Think-ets comes with a variety of games you can play with the included gewgaws and trinkets. These games suggest an infinite number of variations and new games that can be created by a fertile mind. Too many for the space we have here and a big part of why Think-ets (in all its iterations) is Major Fun.

But despite all the games that can be played when you open one of these packages, I’m not going to talk about the games. Instead I’m going to talk about what makes Think-ets such a great toy as opposed to a game.

Pause and regroup. Let’s get some of the basics out of the way.

Think-ets come in a variety of packages but they all contain an assortment of trinkets. The one I am currently looking at is the “Genius” edition. A tin box (common size for gum or mints) contains 15 small trinkets such as an arrowhead, a polar bear, a compass (functional), a tomato, and a twelve-sided die: the kind of assortment you would find at the bottom of a toy chest or under the cushions in the family couch. The box also contains a small pencil, a pad of paper, and an instruction booklet. The booklet suggests about a dozen games that you can play with the Think-ets but…

A quick story. When I handed my daughter (9) and one of her best friends (11) a couple of bags of Think-ets, one of the first things they did was arrange the pieces. My daughter went for shape and color and her friend by alphabetical order. They created other patterns and spent half an hour or more just moving the pieces into lines. This actually seemed to fit some of the games mentioned in the instructions, so I suggested one of the other games and they shrugged without much enthusiasm but went right on playing with the pieces. They soon left the table and went off to incorporate the Think-ets into a rather complicated game of school they had going upstairs.

My guess is that most people will experience Think-ets in the way my daughter and her friend did. They are fascinating toys. They are vehicles for imaginative play, and in this capacity they are incredibly engaging. For a game to work—for anything to be considered a game in the first place—the players must agree to follow a set of rules; a prescribed set of behaviors must be followed. A game is a common set of behaviors. By contrast, a toy might suggest methods of play, but a toy is not limited to a single set of actions. You want your cowboy action figure to dive to Atlantis? Fine. You want it to actually be a dog instead of a human? Sure. That dog has a pet spider that looks a lot like my car keys? That’s great…

Hey! Gimme my keys!

Think-ets are Major Fun not because of the games that are included in the package, but because the collection of trinkets lends itself so well to the imagination. We made up stories about the pieces. We stacked them and lined them up and shook them in the tin. We scattered them across the table and made up games that lasted two moves before we changed the game. And then changed it again. The sundry items are wonderful to hold in your hand or move around a table top. They inspire stories and games and conversations and (best of all)

Fun.

1 or more players. Ages 8+

Think-ets designed by Randy Compton and Julie Lake. © 2007 by Think-a-lot Toys.

You, of course, remember the original, Major Fun award-winning Q-BA-MAZE. And you were probably wondering what could have happened to this marvel of marble-dropping merriment. Wonder no more. Or, wonder again at the wonderment now once again available thanks to Mindware‘s new release of Q-BA-MAZE 2.0? Similar in every way to the original Q-BA-MAZE, yet significantly more affordable.

Q-BA-MAZE 2.0 comes in two different packages. The “starter sets” include a more than ample 36 lovely acrylic pieces and 14 steel marbles. There are two sets which are identical except for color. One set features cool colors (green, blue and clear), the other warm (red, yellow and clear). And the there’s the “Big Box,” which combines both of the starter sets into one gloriously absorbing multi-marble-fall construction kit.

Each set includes three different block styles to choose from (nine bottom-exit cubes, 18 single-exit cubes, and, my favorite, nine double-exit cubes). These double-exit cubes feature a truly ingenious structure which often makes the marble hesitate for an unknowable period just before it makes up its steely mind as to which exit to take. When you drop a whole bunch of marbles into your construct at the same time, the varying delay creates precisely enough suspenseful randomness to give you a different result each time.

There are also two ways each of the blocks go together, which, combined with all the other transparently blocky affordances, turns out to be precisely enough flexibility to engage you in many, many hours of creatively constructive engagement. Furthermore, there are no dead ends. No mater how complex your construct, the marbles will inevitably find their way out, one way or an other.

