The most obvious use of Magformers to teach geometry. This little game shows how Pythaagoras’ Theorem works.
Magformers Pythagoras Set – Triangles
Author: MaryB
Guidecraft IO Blocks
Guidecraft IO Blocks are very similar to Gakken New Blocks and its clones. They have pieces of similar shapes. However, it is not a “Gakken clone”, because some pieces are unique, and you can’t find them in the actual Gakken sets. Even if this set was, in fact, inspired by Gakken, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Many countries released their own waffle blocks over the years, often with their own unique tweaks, and this only added variety to the market.
Gakken is probably one of the most popular “waffle” blocks. The Gakken Blocks sets have many different forms and shapes of the blocks. There are arched blocks, blocks with different numbers of pegs on different sides, and figurines. There are also some pieces that can work like the rails for the Gakken trains. Those same pieces are just as thick as any other Gakken block, and you can use them in many ways, not just for building rails.
Gakken are Japanese sets, and Japanese Amazon has a bigger choice of them. But the shipping may be long and expensive. In countries that are far from Japan, finding these sets can be more tricky, but there are plenty of sets that have pieces of the same shapes.
Original Gakken Blocks sets were invented in Japan in the 1960s. Their original purpose was education and helping children develop imagination and fine motor skills. Gakken quickly became popular in Japan, and they are one of the oldest “waffle” blocks that are still around. There are many sets that try to repeat the Gakken concept, but not all of them have this high quality. Another similar set brand is Danish Plus Plus, but in Plus Plus all the pieces have the same shape.
MAGNA-TILES Builder – Black Pieces
The dark pieces seen there are parts of the road. However, they are essentially the same as any other Magna-Tiles pieces, so you can mount them anywhere you want.
Magformers Pythagoras Set
Pythagoras is an educational set, focusing on helping kids to understand geometry with 2D and 3D magnetic figures. The pieces are typical Magformers frames, though Pythagoras has more different shapes than other Magformers sets of this size. However, this set has a booklet offering geometrical activities and games. It can be an interesting educational asset – but no one will stop you from just playing with it either.
Vehicle No 1
The very first in the world.Made from EDTOY blocks by Willy (6 years).
Blockaroo 50 Piece Set – Contents
This set has pieces of many different shapes. Some you can find in the certain smaller sets, some are unique to this or bigger sets.
K’NEX Kid Wings & Wheels Set – Plane
The default Wings and Wheels set craft. The wings that gave this set its name have special joints, so you can not just attach them to the flake pieces, but also add some decorations on the wings.
MAGNA-TILES Builder – Two Cranes
This set has two moving cranes, but only one car base. So you can build a vehicle with two cranes, or use a crane without a movable base. Or you can always borrow a base from another set :).
K’Nex Intermediate Set – Helicopter
Just like any other K’Nex sets, this one has parts that can rotate. This allows kids build moving models, like this helicopter with rotating blades.
SmartMax Power Vehicles – Tractor
Steel balls are too big to use them in building cars. However, you can still play with them.
