Magformers

Product: Magformers
Company: Magformers
Website: magformers.com
Recommended Age Range: 2 to adult
Price Range: ~$20 (for 14 piece set), ~$40 (for 30 piece set)
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Comments: Our family loves Magformers. I got 2 boxes of the 30 piece sets for $28 each on Black Friday (down from $40) and I consider it a steal. I have a price watch set on camelcamelcamel.com in case they ever drop in price again, because I love giving these as gifts. I consider 60 to be a really good number for my 2 kids to play with simultaneously. I’m actually considering getting a third set when my baby gets bigger. One nice thing about the smaller 14 piece set though, is that they are so much fun and the price scales so well, that I consider the 14 piece set to be a good deal also. It’s easy to add to your collection without feeling like you’re losing money.

I should note that we also have Magnatiles and while they are also really fun and great for building spatial awareness skills, I prefer the Magformers over the Magnatiles at the moment. I may change my mind in the future, but at present my kids are 1, 3, and 5. I feel like the structures that one can make with the Magformers are more sturdy, which is great for young kids. They like building with the Magnatiles, but they sometimes get frustrated when they knock things over or try to pick them up only to have them fall apart. The Magnatiles are really better for making houses and buildings that stay on the floor, while the Magformers are better at making ball-like structures that you can carry around and manipulate. Whenever we go on a trip to visit relatives that don’t have toys, I always bring the Magformers. They can keep the kids occupied and playing nicely for up to an hour without fighting. I wish they came in a better box, because the one they come in is essentially useless. I keep our collection in a shoe box.

One feature of the Magformers that I should mention is that if you have two stacks of Magformers, they frequently repel or only very weakly attract. The magnets inside them can rotate to line up with each other for maximum attraction. However, if you have a stack of Magformers, the magnets are effectively locked in place. Therefore, to get all the Magformers to stick together, we lay them all flat on the floor not touching each other then “suck” them up one at a time into one big stack for each shape (square and triangle). My 3 year old loves doing this. It makes a very satisfying clicking noise. The Magnatiles do not have rotating magnets, but they seem to not have issues with repelling pieces as long as you align them properly.

Included on Lists:

1. Best Gifts for 2-Year-Olds
2. Best Gifts for 3-Year-Olds
3. Best Gifts for 4-Year-Olds
4. Best Gifts for 5-Year-Olds

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