I asked the designer to explain more about the improvements in the new version. He generous answer will probably tell you more than you want to know, but, in case you wondered:

ONGOING ROLE

This new partnership between Q-BA-MAZE and MindWare is a great match. It contributes all of their skill and experience in the production, distribution and customer service side of brainy toys, while it frees time for me as the inventor to dream up new ideas.

I have always thought of the cubes as the base of an ever-expanding marble run construction system. Now that vision is poised to become a reality. I am currently working on half a dozen new Q-BA-MAZE extensions and am so excited for these to get out into the hands of creative kids everywhere!

ENGINEERING THE NEW CUBES

The engineering of the new cubes was the first step in the partnership with MindWare.

Since we were making new molds, it made sense to take the opportunity to let the design evolve and improve upon the original.

Q-BA-MAZE cubes have both “bottom pegs” and “side joints.” I’ll discuss these separately below. Some of the points are pretty technical and difficult to state succinctly.

BOTTOM PEGS

A: BOTTOM PEG SHAPE: If you compare the original Q-BA-MAZE cube and the new Q-BA-MAZE 2.0 cube, you will see that bottom pegs were originally cylindrical but are now more like rounded squares with the greater roundness facing the outside corners.

This change in shape has two effects:

STACKED FOUR PEG CONNECTION:

When stacking Q-BA-MAZE cubes vertically, they are meant to be stacked with a “four peg connection” and not a “two peg connection”. The rounded outside corners of the new bottom pegs give a visual and tactile cue to the user that the “four peg connection” is the way to go and the “two peg connection” is like putting a square peg in a round hole.

The original cylindrical bottom pegs provided no such visual or tactile cue to avoid the “two peg connection.” Q-BA-MAZE structures are most stable when relying on “four peg connections” and “side joint” connections and avoiding “two peg connections.”

When cubes are horizontally offset, the way to connect them is with the “side joints” which are super stable (ie the joint is nearly 3/4″ tall on a 1 1/2″ tall piece and thus does a great job of resisting rotation in all directions). The new squared off look of the bottom pegs, in addition to the diagrams in MindWare’s new instruction pamphlets that come with each set, will help ensure that people learn to build with Q-BA-MAZE using the stable “four peg connection” and using the super stable “side joints” rather than “two peg connections”

As this new bottom peg design points people toward this most stable way of building, they will create more stable structures.

2) ROTATION RESISTANCE CONTRIBUTED BY THE BOTTOM PEGS IN SIDE-JOINED CUBES:

Take two single-exit cubes and then attach them using the side joint of the upper cube so that the side joint of the lower cube is immediately under the upper cube. You will notice that the upper cube rests on top of the lower cube’s side joint.

Now if you compare the original cubes and the new Q-BA-MAZE 2.0 cubes in this configuration, try rotating the upper cube clockwise or counter-clockwise in the vertical plane of the abutting faces of the two cubes.

You will notice that the new cubes are resisting this rotation for some reason and not “popping out” the way the original cubes do under similar rotational force.

Look closely at the side joint of the lower cube when you are doing this rotation. You will notice that the “bottom peg” eventually comes into contact with the side joint of the lower cube. Due to the squared off nature of the new bottom pegs, the bottom pegs of the upper cube engage with and do not slip past the side joint of the lower cube during this rotation.

Do the same inspection with the original cubes and you’ll see that the cylindrical bottom pegs roundness makes them slip past the side joint of the lower cube during this rotation.

This greater resistance to rotation is helpful especially when making Q-BA-MAZE structures with longer cantilevers and for holding these cantilevers in a more stable and orthogonal orientation.

B: BOTTOM PEG HEIGHT: The new bottom pegs are a little taller than the old bottom pegs – so they sink a little deeper into a cube below.

SIDE JOINTS

SIDE JOINT FIT: The side joints of the new Q-BA-MAZE 2.0 have a more uniformly snug fit than the original due to increases in the draft angle of the cube walls and side joint. The increased draft angle makes it easier when tuning the production mold to get that “just right” Goldilocks balance in which the cubes are neither too loose nor too tight.

