It’s a ridiculous premise: you get a big block of packed sand that you then dig through in order to find different parts for a toy. Then, you assemble that toy and you play with that toy. As inane as that sounds, something about Moose Toys’ Treasure X seems like a whole lot of fun.
That’s right, it’s a toy that you’ll have to “excavate” from a brick made of tightly-compacted packed sand part by part. Why? So you can pretend you’re a treasure hunter digging for pirate’s loot at an island beach. Or an archaeologist unearthing a historical find at a sandy desert in the Middle East. Or whatever other fantasy you can concoct to justify having to dig for a toy you already paid for. Hey, whatever works, right?
Each Moose Toys Treasure X contains parts for one cartoon skeleton figure. No, not some generic skeleton like you’ll find in a biology lab, but a cartoony one that’s dressed up in one of 24 different themes. The background story is that you’re excavating these skeletons from their graves and resurrecting them by assembling them back to life, which does justify the digging portion of the toy. We love the variety of skeleton livery, by the way, which range from ninjas and pirates to Roman gladiators and samurai warriors, so this absolutely looks like it will make for a fun set to collect.
A plastic tool called the X-Cavator comes with the set, which you can use to dig through the brick in order to unearth the skeleton you’re resurrecting. It comes with four different tips, by the way, allowing it to perform different things, so you can use the same tool to burrow holes, plow through sections, and dig straight through the packed sand material. Of course, since the brick is just packed sand, there are faster ways you can turn up the treasures inside, from smashing it with a hammer and slamming it to a wall to using a larger gardening tool and dropping it from the second floor. Whatever floats your boat.
Aside from a skeleton, each Moose Toys Treasure X also contains a treasure chest buried inside the brick. When you open it, the chest will be filled with a sand-like material, so you’ll need to pour water into the chest in order to trigger the chemical reaction that will reveal the treasure inside. By treasure, by the way, we’re talking about little plastic trinkets, although, according to the outfit, one in every 18 chests will contain a gold-plated treasure piece. A total of 32 different treasure pieces can be collected in the set.
According to the outfit, digging through a brick using the included tool should allow you to find every piece within five minutes, although half the fun will likely come from savoring the dig and turning it into even more elaborate play. Do note, you’ll need to soak the brick in water for 30 seconds before starting the dig, otherwise it will be a bit too hard for the plastic tool to handle.
The Moose Toys Treasure X is available now, priced at $9.99.