If your child doesn’t like Magna-Tiles right away, don’t despair. Give a toddler a set, and you might first see them holding the translucent, jewel-colored tiles over their eyes to revel as the light filters through them. You might try gluing a few shapes together but then get frustrated and throw them aside. But over time, you’ll likely watch your child figure out how to manipulate them, how to line up the magnetic edges, and how to stack and connect the flat shapes to create 3D structures. And her imagination takes off.
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Magna Tiles (100 Piece Set)
Toddlers and adults alike can build massive, intricate magnetic structures with these colorful STEAM building blocks.
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*Price at time of publication was $50.
You will see how six equilateral triangles become a pizza or a cake. How squares become a bed or a stove or a house. A 6-year-old might carefully stack piece after piece until it’s on tiptoe – and the whole thing falls off with an outrageous clatter. As my kids grew, I watched them build magna tile ziggurats, mazes, marble runs, cuddle rinks, and multi-story castles.
I have observed that there is something about Magna-Tiles that makes kids slow down, experiment, cooperate and persevere. Maybe it’s the ASMR-worthy click the parts make when they snap together. Maybe it’s the way the magnet edges attach easily but not too tightly, so you need to be gentle and precise with them, ask for help, and work together. Perhaps the abstract shapes give children the freedom to imagine.
Magna-Tiles are attractive even to adults. I spent an afternoon, probably procrastinating from work or chores, meticulously creating an icosahedron, a shape I never knew existed. We had friends over for dinner once, and one of them was an architect. She sat down and started building with them while talking and drinking wine.
I’m far from the only parent who knows the magic of Magna-Tiles. They’ve been a staple in our kids’ gift guides since the release of these articles. “They’re one of the few toys we own that I feel my 3-year-old plays with alone for a long time,” says Editor-in-Chief Catherine Kast. “I even leave a handful of these in the car so she can snatch them up on long drives.” Deputy Editor Christine Cyr Clisset’s two daughters played with it from the ages of 2 to 9. She says they’re one of the few toys she wants to keep after her kids grow up to pass on to the next generation.
There have been numerous occasions when a well-meaning donor has gifted my children every flashy, spinning, noisy toy that was new on store shelves. Behind my grateful smile was the thought, “Why didn’t they just buy more Magna tiles?” Invariably, the new toy only captivated my kids long enough to exhaust the dopamine rush. Then they would turn their attention back to Magna-Tiles.
And here I have to admit the only gripe with Magna-Tiles: they are quite expensive. A 32-piece set typically costs around $50. And the truth is that a 32-piece set doesn’t have nearly the playability of a 100-piece set – or more.
So I tracked Magna-Tile’s prices like a commodity broker tracks pork bellies. If they go on sale for less than $1 a tile, it’s a buy. We’ve amassed over 300 tiles this way – probably enough to keep my four kids happy until we’re ready to pass on our treasure. Or I just keep them for my grandkids.
This article was edited by Catherine Kast and Christine Cyr Clisset.