Just when you thought STEAM toys couldn't get any cooler, along comes the littleBits Droid™Inventor Kit. Last month, we received a free kit from littleBits to test out and now it's all I... er... my son and I want to play with. Using magnetic "Bits" that snap together, we were able to level-up on our inventor skills by creating our very own Droid, customizing it with stickers, controlling it with our device and programming it to complete fun missions.

After removing all the contents from the packaging and placing all the littleBits into the handy sorting tray, we downloaded the free Droid Inventor app onto our iPad and followed the instructions which helped us to put together our Droid. 

With this app, we were able to learn about the control hub, driving circuit and internal structure of our Droid. The final mission of the first level in this training program showed us how to put together the droid shell using step-by-step visual instructions. 

On Level 2, the app showed us where to place the stickers. You can choose from red, blue or blank stickers, which are included in the kit. Then you can add personality by changing the colour of the lights and adding sounds from 20+ authentic sounds bank or recoding a secret voice message using your device's microphone. 

Other missions include an obstacle course challenge, draw mode, self navigation mode, code master and more. The Force™ Mode mission is really fun because you can guide your Droid with your hand using the included proximity sensor. But my favourites  are the 6+ new block-based coding missions which give you the ability to program the Droid. We really enjoyed coding our Droid to navigate through a mini obstacle course, which involved a lot of trial and error, but was fun nonetheless! Here's a little sneak peak:

The littleBit Droid Inventor kit comes with everything kids need to create and customize their R2 Unit straight out of the box, including a 9V battery, and retails for $99.95. Please note that it requires a smart device. Either iPhone (iOS 10.0 or later) or Android (KitKat 4.4 or later with Bluetooth 4.0 or later and an accelerometer) is required to build and control your Droid. 

We give it two thumbs up for ease of initial setup, creativity, inventive fun, and overall cool factor. But don't just take our word for it. It is the recipient of the Toy Association’s 2018 Creative Toy of the Year award and six other toy awards. Here's hoping your family will find a littleBits Droid Inventor Kit under your tree this Christmas!

Disclosure: We received product to facilitate this review. Any opinions expressed in this post are our own. This post includes affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.