Playmobil...Hockey?!

When I was working in Germany for a couple of weeks last year, I enjoyed wandering around the local Kaufhof -- a truly epic department store -- and perusing its massive toy section. I picked up a few pirate- and medieval-themed Playmobil figures for the boys as souvenirs, and every once in a while we set up all our Playmobil stuff for some genre-bending battles. 

Well, those pesky Germans have done it again. There's now a line of officially licensed NHL hockey Playmobil sets. Mein Gott, they're cool! There are skating players, goalies, referees, and even a Zamboni, but the centerpiece of this line is an arena playset. Kids -- and, let's face it, grown-ups like me -- can control the goalie with one hand and a skating player with the other. The skating players can actually shoot the puck (mit echter Schussfunktion!), so two players can go head-to-head and compete for the little plastic Stanley Cup. Team selection is limited to the NHL's Original Six, so I foresee Matthew as the Canadiens (his favorite team since he was a wee lad), Nathaniel as the Rangers (his favorite team as well as mine), and myself as the Maple Leafs. At least this way we can be sure that Boston will never ever win the Cup...