Individually and together, these engineering improvements to both the side joints and bottom pegs provide even greater stability than the first generation Q-BA-MAZE cubes.

What’s more, all the rich library of detailed plans created by the designer of the original Q-BA-MAZE are still available, online, on Andrew Comfort’s Q-BA-MAZingly generous website.

Find It Deluxe is a game built around another game – a whole genre of games, actually, called “Find Its.”

Every Find It is a cylindrical sea of tiny, multi-colored beads, in which float a selection of little toys and household objects. Aside from a pad of sheets that people can use to keep track of what they’ve found, the game (which is as much a toy as it is a game) is completely self-contained. If that colorful little pad is lost, players can refer to the list printed on one of the ends of the cylinder.

Finding things in a Find It requires more than careful observation. You have to ever-so gently shake, tilt, and twist the Find It, and, occasionally, shake, tilt and twist with a certain amount of controlled, and quite satisfying violence, to make everything appear. There are some mysterious physical principles at work, making heaver things harder to find. Which is why every Find It has a penny in it, and a place to go online to register if you are skillful and/or lucky enough actually to manage to get the penny to surface.

There are many kinds of Find It games, distinguished, for the most part, by the objects you are trying to find. The Find It on the right is called Find It VeggieTales, and in it you will hopefully find a collection of figures and toys from the children’s TV show, VeggieTales. This is one of eleven different Find It game/toys currently available – more, doubtlessly, to come.

Because Find It games are almost completely self-contained, they are excellent companions for extended trips, and highly recommended for library and school collections. They help children exercise their skills of observation, self-control and patience. Find It games lend themselves equally to solitaire and social play.

Find It Deluxe is a game built around a special Find It. The Find It features a wider variety of objects. The game set also includes a deck of 123 cards, each showing an object to be found and the number of points you get for finding it; a spinner where you might increase your points or lose a turn or reverse directions or change cards or get more cards, a three-minute sand time; and, of course, a pad to keep track of your finds. You can play with any or all of the components, or, of course, with just the Find It. The cards and timer add significantly to the game play, making the Find It a true social toy. There are five different games described in the rules, all of which involve both the timer and the cards. The score values on the cards help you appreciate some of the physical properties of the Find It – the higher score objects being more difficult to find. Playing each of the games, at least once, helps establish the permission to play the game any way you want to, as long as it is fun for everyone who wants to play. This greatly adds to the attractiveness of the game concept, and significantly extends its appeal to different ages.

Since you doubtlessly recall our enthusiastic review of Erwin Franz’s hand-made SpinFlyer executive toy, you will immediately understand our enthusiasm for Mr. Franz’s 3-Piece Spin Top Set with Holder – kinetic desk toy.

These individually crafted tops, made of hard plastic, “feature a low center of gravity design with long spinning duration and smooth performance in the upright mode with random path behavior in the inverted mode.” Which is to say, they just keep spinning and spinning and spinning.

As with the SpinFlyer, the Spin Top lends itself to relaxation and contemplation, for at least a full minute of deep spin. Observe:

With three of them, in each of three different sizes, it’s like having a precision contemplation toolkit. You can spin all three when you need to. You can watch them collide. You can attempt to keep them from colliding. You can start each one at intervals and see how long you can keep them all spinning. You can spin one in the proverbial “inverted mode” while the other two are spinning in their upright position. And they will easily spin for an entire minute.

We who multitask all too often find ourselves fall into a virtual abyss. Talking on the phone, checking email, participating in a significant chat or two, we often find ourselves embarrassingly beyond coherence. The Spin Top gives us an alternative task to multi-our way into, so while we’re on the phone we can at least distract ourselves away from the virtual vicissitudes and spend a moment or two in wonder.

Haba Technics

Some genius-level, child-wise engineers at Haba have come up with an innovative addition to your assortment of well-crafted Haba building blocks. An innovation that proves to be a most enticing invitation for your young (suggested ages 3-10), genius-level engineers. They call it Haba Technics.

