If your kids love magnetic tiles as much as mine then you may have already heard of Magbrix magnetic tiles. Magbrix® are super popular because they give children the ability to take their magnetic builds to the next level by interlocking with major building brick brands. Now they're even more fun with the addition of the new Magbrix® DYO {Design Your Own} Sets which allow you to curate the perfect magnetic tile collection with the shapes you love most.
Magbrix were originally only available in small squares, however after a year of designing and perfecting behind the scenes, they're now available in all triangle shapes as well as large squares, in a combination of solid and transparent colours. There's also the new Magbrix Junior set developed to connect specifically with Duplo® bricks. I also have a special discount code for 10% off* the whole range.
To get a glimpse of how versatile builds can be with the new range of Magbrix shapes, watch Emmett and his team take their house design to new heights with the new tile shapes in the video below.
Please note Magbrix tiles are recommended for children aged 3 and over and should be used under adult supervision.
WHAT ARE MAGBRIX DYO TILES?
MAGBRIX® are the only Australian magnetic tiles that are compatible with other brands of building bricks. Thanks to a unique, dual interlocking system, they can connect with Lego, Duplo, Mokulock, and other generic bricks. When they were first released they were only available in small square tiles, however they're now available in DYO sets in a selection of shapes including large squares, small squares, equilateral, right angled and isosceles triangles.
Magbrix are made by the same Australian family owned company who make Magblox. Magbrix tiles are made with 100% safe ABS plastic, food-grade non-toxic material that is BPA and phthalate-free. They're designed with multiple injection points to secure the tiles with supersonic welding therefore rivets aren't needed. They have the same strong magnets as all other Magblox tiles although they aren't visible on the opaque tiles.
Magblox are a proud partner of Ardoch, a children's education charity focused on improving educational outcomes for children and young people in disadvantaged communities. 5% of all sales of Magblox and Magbrix are contributed to Ardoch to support their projects.
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HOW DO MAGBRIX MAKE PLAY EVEN BETTER?
Building bricks and magnetic tiles are two of the most popular open ended toys available, so combining the properties of both to create a product that allows them to work together is genius.
Magbrix are great for budding engineers and children who love to think outside the box and push the boundaries, as they allow them to create multi dimensional builds. Children can build a combination of vertical, horizontal, and different angled creations with multiple levels and textures when using building bricks with Magbrix.
Magbrix magnetic tiles are a STEM resource that help children learn science, technology, engineering and maths skills while playing. Magbrix help children develop both physical and cognitive skills through play, including:
- Fine motor skills - Grasping and clicking the magnetic tiles together and the building bricks onto the tiles helps develop pincer grip and finger dexterity.
- Hand strengthening - Pushing the bricks and tiles to lock them into place and pulling them apart again help work hand muscles and build strength.
- Hand/eye co-ordination - Each time children place a brick, or add a tile while building they're creating brain connections and practicing hand/eye co-ordination, which is a vital skill needed for activities such as writing, driving and playing sports.
- Spatial awareness - Playing with blocks in general, whether that be magnetic ones, wooden, or building bricks helps develop spatial awareness as children are learning concepts such as over, under, on top of, next to and between as they place the blocks. Following templates when building also increases spatial skills.
- Critical thinking - While connecting and playing with Magbrix and building bricks, children are observing, predicting and evaluating how they attach together and determining where the best place is to attach them in order to achieve the outcome they want.
- Abstract thinking - Magbrix allows building bricks and tiles to connect in ways and on angles that they normally can't, which allows children to think out of the box and be more creative when building with them.
- Problem solving - Manoeuvring the tiles and bricks to find out how they do and don't connect together allows children to naturally problem solve in order to build.
- Imaginary play - While building with Magbrix children can easily engage in imaginary play by adding Lego, Duplo, or other figurines to interact with their masterpieces.
WHAT DO YOU GET IN EACH MAGBRIX DYO SET?
Each of the Magbrix DYO sets comes with a combination of transparent and opaque tiles in the 6 main colours of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.
Big Magbrix Squares
The Magbrix Big Square set comes with one square in each colour. The squares are the equivalent size of 4 small magnetic tile squares. The set includes transparent blue, red and yellow squares and opaque orange, green and purple tiles.
The big squares do not have dual interlocking and can only connect with bricks from the top as they're designed to provide a stable base or wall for builds. They can however still stack using the magnets as shown above.
Small Magbrix Squares
The Magbrix small squares come in a 24 pack with all 6 colours coming in both transparent and opaque tiles. There are 2 x transparent and 2 x opaque tiles in each individual colour. The small squares have a dual interlocking system and can connect to building bricks from both the top and the bottom.
Magbrix Isosceles Triangles
The Magbrix isosceles triangles come in a set of 12 with 2 tiles in each colour. Red, blue and yellow tiles are opaque and green, orange and purple tiles are transparent. As you can see in the photo above they connect together to form a dodecagon and have the dual interlocking system on both sides of the tiles.
