There are only 87 parts in the small castle set. It is good for the first acquaintance with the construction of magnetic castles, but not only that. What is valuable in a small set:
1. 2 bases – square and pentagonal, on which you can build a small house, a dungeon, a watchtower, a tent of a feudal lord who went on a campaign, and then transfer it to the appropriate game environment.
2. Cardboard inserts imitating a camping tent in wonderful red and yellow shades. Also suitable for a modest circus tent.
Lots of PIXIO sets have calm color palettes few other building blocks have. This is Coffee 60-piece set. Crafts made from it are actually stylish, but they may look boring for younger children. However, you can always mix this set with another one to add bright colors.
There are several Geomag sets available for toddlers, and we’ve had a set with the sea animals (Geomag Baby Sea) in our bathroom for about 3 years now. The kids enjoy playing with it, magnetically attaching the pieces to the edge of the bathtub. We recently added a set with a sorting lid to our collection. It includes a total of 7 pieces, including the lid. Initially, we let our younger son play with it on dry land, but the box turned out to be very fragile, made of cardboard, and was immediately crumpled. As a result, the plastic lid with the 6 pieces found its way into the bathtroom and joined the sea animals. This way, we have more pieces, making the playtime more diverse, and the sorting aspect is also enjoyable.
New parts in the Magformers collection – sectors, arcs, new wheels, small rectangles. 54 parts in total: 8 triangles, 14 squares, 4 small rectangles (half a square), 4 sectors (a quarter of a circle), 2 trapezoids, 2 rhombuses, 2 rectangles, 2 isosceles (high) triangles, 2 arcs (arches), 4 wheels, 10 additional parts ( guns, antennas, hinges, connecting blocks).
Some Clics sets, like this cook with kitchen set, have human figurines. These figurines share many pieces with the basic Clics details, and look more blocky and silly than, for example, Lego figures. This small set has some basic pieces and stickers, and a cook figurine with accessories.
ClicsToys, a Belgian company established in 2001, operates its very own factory located in Kempen, where they craft the popular Clics building blocks. These building sets mostly have square pieces, all sharing identical form and shape. What sets Clics apart is their ability to connect smoothly at the edges, allowing flexible joint movements.
Using these plastic squares, the creative possibilities are endless, even though Clics sets usually offer relatively few extra pieces and accessories. Some sets may include wheels and decorative panels, but few extra items. The true strength of Clics lies in the generous number of pieces in their sets, allowing you to make even biggest creations with ease. The pieces of Clics are too big to swallow and easy to hold, so they are safe, but some connections can be too tricky to younger kids. So the most sets are recommended for children who are 3 years old or older. However, these sets will be interesting even for the 10-years-olds.
The fundamental building blocks in Clics are square, which naturally leads to the cubic or brick-like structures. However, the great advantage of these blocks is the ability to connect them at various angles, making diverse shapes. Careful assembly can even give you triangular or sloping figures. Nevertheless, the most robust and tough structures in Clics are cube-shaped. Additionally, you can create flat mosaics by combining pieces of different colors.
