Switchbotz

You say "tomato" and I say "Wedgits" ... the box says Switchbotz and I say "Hurrah!"

Longtime friends here know of my enduring affection for Wedgits - I've built with them on the beach, in the woods, in the hospital, in the dark. I like Wedgits.

Today, as I often do, I visited my favorite neighborhood toy store (Seattle's best toy store! I got Melvin there. But not to be confused with my favorite math toy store, also widely considered Seattle's best toy store), and I spotted on a shelf a long way from where Wedgits are usually stacked ... something that looked like ... must be ... yes! Mini-Wedgits! ... but under a different name?

The box said Switchbotz several places, but never a mention of Wedgits - but there was the name "Imagability," the folks behind Wedgits, and close examination of the sample models (in metallic gray & red & blue (not sure if the red or blue was metallic) with the familiar Wedgits logo embossed in each familiar piece. So as far as I was concerned these were my dear old friends under a new alias & in new colors.
 
New colors are sometimes all it takes. I brought a "Carbonite Series" set home, partly because I had just looked at the "Titanium Series" pieces in real life & seriously NEEDED to see the other new colors in real life, partly because they seemed like "Fall colors" & today was a wonderful Seattle early Fall day, and partly because sometimes some of with Autism Spectrum Disorders need mellower colors.

I am delighted. They are great. Now what would be really fun is if someone would go to my BlockPlay Store, and buy some Switchbotz - except as I write this, Amazon doesn't have any, so neither does my store. But at some point, I am sure Amazon will have some for sale, and then the links in this paragraph will let you buy Switchbots or Wedgits or anything else Amazon has, including gift cards.

I may not make a lot of money off the BlockPlay Store, and if you count the construction sets I buy as a "business cost," then the "business" probably spends at least ten times what it makes. But I enjoy seeing what readers here click on & sometimes buy (I have no way of knowing who is clicking or buying so I don't feel guilty about snooping), and I enjoy seeing if there are enough purchases by the end of the month to bump up the commission rate, or if the cumulative earnings by the end of the month will get me an Amazon credit the next month. And yes, I actually do enjoy getting $10 or $15 or sometimes even $40 to spend on Amazon.com. In fact, I do a little dance and go "Woo hoo! Big bucks!"

But too much on that. Mostly, I wanted you to know that I had fun today, and hope you will have fun from the stuff I blog about.

Oh - and Imagability has a  Switchbotz web page, and a Switchbotz Facebook page - not much on either one as I write, but surely there will be more soon. Maybe we should tell them we want glow-in-the-dark Ghost Wedgits?

Switchbotz or Ghost Wedgits, we have good block play.

Hospital Wedgits

Mini-Wedgits have proven a good choice for my hospital kit, for which I set the criteria compactness, low complexity, readily replaced, easily cleaned.

They have been fun to play with, and a fun little window-ledge personalizer & brightener.

Good block play.

Ghost Wedgits

I like ghost Wedgits.

This particular iteration is my white Wedgits from the Class-Pak illuminated only by ultra-violet flashlights.

Fun.

Good block play.

Space Puzzle

At first glance, these look like Wedgits, and indeed the original design is a product of the same fertile Swiss toy company, Naef Spiele AG. Wedgits are based on the Diamant design, these are based on Cubicus.

And there you have it, as you can easily decode from the Naef names, this construction set is based on cubical shapes, while Wedgits are based on the rhombus (or diamond) shape. As it turns out, that makes these perhaps a bit easier in some ways, but also probably less versatile.

The bottom line is that both are fun, each in their own way. And their similarities are sufficient that if you like one, you will probably like the other. though Wedgits are much better for an extended enthusiasm, while these are more appropiate for an occasional diversion.

Availability is another matter: Wedgits are available widely, and the only place I am aware of with this set is Seattle's Math'n'Stuff - fortunately for me, they are not far from my home. Fortunately for you, they also sell online (this item isn't listed on their web site, but I have seen it there recently, so inquire).

The set consolidates into a 4" cube which fits snugly into a box that unfolds to show sample designs on the inside and outside. (One panel also shows their "Triangle" product - which is a poorly made version of Wedgits and should be avoided.)

Good Block Play.

Wedgits Red

Wedgits are a reliable turn-to when my Block-Play is blocked.

And at times like that, I am often especially appreciative of the several single-color sets which make up the Class-Pak 90 Piece Kit.

At times, I will go with Black or Blue or Green or White, all of which are easy on the yes. But sometimes the Yellow or Red is just the thing.

Good Wedgits.

