In theory, boules is boules right? Well, you'd think so, and I've played with a number of boules sets over the years, living by the beach. Surprisingly, you get to know whether one set is better than another, and a lot of it does have relevance with the design and often the price. Mookie's range of toys have impressed me, though, and despite their affordable prices, I've never had any real issues with their toys. At around the £5.50 price mark, their boules set seems to be another excellent value toy.

The set comes with four pairs of different coloured heavy boules, weighted balls. Then there's a much smaller ball called the jack. The idea of the game is to throw or roll the jack along the ground until it's a decent distance away from you, anywhere from between ten yards to ten metres, I suppose. You then need to try and get your boules as close to it as possible. You go one at a time, with each person having a different colour pair of boules. You can introduce tactics should you wish, placing boules strategically, having a slow approach or even a forceful shot to try and drive the other players' boules out of the way to win. It's ideal to play on the beach, although the harder wet sand would be better than the soft stuff for rolling and movement purposes.

The game is traditionally played on the gravelled sidewalked of rural France, called petanque, and I've played it a few times when I've been over there throughout my studies. It's as much of a past time as you can get, and although it's not necessarily the most riveting of sports to watch, it's about getting into the spirit of the game, and the competitive edge is quite easy to get a hold of here. It's suitable for young and old and everything in between, and easy to transport. The Mookie set is traditionally presented, and the is secure enough. It holds together by clicking poppers together at various points along the cage, with a handle at the top. After a while, the handle starts to buckle and bend a little bit with the weight, and it's not so comfy to carry if you have to walk a distance as it's just the thin hard plastic on your hand.

But the main important thing about these is how they play and how they hold up. I haven't an issue with them at all. The jack rolls perfectly, and the boules are nice and heavy. They're not the best I have played with by a long shot, indeed the best ones are probably the metal ones you can get. The plastic ones are solid and will last quite a long time, although at times the seam does seem to peel slightly and you do get the feeling they may split at any moment. The weight is well balanced, and I haven't felt the need to shift the weight of the boules to help with the placement.

Overall, these are a solid investment for anyone who wants to while away the time. You can play it on a variety of surfaces including gravel, grass and sand, and tactics play a part depending on which surface you're on. Mookie's set is solid enough, and while it's not the best I've played with by any means, it's a solid investment and only costs just over a fiver. Recommended.