Sembo Block - Review

Recently, I have been playing with Sembo Block. Sembo Block is a series of construction toys. I like their City Street series. Honestly, it's fun. After building one set, I can feel a sense of achievement.

Here's my honest review:

First Impression ★★★☆☆

Sembo Block is similar to Lego; the bricks look alike and the concept is the same. You have to build the item. Hence, there is no wow factor. I am giving it 3 stars because both Sembo Block and Lego have different themes. You can find the City Street series with Sembo Block but not Lego. Lego, with a long history, would offer more varieties.

Aesthetic Design ★★★★★

Let's focus on the City Street Series of Sembo Block. I am impressed by the overall design of the buildings. It does resemble the various countries street, eg. Hong Kong or Japan. The building pieces are somewhat similar, so I am not going to rate the aesthetic design of the pieces.

Ease of Use ★★★☆☆

The packaging and the information in the instructional manual can be further improvised. There are times whereby you need to open all the packets to find the bricks. Some of the instructions are not good. You may need to modify some of the steps.

User Experience ★★★★☆

Initially, I wanted to give it 3 stars for the user experience. Here are the areas for improvisation:

Packaging of the blocks
The packages of the blocks are not labelled. I felt that the bricks were randomly packed. You have to open a few or all the packets to find a few pieces of the bricks to complete a step. It would be great if the building pieces were packed in order and labelled the packages.
Instruction Manual
The instructions are clear, but some of the instructions could be better. Honestly, there are times whereby I have to modify the steps, as I find it easier to build a part of the set, e.g. the rooftop, before placing it on top of the building. Here is another example - if you want to put a mini-figure in the shop, you have to place it in the shop before you fix the roof. This step is not written in the instruction manual. I suggest that Sembo Blocks look into some of the instruction manuals, get some players to build it, and observe for areas of improvement.
Stickers
One main difference between Sembo Block and Lego is that Sembo Block would also include clothes, stickers and sometimes lightbulb for the series. You are to paste the stickers on the bricks. They represented the signages, food and other items. However, there are times when the stickers do not stick very well on the bricks. Or, you can't even peel off the stickers. There was a set in which I felt that I spent more time peeling the stickers than building the set. A tip is to use a tweezer, especially for the tiny pieces of stickers.

In the end, I decided to give it 4 stars because I had fun building the sets. The fourth star is for the fun experience. Building the sets is a great form of escape from the computer and devices. Honestly, it's therapeutic.

Price Plan

Sembo Block is cheaper than Lego. However, Lego has more variety.

Why should you get Sembo Block?

If you have budget constraints or enjoy building such toys, you can explore Sembo Block. I think it's a good alternative to Lego. I would recommend that you get the City Street Series. The buildings look great, and it is fun to build them.

I hope this review gives you a better idea of Sembo Block.

x, Esther