View-Master Virtual Reality Viewer 2.0
© 2016 Mattel, Inc.
This year's (2016) second edition of the View-Master comes with a longer title and has been modified to handle larger smart phones (such as the iPhone 6). It has "enhanced lenses and ergonomics, better audio with a headphone jack, a focal adjustment feature for use without glasses and a built in iPhone 5 adapter. New apps will include the View-Master Plus Pack ($20), in which you work together as a team to solve riddles and escape a Labyrinth. This is a "asymmetric two-player game" meaning that one player (the “Escapee”) uses the View-Master viewer and Labyrinth app, while other player acts as the “Guide” by using a physical book of clues. The app presents a new game every time, with levels not only increase in difficulty but are constantly moving as walls shift, puzzles evolve, and player communication changes. A second new release is the View-Master Experience Pack National Geographic Dinosaurs ($15, ages 7-up) that lets you travel back to prehistoric time to see dinosaurs in their natural habitats. You can examine dinosaur skeletons from different angles, or hunt for food and avoid being eaten in a survival adventure game. Content includes panoramic 3-D environments.
$40, Smart Toy, iPad, iPhone, Android
Teaches: VR, geography