Magnetic Tiles for Kids

The published shape breakdown is the reason this is the pick. Fifty squares, four large squares, twenty equilateral triangles, eleven right triangles and fifteen isosceles triangles is not an arbitrary mix. The three different triangles are what make a roof sit properly on a wall, and the four large squares are what make a base wide enough that a tall build does not tip.

Magna-Tiles is also the only brand in this roundup that makes a compatibility statement you can rely on, and it is a narrow one: every Magna-Tiles set works with every other Magna-Tiles set. That is worth having, because the realistic future of any tile purchase is that somebody adds to it at the next birthday.

On construction, the published detail is the lattice plus fastening rivets holding the magnets in. Every magnetic tile brand faces the same engineering problem — the magnet has to stay inside a piece a child will throw — and the ones that describe how they solved it are telling you something the ones that say “safe and durable” are not.

The published contents include window pieces, door pieces and fences, and that changes the play more than it sounds. A child with only squares and triangles builds abstract structures. A child with a door builds a house, puts something inside it, and comes back to it tomorrow — which is the whole thing this site is trying to measure.

Connetix publishes its construction plainly: tiles are “ultrasonically sealed and riveted for extra safety,” made from “non-toxic, BPA and phthalate-free ABS plastic.” Ultrasonic sealing plus a rivet is belt and braces — the seal holds the halves together and the rivet holds them if the seal fails.

The travel bag included in this pack is a small thing that matters more than it should. A tile set that can go to a grandparent’s house gets used at a grandparent’s house.

Magformers publishes 30 squares, 20 triangles and 12 pentagons. The pentagons are the point: five-sided pieces let a structure curve, so a child can build a dome or a ball rather than another box. If someone already owns a hundred squares and triangles, this is the most interesting thing you can add.

The other published difference is mechanical. Magformers uses neodymium magnets that rotate inside the frame, so the pieces “always attract” — there is no wrong way round. On a square-tile set a child occasionally meets two faces that repel and has to flip a piece; on Magformers that never happens. For a three-year-old that is a genuine difference in frustration.

Magformers is also the only brand in this roundup that names three safety standards outright — CE, ASTM and EN71. Naming the standard is not the same as us verifying the certificate, but a brand that names it has committed to something checkable.

The published contents are magnetic tiles plus steel-weighted marbles, and the effect is that the tiles acquire a purpose. A tile wall is decorative; a tile wall that has to get a marble from the top to the floor is a problem, and problems get returned to.

This is the pick we most often suggest instead of a second full tile set. If a child has a hundred tiles and has stopped picking them up, another hundred tiles rarely changes that. A marble run pack usually does, and costs less.

PicassoTiles publishes the 100-piece count, the ages 3+ rating and the BPA-free non-toxic materials with smooth edges. It publishes no shape breakdown and names no safety standard, which is the gap between it and the two brands above.