Shapemags 160 Piece Set 160 Pcs Magnet Building Tiles Magnetic Blocks - Mega Engineer Expansion Set, Award Winning STEM Educational 3D Construction Blocks Set

If you don't own Magna-Tiles, you'll likely love this set, minus the very cheaply made wheels and the accident-waiting-to-happen sharp metal axles that children are supposed to be able to thread through the magnetic tiles and wheels to create vehicles. Our boys love vehicles, so we were interested specifically in this creator set, but after having played with the axles and wheels ourselves, we will not be allowing our three-year-old and one-year-old to make their own chassis ... which kind of defeats the purpose of having this set. In hindsight, I wish I had just bought the Stick N Stack pre-made wheel base set or the PlayMag car set instead, but we missed our return window on this item, so we'll be keeping it.We also own the 100-piece clear Magna-Tile set, so I am going to compare Magna-Tiles with these Stick N Stacks. The bottom line is I prefer Magna-Tiles. I'm not sure the kids will notice much difference, though.Pros of Stick N Stacks in comparison with Magna-Tiles:1. More tiles for less money2. The variation of tiles is nice: Porch pieces, windows, and small rectangles are not available in the current 100-piece Magna-Tile set.Cons of Stick N Stacks in comparison with Magna-Tiles1. The magnets are indeed weaker. You can still build towers and stuff, but the stability is not as great.2. The Stick N Stacks feel more cheaply made. The edges are really rough on Stick N Stacks, so much so that they can easily scratch. Also, on ours not all the plastic seams are sealed well, so there are some gaps. We will see what this means for long-term wear and tear, but I'm predicting broken, cracked tiles in the future. (We've had our Magna-Tiles for three years, and they've endured daily play without incident.) The Stick N Stacks, which have just been taken out of the box for Christmas wrapping, are already showing more surface wear and scratching than our three-year-old Magna-Tiles.3. Some of the porch pieces repel other tiles, which I believe is normal but potentially frustrating to very young builders.4. The original packaging is cheap plastic and came cracked, so we can't use it for storing the Stick N Stacks.Neutral attributes of the two:1. Stick N Stacks come in red, green, bright orange, and navy blue. The navy is very pretty. Magna-Tiles come in the same color red and green, a more subtle orange, aqua, and purple.2. The Stick N Stacks and Magna-Tiles are interchangeable, so they can be played with together.3. Magna-Tiles have metal rivets connecting the front and back side of every tile; Stick N Stacks do not.So in summary, the Stick N Stacks do offer a lot of variety and are a fun magnetic construction set, but they don't have the same quality as Magna-Tiles.

The overall value of this set earns it five stars.I purchased this set because it was the biggest set I could find on Amazon.com. I know from watching the kids play with these at school that the name of the game is Build Big. I love the accessory tiles (windows, 3/4 and half-tiles) and they have really helped add to the complexity of the structures my kids (and I) have built.Other reviews have said that these tiles are not as powerful as MagnaTiles, and I must agree. However, the difference is slight and with either set the structure eventually falls - which is a good thing - It forces the kids to rethink and reinforce their designs.I was disappointed with the wheels and axles. The axles are difficult to get into the wheels the first time (so I did it for the kids) and sometimes hard to remove for storage. The wheels drew me to this set but after building a couple vehicles with the kids, we realized that the properties of the magnetic tiles (fairly weak magnetic connection) doesn't lend itself to large or complex vehicles. I didn't dock the rating based on the wheels as I no longer really think wheels are a valuable addition to the experience anyway.We are considering another 180pc set, although I'd prefer to see a set thats a little cheaper and omits the wheels & axles or provides a larger piece (say, 3x6 or 3x9 to use as a sturdy chassis with built-in channels for the axle).Pros:1. Great accessory pieces like windows2. Value. Huge set at a reasonable price.3. Bright colors.4. High quality look-and-feelCons:1. Wheels were a disappointment2. some of the tiles had magnets that were revered so they didn't "fit" properly with other tiles. I reported this to the seller and they offered to replace them without question, so aside from the hassle, the customer service element could end up being a positive.3. Packaging. I wish the packaging was sturdy enough to use as a storage container with labeled compartments for the pieces.

I own 3 sets of Magna tiles and recommend them to everyone. I ran across these Stick N Stack tiles as I was looking for more for a friend and I decided I had to try them. The window tiles, 3/4 tiles and 1/2 tiles are great additions and allow much more flexibility in building. The price is excellent! While some other reviewers have complained that the magnets do not always 'line up', I rather like that the magnets on the 1/2 and 3/4 tiles sometimes repel causing my daughters to turn things around and figure out how to make it work. It's a great opportunity to explain to them about the nature of magnets!I did a head to head test in magnet power against the Magna tiles and found little or no difference in strength. These Stick N Stack tiles will make a 1x1 or 2x2 box that is strong enough to pick up and ferry around. They will create a ceiling 2 across without falling apart and on a level surface, we were able to make quite a tall tower.Stick N Stack tiles work well with the Magnatiles and have so many more cool shapes! The colors are slightly less translucent, but pretty similar. These tiles do not have the metal rivets at the corners, but speaking for myself, it looks to me like glue is the major component holding both products together and I prefer the look of the tile without the rivet. If we run into any trouble with the tiles coming apart, I will be sure to update this review.Overall, I'm very excited about this purchase. My daughters (ages 5 an 6) and nearly every other visitor to my house under the age of 20 think these tiles rule!! Going forward these will be my recommendation to other parents for fun AND value!Highly recommend! --

I purchased the 154 piece set for my grandsons. The eldest is just turning 4 and has been enjoying it more and more each visit. Even the 19 month old is enjoying playing with us, and the 3 month old will get there when he can! I had been looking for something that is fun and constructive and will entertain them for more than 5 minutes. I originally saw magnetic tiles while visiting the Children'S Centre in Phoenix last year and saw how much fun children of all ages were having with them. Would definitely recommend them.

Magna tiles were a favourite in my classroom and have continued to be a favourite with my grand daughters and visiting friends. They are still (two years after the first set) a part of daily life. There is always some construction either being built or being played with, and the larger triangles make great ice cream cones, with paper ice cream inserted between two, for the restaurant that the girls have created. Good for any " child" from two years to sixty plus, who has an imagination and loves to create structures.

Most awesome toy I have bought my children to date, they are 6 and 3. It gets played with by both every day. It usually comes on sale at quite a discount and is worth it's weight in gold. Don't question it, buy this toy.

Amazing product! Has kept our kids occupied since Christmas almost every day. It's a gem in our household!

Great product that have kept our whole family entertained! Great value!