Good Block Play.

Stump Wedgits

Wedgits in the Woods.

My Mini Wedgits 10 piece pocket subset works really well for this. I wouldn't have had anything larger or less robust with me.

Good Block Play.

Addendum: Yesterday, I mentioned Stönees rock-shaped building "blocks," and after I posted today, I realized that they might be another Block Play option to provide I useful & fun subset small enough & robust enough to carry in a pocket.

In the past I have also occasionally carried wood or plastic cubes (blank dice) in my pocket as a robust Froebel Gift 3, and have long intended to make a small set of "mini unit blocks" to be a Froebel Gift 4 for the same purpose. [17:55 11/12/09]

Toadstools

We have a nice crop of toadstools coming along for Halloween.

There seems to be a Ghost Wedgits construction lurking in there as well - part of my 10-piece project.

My Wedgits recommendation: Xtras Cards & Stix

Which Wedgits are most Wonderful? That would, of course, depend on how they will be enjoyed. But I think I finally have a recommendation for perhaps the majority of cases, and certainly what I would recommend as a gift if I had no further information about the recipient.

For Part I, I recommend the Starter Tote: it is a great set of parts with a great deck of design cards - and for now at least, the only way to get this specific design deck is in the Starter Tote. The Tote itself is large enough to carry the additional pieces and cards below, as well as an extra Junior Set to build the Deluxe set designs in the 100 Advanced Design Cards deck, if you go that direction.

For Part II, I recommend the Xtras Design Cards and Stix: this includes what I now believe is the best, most fun set of Wedgits design cards yet, along with some nifty extra parts which combine very well with the Starter Tote parts to allow building most of the designs in the included Imagination Deck as well as all Junior Set designs (design deck available separately).

We may be a bit confused here, but please stick with me. I think it will make sense in the end. One thing that might not make sense is that none of today's pictures were taken with that recommendation. Instead, they are all Mini Wedgits, though the designs all were built from the Imagination Deck, which is a key element of my recommendation.

In fact, I started with this deck and worked backwards to create my recommendation. Since the deck is only available in the Xtras Design Cards expansion, the parts included in that provided some direction. The Starter Tote provided most of the rest of the parts needed, including the building board, and including another very nice deck, not otherwise available at this time.

Not all the parts. But this is not critical. It would appear that the three Stix with the Xtras set were a late addition, and most of the designs only use the three Stix that come in the WEDGiTS Imagination Set. Some also use the parts that come in Xtras Building Board expansion. With the Starter Tote plus the Xtras Card set, you have all those pieces, plus all the pieces in the Junior Set. All you are missing are the extra Stix in in the Xtras card set, which are only used in a few designs. Buy an inexpensive STiX set when you decide you need them - that'll even give you extras. For creative play.

Sample designs, in whatever form, provide instruction, inspiration, and challenge. One does not need to have every piece to build a particular design for that design to still provide benefits - in fact it may better encourage creative play if the constructor is required to build something similar rather than identical.

I describe this as a two part recommendation because they make a good two part gift - the Starter Tote, with plenty of pieces and design ideas (all buildable!) to get started, and the Xtras Design Cards and Stix set to take Wedgits block play to another level of challenge and entertainment. From there, go on by adding other sets, other decks, or filling in the missing pieces - the Wedgit player will have enough experience to know which way they want to go.

When I started playing with the Xtras Design Cards and Stix, I found myself laughing as I finished one design and hurried on to the next - not something that usually happens. The other decks give satisfaction, pleasure, enjoyment - but not laughter. Hence this recommendation.

Good Block Play.

Footnote - it is a little harder to do the Imagination Deck designs with Mini Wedgits, as in these illustrations - but not so much in construction as in which sets to buy & how to pay for them. Start with the Dog Set and Frog Set for the Stix. Many places that a Jumbo Octahedron is called for, a standard size Octahedron can be substituted without penalty - one of the images even has one in a structural position. The eXPANnie Set provides Jumbo greens and one Jumbo Octahedron, the Owl Set would provide more Octahedrons. My Mini "building board" for now is just 25 greens pushed together.

Disclaimer - My Xtras Design Cards and Stix set was provided as a sample by the Wedgits folk - I had intended to buy but hadn't found one yet.

Wedgits reduced

Sometimes when I am looking around a toy store for some new plaything for myself, I frown over a "12 and older" suitability - it may be difficult enough to not get much play. "9 and older" is safer, though there is good scope for toys for younger kids. But when I run across the notation "adult supervision required," I do not consider that a problem - I am an adult, after all. Such can be the challenges of living a developmentally disabled life.

