It's K-e-f-l-i-n-g not Kelfling!

The Intro-
For some reason myself and my family have got into the habit of calling the game Kingdom for Kelflings and not Keflings, we are currently correcting each other to respectfully call these dimunitive creatures by the real names. Kingdom for Keflings was one of the first games to incorporate Microsoft's New Xbox Experience (NXE) Avatars directly into the game. You as your avatar (or optionally as a selection of pre-rendered characters) are a giant among dwarves - the Keflings, not Kelflings! Your job is to build a town and eventually a kingdom for your underlings. This is fundamentally a resource management game where you have to gather raw resources such as wood, stone and pink crystals to build buildings for your Keflings. You assign duties to your Keflings such as cutting wood or mining stone and you can get them to collect these resources in various workshops. As you progress through the game you gather extra goodies such as a belt to help you carry more things or shoes for your Keflings so they can walk faster. As you finish significant buildings you unlock new blueprints for more buildings. You are also responsible for educating your Keflings and assigning them to important roles such as Mayor or Brick Mason. Your utlimate goal is to complete the kingdom with an appropriately majestic castle.

The Good-
This is a Casual game with a capital C. It is also a good family game as myself and my seven year old daughter and eleven year old son all play this game. In fact, its turned into quite a competition on who has unlocked what buildings and who has what upgrade for their Keflings. It is sophisticated enough to keep adults interested but not so complicated as to alienate children or non-gamers. It is also an engaging and charming game that seems to keep you entertained even though you maybe just transporting wood planks back and forth. To keep you in the game, there are always quests from the Mayor or Lord/Lady to complete and new buildings to build - each unlocked gradually so you can't jump to the end in one fell swoop.
 

The Bad-
There are also a few minor issues with the game. It hangs slightly when the soundtrack changes, at the start of a new in-game jingle everything on screen seems to hang for a half a second or so. The soundtrack itself, although initially pleasant, can grate on your nerves. If you are listening to this game being played from another room, you will likely run screaming to tell the kids to turn it down. While playing, you don't notice as much. You can always turn down the music altogether and play your death metal playlist instead. Probably the biggest gameplay problem I have is there is no guidance on where things should go or hints on how to plan out your town. Technically, you don't have to, but things move much smoother if you have your workshops close to your lumbermill, for example. Pro tip: leave space around your Town Hall! Related to this is the lack of control over the camera and point of view - every building faces towards the screen and your POV is always from the screen looking down at about 45 degrees. Most of the time this is okay but it seems restrictive. You can't pan out very far and get a top level view of your masterpiece, unlike most RTS games. These are minor points as this never really interferes with the enjoyment of the game.

The Ugly-
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The End-
A Kingdom for Keflings is good casual family game and at 800 Microsoft points, its also good value. Recommended also if  your looking to broaden the appeal of your Xbox 360 to a wider audience in your house while perhaps interesting even the hardcore gamer.

[8bit Take]: Worth the money. A good casual gaming break for even the hardcore gamer, fun for a wide audience.