Magna-Tiles Review: Best Toy Ever

by Jamie Hinckley on Mar 06, 2012 2

Alright, listen up…  Everyone with kids should own Magna-Tiles!  They are great!

I like to rotate my toys every few months so that when my kids start getting bored with some I rotate in another batch they haven’t seen in a while and they get all excited to be reunited.  Magna-tiles are the only ones I don’t rotate out… and that is because they are the only toys the kids play with every single day.  They never miss a day playing with them.  They never get bored with them and they are finding new ways to play with them as they get older.

Magna-tiles are basically flat magnetized building blocks.  They come in a 100 piece set or a 32 piece set.  You can get them in solid colors or a colored translucent set.  There are five different geometrically sized shapes in the set and it is suggested for ages 3 and up.

I first got magna-tiles for my little guy’s 4th birthday almost 3 years ago.  He loved them and built the most interesting things!  His 18 month old brother also loved them.  Neighbors, friends, cousins, boys or girls come over and they always want to play with them.  Even my 10 year old nephew will play with them when he comes over.

I babysit 2 little boys full time and have 3 boys of my own.  The magna-tiles are incredibly durable! The boys often throw them around and once even went through a phase where they built towers and then jumped off the couch to land on them!  They have withstood and are still in great shape 3 years later.

Here are few of the creative things my kids have done with the Magna-tiles:

Built by a four year old!

They called this “TheTemple”

So proud of his castle!

My six year old built this before school

The boys like to make castles, towers, temples,  you name it! They like to build them up and wreck them.  They love to build super hero forts and keep their action figures in them.  My two year old builds garages to store his favorite cars.

My 18month old building

A five and six year old playing

Here is my list of pros:
Creativity, Creativity, Creativity!!!
Loved by all ages
Durable
Gives familiarity with shapes
Increases fine motor skills
Develops cognitive thinking by teaching spacial relationships, math, logic, and problem solving

And now for the Cons:
A bit expensive ($120ish for a pack of 100 or $50ish for a set of 32)
Wrecked magnet towers are often scattered across the floor!

I started by buying the 32 piece set of magna-tiles and as soon as they arrived I realized they just wouldn’t do and ordered the 100 piece set months later.  Save yourself the time and just start with the 100 piece set.  It is pricey, but I am telling you, you wont be sorry.  The cheapest place I have found to buy them is here (plus they have free shipping).  They will be back in stock this spring so keep a look out.

Had to add this one in here… This little guy is 2 1/2 years old and made this all by himself!

About Jamie Hinckley

I am a mom of three crazy boys! We love life, play hard, and ALWAYS get messy! Life is busy and full of fun, jumping, crashing, skinned knees, rough housing, torn jeans, scratches, but most of all LOVE. Yes, life is crazy. Actually its completely nuts, but I wouldn't change a thing! We love life and can't wait for our next adventure... and one day, possibly a little girl! Haha!