The first reaction people might have when they see this playset is, "where's the plastic" and "why is the food flat? I think folks with this reaction are missing the point. We've had a lot of "pretend plastic food" sets over the years which eventually just collect dust. After a while I realize that what makes a play set "fun" is not about how real or fake the pretend food looks or about how how colorful it is. It's about finding ways to play with them that immerse both you and your child into the "pretend world". This is where this set shines. The colors, shapes, and objects are all pulled straight out of the Sago Mini world that they've created in their app. What they lack in realism they more than make up for in imagination and creativity. Just as everything in the app is "two dimensional", in this real life play set you quickly forget that the food, utensils and tools are all printed on heavy card stock; you just have fun taking orders, cooking up food, collecting money, and giving change (or charging it on a credit card). As with the Sago Mini app, the details are phenomenal, from the little grease stains on the frying pan and the plates (you can flip the plates over to "clean" them), to the note pad where the waiter can take orders (which doesn't require reading), to the placemats complete with little activities like you'd find in a real diner. There are cutouts of the faces of Jack Rabbit and Jinja Cat waiting to have food shoved in their mouths. The plastic figure of Harvey is kind of superfluous, but I'm guessing Sago Mini just plans on giving out a different collectible figure with each of these boxes. The design is ingenious—and environmentally friendly. While most playsets come in a cardboard box that you throw out, they've designed their box so that it comes part of the playset; just follow the instructions to fold it inside-out and instead of a brown box, you get a colorful, beautifully printed kitchen set, complete with electric range, sink, countertop, and storefront. There's very little waste here, which I appreciate. The one gripe I have with this product is the same I have with other products like it; because it was printed on paper in China, the cost to produce it was probably a lot less than the amount they're charging. It would have been nice to make this a little more affordable to more families; it's hard for a family these days to justify paying this much for what's ultimately a set of paper cutouts, as fantastically imaginative as they are. I have the same gripe with their apps, which used to be available as separate downloadable games but now require a hefty subscription to access all of them. That said, if you can afford it and are a big Sago Mini fan, this is definitely a worthwhile purchase.
