• Rock Out
• Dragster

Advanced mode:

• Fartnado
• Low Rider Hop
• Berserk
• Spin and Puke

Our favourite move was probably “Doughnut” in intermediate mode [which is performed complete with funky, racer boy type music]…and “Fartnado” later on in Advanced mode – I’ll say no more. Haha. And just like anyone when they’re getting excited about doing something well, Novie’s little pitch rises as he improves and learns more – and he makes a happy “ta-daaa!” sound when he’s learned or is a master at any of the tricks too!

WHAT WE LOVED ABOUT NOVIE

Batteries are included [4 AG13 – the button kind] – you can use Novie straight out of the box!

He’s simple enough for a four year old to use but amuses all of us quite a bit.

The price point is really reasonable at around £25 [and he’s on sale on Amazon this Christmas] – he’s brilliant for those of us who would love to buy a robot like Cosmo but aren’t sure whether he’d be worth it.

There are the normal tricks to be learned and two secret ones – there’s nothing more intriguing than a secret!

If you have more than one Novie and you turn them on next to each other, they will interact! It looks very cute.

THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT NOVIE

Make sure you only use Novie on a flat and smooth surface.

There’s free play too – by just turning Novie on, he’s in free play mode and you can experiment without getting serious or frustrated.

When you’re teaching Novie a trick, be sure to keep your hand close to the sensors on the front of him and make very definite moves so he can interpret your gestures correctly.

If you don’t play with Novie for a while, he’ll go to sleep – to wake him up, it’s the old IT trick of turning off and turning on again to wake him up.

There are two secret tricks to be learned – one in advanced and one in intermediate mode – if you figure them out, drop us a line!

THE JONES BOYS TOYS VERDICT ON NOVIE

They love little Novie and want to get him friends to play with! He’s a perfect little playmate and really, seriously adorable.