As you can see from the illustration, it’s another set of wooden blocks, some of which look like your standard but always playworthy wooden blocks, others of which are more vehicular in appearance. As you can also see there’s a collection of plastic add-ons – wheels and connectors that allow kids to attach things to wooden blocks, and blocks to each other – securely enough to withstand gleeful abandon, yet not so sturdy at to prevent impressively sudden deconstruction upon impact.

In addition to the connectors for joining blocks, there are wheel sets that not only allow your child to transform blocks into smoothly-rolling wheeled vehicles of satisfyingly transporting capabilities, but also function as pulleys for the creation of things that whirl about as your child rolls her vehicle-like constructs from hither to yon. The two yellowish pieces you see attached to the wheel in their ready-to-spin-around configuration can also be used like trailer hitches, snapping on to the bottom of a wheel-and-axle set and connecting to a second wheelset.

There are enough wheels and blocks to make several different vehicles, firetrucks, race cars, impossibly fanciful rolling constructs which can be raced against each other or rolled into each other with sufficient ferocity to guarantee satisfying collisions.

Haba Technics is compatible with other Haba block sets, significantly extending the range of play activities possible in both sets. Even if a child already has every block set that Haba makes, or none, the Haba Technics set invites the exercise of new skills, adds new levels interest and encourages the development of new fantasies to explore.

If we haven’t yet made it clear, we found Haba Technics to be Major Fun, significantly and brilliantly.

The SpinFlyer is what you, and the artist who made it, might call a “desktop toy.” Or a “tabletop toy.” Or a “meditation toy.” Or an “art toy.” Or even an “adult toy” (though you have to be a little more careful of your audience when you call it that).  It’s most definitely a toy. It’s hand made. It’s designed for that quiet kind of play you sometimes get into when you’re waiting for something, or thinking, or daydreaming.

You give it a gentle spin, or tap, or you blow on it, or you put it near a fan, and it goes round and round and round. Silently. Never quite predictably.

You can experiment. You can try to make it do things like fly over the cup and come to rest without ever hitting the cup. You can count how many times it goes around and try to make it do exactly that many next time, or one more, or one fewer. You can see how gently you can push it. You can let it take you away. If some curious soul happens to visit your desktop airport, what was an invitation to personal meditation becomes an equally attractive conversation piece. So much to share. So many variables to investigate together. So many different ways to play.

It’s a delicate joy. Finely, lovingly made. It’s a work of play art. (Each is numbered, each comes with a signed certificate, each beautifully packaged). So carefully balanced so that a gentle tap will send it into flight. Beckoning you and anyone near to touch it, watch it, play with it.

Sharing is good – as long as it remains in your personal space under your personal protection. Loaning it to someone, as eager as that someone might be to have it under her personal auspices could very well prove to be, shall we say, ill-advised. It is made of plastic and a carbon fiber rod. The rod, as I mentioned before, is delicate, and it can snap in half if you are not careful. A greater risk is the model detaching from the end of the carbon fiber rod where it’s glued.  If someone holds the rotating arm by the model it’s likely to snap off the rod, or if they drop the arm and the model hits the floor first, it might detach from the rod, which could easily transcend the parameters of your kindness.

We tried two versions: the Classic Wing and the Desktop Dart. Only some assembly was required, and that proved to be intuitive enough to require only a corroborating glance at the instructions. The Desktop Dart, which looks like a paper airplane made of plastic, seemed to fly longer. The Classic Wing seemed somehow more, well, classic. You can nudge them both in either direction (clockwise, counterclockwise). Because the Classic Wing looks the same going backwards or forwards, it lends itself more to bi-directional nudging.  We decided it really didn’t matter which one you had. They were equally playworthy. Equally inviting. Equally Major, fun-wise.

Bendaroos might very well remind you of another terrific art toy – one that also consists of lengths of wax-dipped yarn in a variety of colors. If you know of that particularly terrific art toy, you are already, no doubt, deeply enamored of all the many creative uses to which this construction toy can be so creatively put – the animals and vehicles and flowers and devices of many colors that one can make, without getting dirty or requiring much more than an inspiring illustration or two and a sufficient number and variety of color choices.

