Introduction (Does It Do What It Should)

I first encountered Abacus Brands at CES 2025, and I was very pleased with what I saw. This is a company that wants to make games and activity kits that use VR, and they use it in a very creative and interactive way.

Our Review of Abacus Brands Cold Case VR: The Case of the Fatal Follower

Of the three products here, I have to admit that Abacus Brands Cold Case VR is one of the most creatively packaged products that I have ever seen. Once you slide off the cover, there is a box that looks like it was taken from a police evidence room, complete with the red “Evidence” tape. If I put it in a freezer for a while, I would imagine that it would feel a lot like I was solving something on Cold Case.

That, or one of these more modern detective shows that they make today. Actually, I think those type of detective shows were all the rage in the early 2000s, and I’m not certain if they are even on now.

Still, I couldn’t help but be thrilled with this. I mean, you do have to download an app to get it to work, and I’m usually put off by the whole now-you-make-an-account thing, but maybe this is worth it. After all, I’m guessing that this app allows you to solve the mystery, provided you give the correct clues.

At least, that is what I think is going on with this game. I suppose “game” is the best descriptor of this, as I have seen similar things to this that don’t involve any VR. In the case of Cold Case VR, you can use your smart device to see evidence, and then put on the included goggles, which you use with your goggles. Yeah, it’s one of those kinds of set-ups.

You can see me in the video try this on, and then examine a map. What I couldn’t figure out how to show is how the buildings come up out of the map, and then you gaze on them with the goggles. I was able to get some CCTV footage with this, and I am assuming that I was supposed to assemble all the clues, figure out how the mystery fits together, and figure out who the murderer is. I believe that the victim in this case is some big influencer, and I kind of like the set up. Unless, of course, I am the influencer. Uh-oh!

Anyway, if you want this, you can get it for a low price of $29.99 on the Abacus Brands website.

Our Review of Abacus Brands Bill Nye’s VR Science Kit

Okay, this is the a VR Science Kit that apparently has been touched by Bill Nye. While I was doing the video, I realized that I probably didn’t have to explain who Bill Nye is, as he had his own show. I’m not certain how many people knew about his humble beginnings on Almost Live, though. That’s the Bill Nye that I remember.

He’s quite a guy, really, a mixture of a scientist and entertainer, with a definite emphasis on the scientist aspect, really. This particular VR kit allows you to do some experiments at home, and it looks like it is designed for younger people. They look like experiments that I would have done in school, and maybe even college.

It comes with this notebook, and when you use the app to view the experiments, you will often see a 3D animated Bill Nye talk about them. Then, if you put on the VR goggles, he goes into greater detail about the scientific principles involved in them, in non 3D animated form.

It’s good that they got Bill to do this, as this could be one of those products that just has his face on the box. In other words, it doesn’t look like he did the minimum amount of work for this. In that way, it makes him as awesome as he was when I first saw him back in high school.

Yeah, it’s good that this VR Science Kit exists, as we need more scientists these days. If you have young ones who would benefit by this, you can get it on the Abacus Brands site for a price of $59.99 (marked down from $69.99 at time of this writing).

Our Review of Abacus Brands Penn and Teller’s Magic Lab VR

If you haven’t heard of Penn and Teller, then I suppose that you need to learn to accept some more awesome things in your life. I recommend looking up their card trick performed at Times Square that cost about 50 grand.

I believe that the Penn and Teller kit is made for younger people, and I do remember that as a kid, I loved to do some magic. I had several magic kits, and the Penn and Teller VR Magic Lab would have been used a lot of it existed when I was a kid.

I didn’t really do any magic tricks in the video, as I always thought that magic should be performed in front of a live audience. This VR Magic Kit comes with a notebook that shows how to do tricks, and there is an app which has Penn and Teller explain how to do the tricks as well.

I like how the product really encourages an increase in confidence, which I do like a lot. If this is something that you want for you or someone else, it can be purchased on the Abacus website for about $64.99.

Facts About The Company

You can find that Abacus Brands is made to create dynamic educational kits and VR toys that “inspire, engage and affirm a child’s interaction with the world”. Yeah, that is taken from the company website, but their products are so good for scanning things and seeing things happen.

What Does This Company Make?

I’m just going to recommend going to the company website and seeing all their stuff. In addition to the Bill Nye Science Kit, he has a Rocket Lab VR kit and more! There is also an official Masterchef Junior VR kit as well. There is also this thing called Professor Maxwell.

Okay, Get To The Unboxing Already!

Maybe I Want It, But Is There Anything Else Like It? Maybe For A Lower Price? Please?

Yeah, I don’t think I’ve really reviewed any kind of product like this, really. It seems like just yesterday when I first saw a demonstration of augmented reality, but it was fifteen years ago. It is something that I thought would just take over, but never really has. Even in the age of the Meta, VR just never really took off as we thought it would in the early nineties.