They have taken a brilliant concept and worked really hard to make it as shit as possible.
- Remove all elements of imaginative play: Sell in themed sets so the 'Home' set contains ready made beds, tables, shelves of books, side lamps. It's really just an assembly task.
- Splodge horrid thick paint all over the felt so it doesn't stick and you can't layer it. It doesn't even lie flat. Do it shitly so you can't tell what half of the things are (is it a telephone? Is it a poodle? No! It's a pair of slippers!)
- Package it in a flimsy box with a narrow end opening so children can't tidy it away. Make the plastic insert the wrong shape for the boards.
- Be sure to theme your sets by gender. Remember: girls like princesses and boys like pirates. Make the girl set contain absolutely nothing but princesses and clothing. Shit clothing.
- Make the whole thing cheap and nasty and, well, shit.
TOP TIP: Buy some cheap sheets of felt from a pound shop. Cut a strip off each and cut it in to lots of different shapes. My kids have had loads of fun making birds and houses and fish and cars and gardens and all sorts for a couple of quid. Much better than the ELC boxes of rubbish.
I know I am ranting, but FFS! Fuzzy Felt is a brilliant game that I remember playing a lot as a kid. Why would a children's toy shop go out of their way to make it so shit? Why??
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