Customer Reviews

Geomag Panels 660 Set

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There are a confusing number of magnetic constructions toys currently on the market with confusingly similar names -- Magnetix, Magneatos, Magnablocks, Geomag. Without putting them side by side, they also tend to look alike. So I set out to determine if the sets were really that different and if they were, which were/was the best by purchasing one set of each.

Geomag is, hands down, by far the best of the lot. It's one of the most interesting construction toys I've seen in decades of collecting and playing with construction toys and will be of particular interest to any children or adults interested in mathematics, geometry, or just plain 3-dimensional building. It's the sturdiest, best designed and manufactured (made in Switzerland), and its magnetic fields are structured in a way that makes it very gratifying to play with as the pieces pull together very powerfully. The company's introduction of "panels" to fit between the spheres and rods gives a rigidity and strength to your constructions that greatly reduces the number of pieces needed to build things.

All these wonderful things being said, Geomag, like all of the other magnetic building toys, are not only extremely expensive (a 184-piece Geomag set of just spheres and rods retails for about $100 for an average of 50 cents for each sphere and rod) but you need a considerable number of pieces to make anything other than very simple polyhedrons or other constructions. And if you want to actually build more than one or two interesting constructions and not have to deconstruct them, you will need many large sets. This translates into several hundred dollars but it is a great investment that you won't regret.

I have always loved toys which make you use your head as well as dexterity, and this tops that list. Its addictive, everyone who sees it picks up the pieces to try and build something. A great conversation piece, a great toy which you can spend hours with for a rewarding experience.

Don't go for the smaller sets, buy the bigger ones, you'll need them. And you always run short of the sticks.

Bought this for my kids for Christmas and I was hoping that they'd like it. Well as it turns out they not only liked it but also got really creative with making all sorts of shapes. This is a very nice game set. The only drawback is that there isn't enough magnetic sticks and there are a ton of plastic panels. Also if you own a "Mags" set then the balls are the same size but the sticks are slightly smaller than Mags which means that the panels aren't compatible. The magnets with Geomags are also significantly more sturdy, better built and are the entire length of the stick which makes them very strong.

On the whole I would say this is a hit for all sorts of ages including adults.