Playmobile is an amazing preschool play and pretend toy. 

My son is into the Pirate theme and we introduced him into all of the products--some of which were worth the money, others not.

He has the large castle, which on eBay I bought for $165.00...and it was well worth it.  The pieces are made to last and the construction is wonderful.  There are alot ....did I mention ALOT of pieces...which is typical of the Playmobile toy, so you do get your moneys worth. 

As for the treasure chest, it has a handle on the top of it and is great to throw Playmobile men and weapons into and take on the road, but for $30.00 I could have bought 5 matchbox car cases.  It is not very useful since the back and front come down...and it looks cool..but it is very hard to play inside of the chest, even with the doors down. 

The ships are great. They are made well.  If you are looking into investing in Playmobile, be aware that you get alot of repeat characters inside the toy itself, and others you may purchase.

Overall I think that my son's imagination has been allocated enough space to really let it fly and I know that Playmobile has helped in that development.  From the stage coaches, to the candelebra, it is too amazing.