So why should you consider getting Bendaroos and not the other? Actually, there’s no reason at all. Except it’s good to know that there’s a choice, and that there are niggling comparisons to be made, and that no matter which one you buy, you will no doubt want to try the other, and you won’t be disappointed at all.

This review, therefore, will confine itself to the explication of a particular game we played with Bendaroos – the Megapack, of course, in which we found 42 red, yellow, green, blue, hot pink, neon yellow, neon blue, and neon green pieces, along with 41 each of white, black, orange, and neon red. That’s 12 different colors, which means that if you had as many as 12 people playing, there’d be a different color for each player, which would add significantly to the jolliness of it all.

We drew, so to speak, our inspiration from a famous Dada-type game called Exquisite Corpse, one version of which being most illustratively illustrated in the following video:

Exquisite Corpse Drawing from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo

We gave each player a different color. Simultaneously, we each made something (anything) out of our Bendaroo. After that, we each passed our creation to the player on our left (though we could have easily passed to the player on the right, but some arbitrary direction needed to be established for the duration of the game). We then added another piece to the figure we just received. And then passed the two joined pieces to the next player, again to the left. And on, and on, until we finally received the construction that included our original piece. We then each decided what to name the collectively created work of art, and took turns presenting the finished work to the group, in our best art-presentation-like manner. And we nearly Bendarooed over in laughter. In deed we nearly did.

All of which is to say that, given a bit of playful creativity, Bendaroos can provide many hours of Major Fun to pretty much everybody.

So, you find this contraptions toy. You look at the outside of the box. You say to yourself: “sweet, this looks like a really interesting toy, like one of those marble run toys, imbued with a multitude of complex physical properties for the edification and exploration of school age children and adults, also even.” Prompted by the many intriguing constructions amply and enticingly adorning the sturdy box, you drop your $50 bucks into the nearest cash register and scurry gleefully home.

You open the box. You see 200 wooden pieces, all exactly the same, and two ping-pong-like balls. And a set of instructions. Well-illustrated instructions, carefully and clearly written with most pedagogically sound minimalism. And 200 wooden pieces. And two ping pong balls. Granted, the wooden, plank-like pieces are well-made: splinterless, yet with just enough woodiness to offer buildworthy friction; thick enough, with sides flat enough to be able to stand on any edge. And that’s it. That’s the whole set. That’s all you get. That’s all she wrote.

So, OK, you’re invested. So you start playing with the stuff. You look at a couple of the pictures until you find a construction that seems simple enough, and you build it, and you roll a ball down it, and, well, it’s like wow. Because it works. And it’s fun. And it’s so easy to make. And because the pieces are all the same you don’t have to look around to find just what does what. You make things do pretty much whatever you want them to do. You make ramps and towers and things you can roll the balls down, and drop the balls into, and bounce the balls across, and make the balls knock down. And, what, 4 hours already? And you’re still just starting to appreciate the whole thing, how all this simplicity lets you create all the complexity you can imagine, how well everything is made, how delicately intricate your creations, how genuinely fun watching the balls roll and bounce through the cunning tunnels, the complex tracks, manifesting so vividly your sheer brilliance.

There are many reasons for contraptions being as fun as it is. For some people – the people who can set aside their technolust and gadgetpassion, who can appreciate the sheer beauty of the concept, the clarity of the instructions, the elegance and simplicity of the materials, the intelligence of the design, the art, the dexterity, the freedom, the empowerment – for those people, children, adults, contraptions is simply brilliant.

Further exploration of the Parsons Effect demonstrates what happens when you spin a hexagon-shaped magnet-cluster near similar hexagon-shaped magnet-clusters.

Parsons comments: “It’s like, when the one that is spinning is in full spin, the other, more stayed hexagon-shaped magnet clusters choose to ignore all that frenzied enthusiasm. But as it slows down, the others start noticing, and, with a wiggle and perhaps even a spin of their own, acknowledge the whirl.”

Discovered by Charles Parsons, behold – a whole new world of hexagon spinning.

The center ball is pushed just a teeny bit lower than the rest so that the hexagon rests on one point.