Magbrix Equilateral Triangles
The Magbrix equilateral triangles come in a set of 12 with 2 tiles in each colour. Red, blue and yellow tiles are opaque and green, purple and orange tiles are transparent. They have a dual interlocking system to connect bricks from both sides of the tile.
Magbrix Right Angle Triangles
The Magbrix right angle triangles come in a set of 12 with 2 tiles in each colour. Red, blue and yellow tiles are transparent and the orange, green and purple tiles are opaque. The right angle tiles also have the dual interlocking system on both sides of the tile.
WHAT MAKES THE MAGBRIX DYO SETS UNIQUE?
Purchase sets based on the specific tile shapes you want - Instead of having to purchase a large set of Magbrix tiles, you can purchase smaller, cheaper individual shape packs, to curate the exact tile collection you want. If you only want small squares, you only have to buy small square tiles, and so on for the other shapes.
Children tend to have a favourite shape of tile, so this is a clever and more affordable way to expand your magnetic tile collection by following your child's interests.
If you do want all of the different shapes, there is a discounted bundle pack available which is the best value. You can also use my discount code FMY10 to save another 10%*
Equal number of each colour in each pack - Another huge plus is that every pack includes all 6 main colours of the rainbow, and each set has the same number of each colour, so you'll always have an even number of tiles in each colour. The only exception is the large square bases as the pack comes with one of each colour instead of multiples.
Magbrix work with all other block style magnetic tile brands - If you already have a collection of magnetic tiles that aren't Magblox or Magbrix, don't worry, all of the Magbrix tiles are compatible with other major block style magnetic tiles such as Magnatiles, Picasso, Playmags, Connetix, Learn & Grow, MNTL and Steam Studio magnetic tiles.
Double sided interlocking system - With the exception of the large squares, which are intended to be be used as stable base plates for builds, all other tiles have a double sided interlocking system, This means they can connect to other magnetic tiles or building blocks from both sides.
Added sensory input while playing - Instead of just playing with sleek, transparent magnetic tiles, children now have the opportunity to play with opaque and transparent tiles in different colours with raised surfaces, providing added visual and tactile sensory stimulation. The designs also allow for more visually impressive builds.
Expanded building capabilities - By connecting with other building bricks, Magbrix allow children to make magnetic builds with the addition of accessories such as Lego or Duplo windows, doors, flowers, people and more. They also allow building bricks to be placed in directions and angles that aren't normally possible.
MAGBRIX JUNIOR
Magbrix have also released Magbrix Junior which are specifically designed with younger children in mind as they only connect to larger building bricks such as Duplo, Mega Bloks, Tsumiki and generic bricks. They also connect to all other block style magnetic tile brands. At this stage they're available in transparent small squares in the 6 main rainbow colours.
The Magbrix Junior set comes with 24 tiles in 6 different colours, so you get 4 tiles each of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. The tiles are made with the same safe ABS plastic, food-grade non-toxic material that is BPA and phthalate-free as Magbrix and Magblox.
Magbrix Junior tiles have the same dual interlocking system as Magbrix, however on a much larger scale so the tiles can connect to each other and larger building bricks, but not Lego. They're a great alternative for toddlers {3+} and children who don't yet have the fine motor skills to connect smaller bricks. They also connect with Duplo figurines and accessories.
You can see in the images above how Duplo figurines, Duplo bricks, Mega bloks and Kmart generic blocks connect to the Magrix Junior tile. The Duplo people can also be connected in a seated position {as shown below}.
My 5yr old definitely prefers using Duplo bricks with the Magbrix Junior as they click into place the best and they're the only bricks that can be connected to the tiles from the underneath side as well {because they have the correct interlocking nodules on the top of the bricks, which Mega Bloks and some generic blocks don't have}.
WHERE TO BUY MAGBRIX DYO MAGNETIC TILE SETS
Magbrix and Magbrix Junior sets can be purchased in Australia directly from Magblox here {use the code FMY10 to save 10%*} and from selected online toy boutiques. They're also available from selected stockists in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, for a full list of worldwide stockists click here.
Magbrix DYO sets can also be purchased from Amazon US. They do sell quite quickly on Amazon so may not be available in all shapes at once, but they're regularly restocked. They also qualify for Amazon Prime free delivery to selected locations.
More Magnetic Tile Play Ideas
Disclosure - We were kindly gifted some Magbrix DYO tiles for the purpose of review. I did not receive monetary compensation for this post, however there are some affiliate links included for your convenience, which means I may earn a small commission at no cost to you, should you make a purchase.
*Discount code FMY10 is only valid for purchases via www.magblox.com.au and cannot be used at stockists, on Amazon purchases, or in conjunction with any other offer.
Please note LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this product.