I think a lot about the Stages in Block Building, both while shopping and while playing. While various of these may not apply in the same degree to different types of block play materials, most of them have at least some applicability, and I am inclined to believe that the better a toy suits the various stages, the better the toy.

I also make a point of observing the stages to some degree in my own play. I particularly find Carrying to be important, and I will actually encourage myself to carry something around for a new set - a piece, a plan booklet, something.

So since I got my first Mini Wedgits, I have been carrying a 15 piece "mini-junior" around in my coat pocket. But over time it has seemed more and more like it was just a bit too big. But I wasn't through with the wanting to carry my current favorite toy. Maybe after the cataract surgery is all done. Maybe after some old-guy tooth work that follows the cataract surgery.

So today I finally got around to trimming it down to a 10 piece sub-junior set, by pealing off an onion-layer from the 15, and building a few things. Probably my recent creative excursion helped embolden me.

I won't claim it is an original idea: Naef has a six piece set, Diamant Metallic, mostly as a "design object," since six pieces provides rather limited building opportunities. But the intermediate stage of ten pieces has seemed promising.

And so it worked out - first with Minis in my car (black background) then with standards back home (purple background). There's even scope for some locking, for some "technical building." I hope to come up with several more designs (contributions welcome) and make up my own card set. Both the reduced complexity and the reduced color set will be of benefit at times.

Good Block Play

Starter Tote

I think I've mentioned that I like cards. Several times. More than that, probably.

I have a nice collection of European playing cards. German-suited decks with suits of acorns, leaves, hearts, and bells. Spanish-suited decks, Italian-suited decks, even French-suited decks. I like the various different suit systems. I like the ancient designs. I like cards.

I like doing Block Play from design cards. One design at a time - no fancy-work with sticky notes to cover up adjacent alternatives. Wedgits come through for me with fine decks of construction designs.

The Wedgits Starter Set Design Cards have gradually become one of my turn-to items - when I am doing therapeutic Block Play, I often need to start simple and just keep building, one design after another. This deck does that well.

So when the Wedgits folk came out with their new Starter Tote with a building board and a new design deck, I was intrigued. But not enough to buy an entire Starter Tote, full of parts duplicating those I already have, just to get a look at the deck. Cash flow. Budgets. Stuff like that.

I may have been wrong.

The Wedgits folks sent me a sample deck, and it is great. Perhaps not quite as coherent as the original Starter Set Design Deck, but with more variety of construction techniques, and allowing one to build exactly as shown on a Building Board held in ones lap.

The new deck arrived shortly after I arrived home from cataract surgery yesterday, and was just the thing for "convalescing" - even if we're not talking about bed rest.

Reading is difficult - probably more so today with the patch off than yesterday - so loafing on the couch building my way through a relatively simple card deck was just great. I built all the designs with only minor complaints, and consider this a deck to come back to.

Not a lot of designs demanded the building board, but a few did, and two even show the Building Board in mid-structure. One might wish for more, but at least the ground has been broken and creative builders encouraged.

Yes, most regular flat-surface designs can be built on a Building Board, but many require some sort of modification - only those based on a "medium yellow" or " giant red" Wedgit can be built as-shown. With a green Wedgit, one must omit it, and consider that segment of the board to be that Wedgit. With "large blue" or "jumbo green," one must usually add another underneath to fit the board spacing. Those with multiple bases depend not only on that factor, but on the spacing - the advantage is that if the spacing fits the board, they may be much easier to build. In practice, this isn't as daunting as it might sound, especially if you have a few extra Wedgits. But sometimes it just isn't the therapeutic activity I need.

Time to get to the point!

The bottom line is that this set may finally qualify for the "Starter" designation I formerly felt more rightly belonged to the Junior Set. I like it.

If you need enough of the parts, or simply could be happy getting them, it could be a very nice addition to a collection. If you like cards as much as I do, it might be worth making the effort to come up with the justification for buying more parts you don't really need.

A great gift for any Wedgit "starter" and many advanced Wedgitites. Do make sure to get the current Starter Tote though, with the new "Starter Tote Design Cards," not the older one with the older " Starter Set Design Cards" - you can buy the latter separately if you want them, which you very well might.

Good set, good Block Play.

Wedgits Challenge.

A great deal of the charm in Wedgits is the challenge factor of working out how to build something, both in terms of the puzzle of what goes there and in working out the manipulations to get it all in place. Hence my fondness for the card decks and booklets.

