MadeForMums Toy Awards 2024 Winners: Best family and action games

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Best action toy
Best family game under £20
Best family game over £20

Best action toy

Action figures and toys are perfect for unleashing your child’s imagination and getting them active. Our testers got hands-on with a whole variety of action toys, from blasters to immersive games, to decide which deserved to come out on top.

Great for fine motor skills, as well as pretend play and adventure-packed, screen-free time, action toys offer plenty of skill-building benefits – they’re also a whole lot of fun. Our group of testers looked at everything from how easy the toys were to handle and how much play potential they offered, to age suitability and quality. Durability was also a big consideration – after all, action toys are going to be the main players in many an adventure with your child. Here are our MadeForMums Toy Awards 20204 winners.

Gold: Hasbro Nerf N Series Infinite

My daughter could not wait to get started with this blaster! It is very light making it easy to play with and to run around holding it. The re-load belt is a real blaster game-changer here, it keeps you in the game for longer without needing as many fiddly reloads. It means you can blast for longer, firing huge amount before you need to collect all the darts! The belt even has storage for spare darts too meaning you can carry large amounts ready to play. The range is really impressive too, the darts fly so far.
Lois, mum of child judge Mollie, 8 years old

Silver: XSHOT Blastercorn by ZURU

XSHOT Blastercorn by ZURU MFM Toy Awards 24

I had loads of fun testing this unicorn blaster, the bullets shoot fast and I like the pink bullets too! It's good that it can be used without batteries so I don't have to wait for new ones when they run out. Overall I really liked testing this toy and I'll play target practising later when I get home and work on getting better with my aim which will be fun!
Child judge Poppy, 10 years old

Bronze: Let's Hit Each Other With Fake Swords from Exploding Kittens

I play this game with my sister (10) and brother (14) and we all had a lot of fun playing! The rules were a bit tricky but once we played a couple of rounds it was easy and fun to do! I loved the challenges we all had before and while hitting with the swords it made the game so funny and competitive! We will play this game again and gain. I wish there were extra swords in the game but what you get is more than enough to play.
Child judge Amelie, 11 years old

Editor's Choice: Hasbro Beyblade X Xtreme Battle Set

Hasbro Beyblade X Xtreme Battle Set MFM Toy Awards 24

I think the Beyblade Arena is cool and I love that the Beys can battle easily in the arena without going all over the floor. I would play with it again when my friends come over.
Child judge Aanya, 10 years old

Best family game under £20

Our child testers, along with their sibling and parents, have been putting a wide range of family card and board games to the test to decide which deserves a MadeForMums Toy Award 2024 – and a spot in your next family games night.

Coming in at under £20, our testers played all kinds of games, suitable for all ages. They considered everything from how easy the game was to understand, set up and play, to how much fun it was for the whole family, as well as how easy it was to pack away and store for next time. Here are our winners.

Joint Gold: Catchables from Exploding Kittens

I love how it challenges you in a funny way and helps with catching skills. It has even helped me in my other sports as it’s made me think what I need to do next to win. I definitely want to play with it again as it is challenging and funny to watch other people too!
Child judge Paige, 10 years old

Joint Gold: Skillmatics Guess in 10 Animal Planet

Skillmatics Guess in 10 Animal Planet MFM Toy Awards 24

My son really enjoyed playing this with his brother. It was great to see them both enjoying something that actually kept them occupied without finding something to argue about. It really did keep their interest. It's quite a fun game for children whilst being educational too, mine really enjoyed trying to work out the different animal possibilities.
Amy, mum of child judges Harry, 7 years old and Rupert, 6 years old

Silver: Spin Master Games Snack-O-Saurus Rex

Spin Master Games Snack-O-Saurus Rex MFM Toy Awards 24

My children absolutely love this game. We have played it many times since getting it. While playing they giggle and laugh enjoying it so much, it is a lovely family activity. Another great aspect of the game was how easy it was to play, it was great to start going quickly and each game was relatively short, which kept the children really engaged as they want to play again and again.
Kate, mum of child judge Frederick, 5 years old

Bronze: Feeder Frenzy: Flying Squirrels

It's a good fun, novelty game. It's different to any game we have had before so both of my boys were really excited to play it. It's very hands on and keeps their interest. I also love that it is an active game, they are physically having to ping the squirrels and move quickly to grab the nuts, which keeps it really fun for them.
Stephanie, mum of child judge Arthur, 6 years old

Editor's Choice: Hasbro Monopoly Go! Board Game

Hasbro Monopoly Go Board Game MFM Toy Awards 24

My boys loved this game. It retains the original Monopoly feel but on a much more kid-friendly level. Very original and relatively quick to play, they enjoyed playing it on repeat!
Hayley, mum of child judges Leo, 8 years old and Josh, 5 years old

Best family game over £20

An interactive board game, card game or computer game is a fun way to get the whole family playing together. Encouraging inventive thinking, a little strategy and a whole lot of turn taking, a great game can offer hours of laughs and precious family time.

Our child testers and their families have raced, battled, traded, thrown squishy burritos at each other and got just a little bit competitive to help put these family games over £20 to the test. Looking at how appealing the game was to all family members, how likely they were to play it again, how much fun they had and whether it was good value, our testers whittled the entries down to choose their best family game over £20.

Gold: Disney Lorcana Gateway Board Game

This game is amazing, I love all the artwork on the cards as it has so much detail. I had a lot of fun playing this with my sister and can't wait to play it with other members of my family. We had so much fun playing this and we can’t wait to get some of the other decks to add to it and make the game even more exciting! This is definitely a game I will be playing a lot!
Child judge Cora, 10 years old

Silver: THROW THROW ZOMBIE BURRITO

THROW THROW ZOMBIE BURRITO MFM Toy Awards 24

This is so fun to play. Throwing the burritos was hilarious, I loved the little faces on them. I can’t wait to play it in the garden and be able to throw them at my mum and dad and be able to play it with my friends when they come to my house.
Child judge Scarlett, 11 years old

Joint Bronze: Let's Hit Each Other With Fake Swords from Exploding Kittens

This is such an original game, as a family we haven't played the other games in this range so for us this is completely new and very enjoyable. It's very funny to watch the kids (and big kids!) playing the game and they all have lots of fun whilst playing. The quality of the swords in the game are good, sturdy and I think will withstand a lot of hitting!
Hollie, mum of child judge Amelie, 11 years old

Joint Bronze: Format Games - 13 Beavers

Format Games - 13 Beavers MFM Toy Awards 24

This is a really fun, easy to learn game. It is a great family game and I love the extras that you have to do around the game board. I lovedfishing for fish even when it was a stinking fish that I caught. This game is going to be played for a very long time in the future.
Child judge Charles, 10 years old

Editor's Choice: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

This was my favourite game by far! Everyone loves Mario Kart and it was so fun to compete with each other and take turns! There are so many tracks, characters and level types to choose from — I could honestly play this game for hours! I would definitely recommend this game to anyone with a Nintendo Switch, it’s a must have for your collection.
Child judge Neve, 12 years old

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Emily Longman WallDigital Content Producer

Emily is the Digital Content Producer at MadeForMums and creates editorial and video content across the brand. She also edits the weekly editorial newsletter, oversees our reviews process and loves creating our craft articles and videos. She specialises predominantly in car seats and pushchairs, and has yet to meet a buggy she couldn’t fold! With a 1st class degree in History, she always researches topics thoroughly to find the best recommendations for parents.