Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit

Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit

You may recall that we recently got to try out the Nintendo Labo Variety Kit for the first time, which works with the Nintendo Switch games console.  It’s been a big hit here and I already had my eyes peeled on the newly released Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit which I knew my son would love.

Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit

The idea behind these sets is that you make a range of cardboard objects called Toy-Con and then use them interactively with your Nintendo Switch game device.  It’s very clever and perfect for my construction mad son.

The Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit is aimed at children aged 6 years and over, and this particular set makes three Toy-Con – a car, submarine and aeroplane.  You receive a Nintendo Switch game card, 25 pre-cut cardboard sheets and a bag of accessories.

Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit

To use the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit you will need to insert the game card.  This loads and then you can start creating, playing and discovering.  For new Nintendo Labo users there’s a starter build to make a Toy-Can holder for the Nintendo Switch controllers.  This just gives you an overview of how to build the Toy-Con.

Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit

My son decided that we’d build the Toy-Con Car first.  It’s worth noting that these builds do take some time, so patience is required.  For example the suggested build time for the pedal and car Toy-Con is between 3.5-5 hours.  Having made some of the Variety Kit sets, we are a bit faster at building now, but I would say 3.5 hours was quite accurate for our build this time around. The submarine takes between 1-2 hours and the aeroplane between 30 minutes-1 hour.

The step by step instructions are very easy to follow, neither my eight year old son or myself have had any problems following them.  You can rewind, and speed up the instructions as you become more confident with building each Toy-Con.  Each cardboard sheet is numbered and colour coded for each Toy-Con build and the pieces pop out easily to construct each item.

With the car Toy-Con one controller fits into the pedal and one fits into the key.

The cardboard builds are very clever and incorporate reflective stickers, elastic bands and eyelets in the build.

The construction is fascinating and I’ve found them as interesting to look at as we’ve built them as my son has.

Once constructed, you fit the controllers in the relevant Toy-Con components and you are ready to play the game.  The steering wheel moves a full 360 degrees, the pull string throttle sends you off at full speed and you control acceleration via the foot pedal.  There’s a lever to help you reverse and the ‘gear sticks’ are used to help you when playing the game.  The Toy-Con are made from robust cardboard and have withstood some very energetic play so far here.

It’s suggested that you play these games on a TV screen rather than via the console itself. It does bring the game to life even more, but I’ve also tried it out myself on the Nintendo Switch itself and it’s still playable that way too.

Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit

This was the first time we’ve played with the Nintendo Switch in this way but it’s easy to set up using the Nintendo Docking station and the HDMI cable that comes with the games console.

Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit

You can play the games sitting in a chair but there isn’t enough room in this room so my son sat on the bed and had his foot on the floor pressing the pedal down.  It worked well and he had lots of fun getting to grips with the controls.  We’ve both found the steering a little tricky but that probably says more about our novice gaming skills really.  Work in progress, but my son loves off roading so he’s more than happy to bounce along the grass.  There are different terrains to tackle and tasks to complete including refuelling.  My son has absolutely loved playing this game and the construction element has just added to the fun.

As well as building and playing with the Toy-Con, you can also discover how each part works and customise the Toy-Con with paints and stickers. You can even find different ways to play with your creations.  Although with the ones my son has made so far, he’s preferred to leave them plain, but it gives us options for rainy day activities in the months ahead.

My son will be making the aeroplane and submarine in the weeks to come from the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con Vehicle Kit and I look forward to watching him have fun with both the building and playing of these other Toy-Con parts too.

To find out more about the range of Nintendo Labo kits available pop over to the Nintendo website. I’ve also included my Amazon Affiliate links below in case you’d like to try the sets out for yourself.

disclosure:  we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review

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