Unboxing
You will need a good pair of scissors to unbox the Lumi Gaming Drone. The Drone is held in its box with several zip ties that must be cut to lift it out of the box. Included in the box is a small beacon for the Lumi, instructions, a USB charging cable and a removable battery. You will need one AAA battery for the beacon and the Lumi app on your Android or Apple device.
The Playtime Experience
Once you’ve downloaded the Lumi app, it is time to play. The app will attempt to connect to your WowWee Lumi Gaming Drone Toy but can only do so once the battery is fully charge and the Beacon is turned on. Once connected you have several options for play. The first option is “Lumi to the beat” which requires you to mimic the sequence of colors Lumi displays on the luminescent surface in the correct order to keep it flying. I actually enjoyed the free flight mode most, in this portion of the app you are able to fly Lumi and perform tricks. There is an easy flight mode and an advanced flight mode to use dependent on your skill level. You can also take video of Lumi in action from your phone. The Lumi Gaming Drone is actually very easy to fly. The beacon must be turned on and placed on the floor to give a reference to the drone and help keep an appropriate altitude. Additionally, the app allows for a one- touch lift off and landing option. However, if you use the one-touch landing option expect Lumi to immediately power down and come crashing wherever it is as there is no “soft-landing” feature with this drone.
Things I Liked
I like that this is so easy to fly. WowWee impressed me because I am really bad at flying drones typically. But the box says “so easy anyone can fly” and they were right. I actually was able to enjoy this toy because I wasn’t terrified of running it into everything.
Things I Didn't Like
The lack of a “soft-land” feature with Lumi is somewhat concerning for me. The first time I used my app and the one-touch landing button, my Lumi Gaming Drone just powered off and fell straight down to the hard floor. My phone lost connectivity and I had to take the battery out and insert again to re-establish the connection. It seems to me for the price of this drone there should be some safety to prevent damage from landing.
Appropriate Ages
Players over 8 are recommended for the WowWee Lumi Gaming Drone Toy. I think this is appropriate because it does take a bit of skill to use gaming drones, even if they are easy like this one.
Final Note
Aside from my concern about the landing features, I actually really enjoyed my playtime with the WowWee Lumi Gaming Drone. I was impressed that WowWee made a toy that I can actually fly and enjoy, even as bad as I am using them. I would purchase again, however I would only use the landing feature over surfaces that wouldn’t cause damage, or at low altitudes.
(You may also like: 20 Best Kid-Friendly Drones That Won’t Break with One Crash)