This particular design, d-15 from the 100 Advanced Design Cards, I thought for several years was not possible.

I finally figured the trick out a couple of days ago, but couldn't complete the construction in Mini Wedgits without having it collapse. Today I tried with standard size Wedgits. Didn't do much better until I finally built it as shown, omitting the cosmetic octagons in the middle.

Without those, I still used 8 small octagons, one more than the card shows, so with them my version needs two more octagons than the set includes and either someone a whole lot steadier than me or something tacky keeping some Wedgits from sliding around, Maybe both.

My point? That even if Wedgits at the basic level are very easy (yet still very much fun and therapeutic), at the advanced level they can provide both mental and physical difficulty to challenge most anybody.

Even if this one is perhaps a little too challenging in both regards, it thereby delivers a very satisfactory message.

Wedgits are good puzzle play as well as good block play.

-=-

An article in today's paper about pending FTC policies requiring bloggers to disclose if they have received anything of value from vendors has gotten me thinking about I how to handle it. I have occasionally received samples from vendors, and Wedgits are an example.

Most of what I have posted here has been purchased by myself, or borrowed from friends. What I have received has been of comparatively small value compared to the amount I have spent, and at least some of it has been identified as expression of gratitude for other non-blog activities.

If this has influenced my posting, it has been toward posting about something I would not have at all or as soon, due to cash-flow limitations - I cannot afford to buy everything even if my wife let me.

Getting samples of the parts that distinguish a special set, so that I can try them out with my own standard parts, rather than buying the whole set which mostly duplicates what I have, seems to make sense from a reporting viewpoint, and benefits the reader trying to choose between alternatives.

I have avoided making too much of a deal out of such freebies partly out of a desire to not see vendors flooded with requests. Maybe I am wrong and those vendors would rather see lots of folks blogging their products, and would be happy to be receive more requests. I am often wrong.

As for what I have to say about something, with things I like, I think I tend to be a little more enthusiastic about stuff I have bought and a little more restrained about freebies. If my reaction tilts negative, I am more likely to post if I have bought it, and more likely to just say nothing about a freebie.

So ... I will keep attempting to refine my disclosure policy to meet readers; needs and satisfy FTC requirements as they develop.

No polliwogs were teased in the making of this entertainment product.

Beach Wedgits

I was back at the beach today with my Mini Wedgits and my assistant, Melvin.

If you are curious why Melvin looks so bedraggled, see the story & more pictures.

Until things got wild, it was good block play. :)

Wedgits color changes

I got the opportunity to play a bit with the pink & purple Activity Tote.

This is the first time I've built from designs intended for a building board. Until now, I've built regular designs on a building board (often a benefit) or free-styled (not my forte).

I liked it.

For all the the P&P Tote designs, the board is the base. For some of the Starter Tote designs, the building board is actually in the middle of the design. Some of the recent booklet designs use two building boards, one as a base, and one in the middle. I look forward to building those as well at some point.

The big thing with this set, though, is for the first time when building from designs, you need to choose the color for the size, and the size isn't always clear from the color.

Since building with Wedgits from designs is part puzzle and part construction exercise, this enhances the experience nontrivially. I really liked it.

Not saying that these particular colors are easy on the sensibilities, but Wedgits aficionados ("Wedgitizers"?) shouldn't pass this set by just because of the colors - it has a lot to offer.

As usual, the cards have errors: the design is on the front and which parts are used is supposed to be indicated on the back, but many cards have the wrong backs - presumably a layout error in preparing the job for printing. I've also already found one design that I'm pretty sure can't be built with the parts included - a hidden piece of course.

But again as usual, the benefits outweigh those problems. The P&P Tote is a great set.

I enjoyed building with two colors (color groups in the P&P case), that I went back to my Class Pak and built some Deluxe Set designs from pairs of colors in the 100 Advanced Design Cards. (It doesn't take very much Wedgits play for me to come back to thinking that the Class Pak is the best buy in standard size Wedgits.)

This time, I was choosing the colors at each step by whim, with the desire to get nice contrast and symmetry within the design - while trying to anticipate what colors I needed to hold back to sustain the balance and symmetry to the final stages of the design - I had to back some out and make different choices more than once. Fun.

Good Block Play.

-=-
I apologize for the distracting cropping in the top image - I thought with the building board I wouldn't have to worry so much about what was underneath, and the lovely maple leaves only blew so enticingly into that single frame which had probably the worst lower-edge problem.

Ghost Wedgits

The strong primary colors of standard Wedgits can be a bit of a challenge for adult block builders to accept, even without the sensory issues some of us have.

