Playsets have a unique place in toy culture. Any kid or adult who has ever played with toy figures knows how cool it can be to place that figure in a detailed and scaled environment where everything is "figure" sized. Playsets can take the form of houses, vehicle interiors, jungle temples or alien locations from a galaxy far, far away.

While it is fun to play with toy figures and more so to put these figures in specially designed vehicles and move them around, a playset is where the real fun happens. They are usually large, being made to fit the figures and generally contain a number of elements to interact with, whether it be a simple seat and table or a complex system of tunnels, traps or water elements for the figures to explore.

So what are the best playsets available in 2010? The king of toy playsets has to be Playmobil and they have a number of large sets available this year. Playmobil has been around for decades and are known for the distinctive look of their small figures and detailed accessories. The Playmobil playsets can be very large and come ready to play with figures and a whole heap of related accessories.

This year their most popular large sets include an Ancient Egyptian Pyramid, a pony farm, A Huge Holiday Home, A Forest Lodge, Castles and Pirate Ships. Generally the sets come with 3 or more figures and a number of animals (depending on the set) and dozens of accessories large and small. For example Set 4190, The Horse Farm, comes with 136 separate pieces, and includes just about everything you would need to run a successful horse stables. Playmobil are the masters of detail!

Another company, KidKraft is well known for their children's role play toys as well as a range of large "wooden" (MDF) playsets. Their playsets include figures and a number of accessories, but not in the league of Playmobil as the wooden figures are very simple and unable to hold tools. Nevertheless the sheer scale of the playsets is amazing. They are colourful and full of painted/stickered details, definite fun for kids of all ages. Current playsets include a spaceship, a submarine, a rescue station and a very cool glow in the dark space train station.

As an example the rocket ship stands about 30 inches tall and contains four levels of play and a working lift to move between the floors. It also comes with 25 colorful pieces, including astronauts, robots, aliens, vehicles, craters that glow in the dark and more. The KidKraft sets are full of playable elements and will occupy kids for hours.

Of course, there are more playsets, particularly those within particular themes from television and movies, but these two options are wonderful to allow kids the option to let their imaginations flow without a preconceived storyline.