Arrazzles

By Funnybone Toys
Price $19.99
Age 4+

Arrazzles is both a game and a creative medium that allows the creator to build a surprising array of shapes and structures quickly and easily. That ease, rooted in the simplicity and variety of how the pieces interconnect, unleashes the imagination. Every Arrazzles outcome has a certain beauty, freeing the mind from the kind of negative self-criticism that can hinder creative thought and expression. The building blocks of Arrazzles, while flat, are not cards in the conventional sense. They're thick and durable, with different metallic colors on either side, which, when part of a configuration, reflect off one another tantalizingly. Each card has a series of slots along its multiple edges (five distinct patterns in all) that allows them to slide snugly together when placed at right angles to one another. A hole in the center of each card, sized perfectly for standard plastic straws, allows further exploration using straws, string, pipe cleaner, and other elements. The instructions include a memory game, a guess-the-creation game, and a game in which players take turns adding cards to a structure and are eliminated if they cause it to shift and fall into a new position.