Customer Reviews

Dado Cubes-Original

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really struggled with deciding to write a review for these because most reviews I have seen rave about this toy. We have had DADO CUBES for three years now, and I really want them to be as fun as many say they are. In these three years, most of the children playing with them have been between the ages 2-7. Even the ones who love to build with "anything" didn't like them. The two year olds either didn't try to build with them or found them frustrating, and the 3+ are not interested. The few who did give them a chance got bored within minutes. I have tried leaving them out where they would yell "play with me", I've tried showing them how to play with them, I've tried setting them up so they looked neat. Nothing has worked for us. There are 10 blocks with slits in them so that they can be stuck together in different directions. I wonder if having more would make them more fun. Please read reviews at Fat Brain Toys' web site for all the many positive reviews. You'll see that most reviewers love them. As you can see, I was really surprised to find that they are so dull. I am going to finally pass them along. I say if you have money to spare, try them out. Otherwise I suggest some simple building blocks. All those same 2-7 year olds over the years have continued to love our wood blocks.

To the extent that Amazon averages ratings and that more information helps other potential customers (especially when a product has very few ratings such as this one), I will happily provide honest feedback. But she (he?) covered all the important points.

This is a toy that looks like it should be a huge hit. Multicolored and multishaped pieces are appealing to kids, while the educational nature of the toy gets moms and dads to purchase. Who doesn't want to encourage their kid to be an architect or an artist?

But once in the home, this toy simply does not get played with. Or rather, a structure gets built once and then the kids move on to something else. While there may be *millions* of combinations (as the packaging advertises), most are variations on a few basic themes (stacked, nested, vertical, horizontal).

This toy wins awards (although to be fair, I had never heard of Creative Child Magazine), so *someone* has to like it. Right? Just not me. A cheaper product like the Wood Stacking Robots by Schylling is used more frequently and more enjoyably in our home.

Maybe the Dado Cubes should be a specific purchase for a child with spatial needs?

I have a three year old who finds these frustrating as the idea is appealing him but getting them apart and together is hard for his age.
Putting them together is too much for a 3 year old and he is advanced in his abilities in other logical and physical tasks.
Taking them apart takes too much strength once they are together.

I really thought they would have been more popular with him, but he consistently chooses other toys even when I sit out with him and build 'cool' things with the Dadu Cubes. I'll update if things change as he ages.

My almost 4 y.o. son just doesn't play with this toy. We bought it for him about 6 months ago, and he played with 2-3 times at most. I think, it's more fun for me than it is for him.
The negative thing I have to say about this toy is that sometimes it can be pretty hard sliding the blocks into each other or trying to take them apart. Maybe that is the reason it doesn't get payed with. Whatever it is, I'm thinking about getting rid of it as it just takes up space.

This was a Christmas gift for a 5 year old boy. When he took it out of the box, it was a slow start. His 10 year old brother built a stack and then, his younger brother was off and running with this building toy. Great play value with fun problem solving and encourages creativity.

This is a toy that we purchased for a 1 year old, based on the recommendation of the fatbrain website. This is more suited to a 2 or 3 year old.

These cubes are much smaller than I expected but then again I never saw them before BUT my nephw likes them so overall good buy

My daughter is 2 and she really loves her "cubes." The only downside is they are hard to transport from one place to another. She can't easily grab them all and move them from room to room so I have to do it for her. I ended up putting them all together in a little zip up bag I had and that way she can move them from room to room if she wants. Ideally it would come with it's own little case. Adults and children enjoy this toy it is unique and fun. It's a little pricey for what it is, but it's really durable and all kids seem to really enjoy it, and you can't put a price on that!

Pro's: Fun, unique, educational
Con's: hard to transport, expensive

I bought these for my 3 year old and realized how limited they are in what you can do with them. There are no more than 4 or 5 real possibilities with these cubes. My daughter had them all figured out in a few weeks time.
May be a 2 year old might enjoy them more, but I doubt if they have the motor skills to actually build with the cubes. You need to be quite precise when placing one cube on top of the other.
I would not recommend these at all.
Complete waste of money.

We got this as a gift for my very inquisitive nearly 4yo niece. She absolutely loves it! Quick shipping, great product. This is now my go-to gift.