We are big fans of craft and creative type toys in our house. The boys love nothing more than making something and Aria is starting to get in on the actions. Simbrix is a great toy for getting those creative juices going. It’s a cross between a construction style toy, similar to lego or even a jigsaw and a peg board style pattern, similar to hama beads. They have brought these two great factors together and made Simbrix. So what’s the difference? Well, Simbrix toy solves the problem of easy breakages before the ironing to make them permanent designs.
We love nothing more than getting some crafting done together, it is great fun and it is great for bonding and spending quality time with the children. The one problem with toys such as Hama beads is that if they are bumped, God forbid dropped, or their fingers get a hot then the whole design falls apart, resulting in tears and tantrums and that’s just me!
Thankfully, when you build with Simbrix they are far more robust and there is minimal breakage and spillage. A huge sigh of relief. Simbrix fit together a bit like a jigsaw piece and slot together easily. You can see in the photo above that two sides are one way and the other two sides are the other way. The one thing I would say is make sure you stick to the one pattern. Not doing so will result in taking your design apart when you get to the middle and the bits are facing the wrong way and you can’t get them to fit. Don’t worry about this too much, if it happens it’s easily fixed, but it will save some frustration. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be joining in with your own designs, trust me. It’s so much fun and surprisingly therapeutic.
The set we had came with three large bags of 850 multicoloured brix, instructions, some ideas and all were stored in this great drawstring canvas bag. I poured out the brix into a bowl and gave each of the children a tray to build on. Mainly so they could have the bricks out if there were doing a certain pattern. There were no wee beads everywhere, the kids loved making things. Aria was a bit too young at only 3, so I made some designs with her, but the boys aged 7 and 9 were on a roll. Especially Tyler, who is patient and spends the time looking up designs and making them. He loves doing this in Minecraft also, it amazes me the things he can do at only 7. Lucas got a little frustrated when he had some of the brixs in the wrong way, but was easily sorted and he didn’t make that mistake again.
A fun simbrix duck. We made so many different designs and every day more and more are being added.
Tyler made this very cool glasses he was very proud of. There were of course some Minecraft characters in there, along with some Super Mario Bros flowers and little square blocks were a favourite as they could build with them too. One of the many positives about the Simbrix is that they can be taken apart and reused if they don’t want to keep the design for good.
Simbrix stick together a bit like lego, are strong, but can be taken apart again. If you want to keep your design however, you can iron them using greaseproof paper over the top and they are kept that way forever. I have done this with a few the boys wanted to keep, but I do love that they stay together without the ironing.
The above pictures gives you and idea of how to put them together and the problems that can occur if you don’t follow the same pattern. You don’t have to just create 2D designs with Simbrix. Simbrix also allows 3D designs. We’ve not made any yet, but it is next on my list. I especially want to make the 3D Christmas tree which shown on their website it looks great and perfect for the kids rooms.
Simbrix bring out your creative side and help children with their focus and fine motor skills. They are intuitive to use, but challenging in what you can design from the simplest little square to an intricate masterpiece. There are 17 different colours and you can even get some extras like glow in the dark brix. These are next on our list. Honestly, I would recommend this to anyone who has a child aged 5 and above or even for yourself. The possibilities are endless, there is minimal mess and they are reusable. There is no peg board involved, everything can be stored in the drawstring canvas bag and taken anywhere. Well maybe not the beach, but you know what I mean. The price is great for the amount you get and there are so many wonderful designs online to inspire children or they can create their own. They are simple and easy to use and so much fun. Also a perfect birthday or Christmas gift. A huge thumbs up from us and I am off buy some more.
Simbrix are available to buy now online on the Simbrix website. A Cute Crafter Kit is £12.99, individual colours are £2.49 for 200 Simbrix (£2.99 for 200 Glow-In-The-Dark) and a Geek Kit with loads and loads of Simbrix including glow-in-the-dark is £20. I think the prices are fantastic for all you get and have bought more.
Disclaimer:- I was sent through a Cute Crafter Kit to review, but all thoughts and photos are my own.