Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
This would have been my 5-year-old me dream toy! We had something similar in school that wasn’t magnetic but had creative pieces of coloured Perspex that fitted together and you can build endless imagination items. Connetix is aimed at children, but like all good toys, has taken on a life of its own and managed to infiltrate adult lifestyle. If you’re a fan of Lego, then you’ll love reading about Connetix, the 21st Century version of the building blocks.
Connetix is aimed at children aged 3 and up. We were sent a 120 piece pastel pack that includes 7 different shapes, with at least 2 shapes of each colour. The food grade, non toxic pieces have strong magnets along each edge which allow the pieces to ‘stick’ to each other and build structures or shapes. The riveted corners make them extra safe for toddlers and children and the bevel design gives extra strength. That’s all great information for budding engineers, but what is it like to play with?
The enormous box arrived at my house by courier as it’s so heavy! Inside, the pieces are stacked carefully and kept together by their magnets. Thankfully there’s an Inspiration Book included in the pack so that you can make a start on what to build. Beyond the Inspiration Book, no other instructions are needed as it’s self-explanatory even for little hands and minds. Working out how the pieces snap together with the magnets, finding the matching colours and working out the lengths of the triangle edges adds to the cognitive fun. In fact, there are so many ways in which children can learn from this game that depending on their age, they can glean a lot of learning.
The packaging boasts of encouraging hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor skills spatial awareness as well as cognitive development. Along with personal development, children of different ages can work together to make creations which encourages teamwork, cooperation, language and lateral thinking. The versatility of this game, which is also considered a craft or art supply item, lends itself to developing a lot of skills as well as bridging ages. Much like Lego or any of the other free-play games and toys, you don’t’ stop playing with Connetix just because you’re past a certain age.
For example, I found myself flicking through the Inspiration Book, trying to find something which I could build as an example. Eventually, I found this turtle which is in the book and looked simple enough. Well, even as an adult, this had its challenges! The pieces snap together but trying to decide which triangle and which edge to use to make the pieces stand up properly was difficult enough. You definitely need more than one pair of hands to keep things steady as you build and rummage for another piece, so as I was on my own at home, I had to find ingenious ways of propping up the pieces whilst I balanced the next piece to make it stable. Using my initiative to build a 3-D structure which looked like the photo as well as colours that matched was also quite the task. Looking through the Inspiration Book, I realised that there is a whole Connetix community out there who use the pieces to inspire, build art, teach and keep children and adults of all ages occupied!
The Connetix family of magnetic pieces isn’t confined to just children nor to building 3-D models although it is ideally suited to both. The Inspiration Book opened my eyes to how the pieces can create patterns, pictures, types of transport (wheels etc can be bought separately) and clever structures. What about a table cloth made out entirely of Connetix pieces? Or a light shade to put in front of a bright light and shine through all the colours? Making a bridge or a house for other toys to use and decorations such as Halloween lanterns, or a centre piece for Christmas?
My favourite idea though was the ball run inspirations. If you’ve never seen it before, the ball runs (sometimes they’re marble runs) are structures built so that a ball can run down a course which is typically fraught with little trials that the ball has to overcome. Bridges, drops, tunnels and balances provide endless sources of amusement for children especially as they build it themselves and create their own experiments. Endless fun, and full of satisfaction too. The ball run packs are available online.
Connetix is a toy which the whole family can play with and have endless imagination fun but also challenges everyone on different levels. The Inspiration Book gives you examples of what you build next, or combine packs to create mega structures. Look online at the different social media accounts to see what else everyone around the world is creating too!
Available from £115.00: https://connetixtiles.com/product/120-piece-pastel-creative-pack-uk/
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