One must see past the toddler colors to get the most from Wedgits - they more are about shape, abstraction, tactile feedback. See naef and nova68 for the same shapes in designer colors and natural woods, The naef Diamant creates a much more mature design esthetic.

My budget doesn't spring to $350 for a single set of a more vulnerable Wedgits counterpart, just for the aesthetic benefits - especially since all the naef constructions I have seen seem to be pure gravity designs: no wedging in sight. Whether that is due to production tolerance, surface finish, or basic durability, I don't know.

There is a partial solution in the Wedgits Class-Pak, which allows one to work in single colors at least.

I wish I could get another white set separately - I love how the white photographs, and would like to build pure white Deluxe Set designs. The jumbo rhombus in white would be a nice bonus too, allowing Starter Set designs.

Yesterday at Math'n'Stuff, they showed me a packing list that indicated Mini Wedgits Class Paks, but that could have been an error, with the standard Class Pak actually intended. I don't recall whether they were on backorder or in their partially unpacked shipment, but I should have clarification soon.

Now wouldn't an all white set of Mini Wedgits be great for outdoor photography? Much easier to haul up a mountain trail, both in weight and day-pack space. Though the larger set might be fun for a more distant structure, not immediately obvious in a mountain meadow or beach-side sand dune, but still visible without having to already know it was there.

Ghost Wedgits?

A real kick would be a full glow-in-the-dark set (with a merged Starter Set/Junior Set Wedgit mix for building from both design sets?). A fair approximation of the white set by day, and a special kick by night - illuminate with ultraviolet flashlights for nifty photography.

Ghost Wedgits!

Present or possible, still good Block Play.

Wedgits Cards

Last night I thought I had found a Wedgits design (card D-5 from the 100 Advanced Design Cards) that could be built with standard size Wedgits but not with Mini Wedgits - not that it wouldn't go together, but the fit wasn't quite good enough to keep it from tipping over backwards.

This is an example of a structure that is basically unsound, but will work if you are careful enough and the fit is good enough. The standard size structure wanted to tip over as well, but with care I could keep it standing.

But when I rebuilt today in a different location, both stood, though both were precarious. Probably the surface I built on last night sloped slightly to the rear. I was prepared to shim today's table to tilt slightly forward to get the picture, but turned out not to need to.

Even if the Mini Wedgits structure wouldn't have stood on a level surface, I think I would not consider that an argument against using them for larger structures, but rather an argument that they do a better job of enforcing balance constraints. That is a worthwhile educational objective, albeit sometimes painful.

On another topic, I visited another toy store today, beyond my usual haunts, and found both the eXPANman and eXPANnie sets in stock, and the latter actually has FIVE of the red rhombuses, not the four I had guessed - they also do not have the stands for the 15 piece subsets, which I thought were in the whole line. Huge boxes - no wonder stores with tight space have doubts about stocking them.

The new "special part" in the eXPANman set, a diagonal row of three small green rhombuses, turns out to be less interesting than I had hoped since it violates basic Wedgit geometry - the segments connect as if the corners were cut off and the segments glued together, which means that the spacing is tighter than the building boards. I had hoped that standard spacing of touching corner-to-corner would be used, with external gussets for structural rigidity. I am probably too much of a purist and the piece is surely still fun.

I can't buy everything, though, and if I get the eXPANnie I should have more than enough Mini Wedgits for any likely projects.

The store also had the pink & purple Activity Tote, which looked simultaneously both appalling and great. They also had the WEDGiTS Starter Tote, which is also nice, though the two-colored pink & purple building board makes me wish the starter came with a two color board, and more were available. I'd like one black on one side, white on the other, for photography.

You might have noticed that I was admiring the sets with card decks I don't have. I like cards. After I left the toy store I went to a book store, sold some used books, and got some hike cards, inspired by a recent hike.

Next week I have cataract surgery. Wedgits will be a very satisfactory activity for however long I have vision limitations after that, and are helping distract me in the meantime.

Good block play.

Pocket Wedgits

One of the niftiest things, of many nifty things, about the new Mini Wedgits is that I can carry a set of them in a jacket pocket, with the 18"x24" design sheet (folded 3.5"x9") slipped into an inside pocket.

Plastic Wedgits are much more durable than wood or artificial stone blocks, and the heavily plasticized design sheet should stand up to any weather I am likely to build in. It was spitting a light rain when I built the construction above.

A set of 15 Mini Wedgits corresponding to the standard sized Junior Set stacks into an octahedron just over 4" high and just under 3" across the waist. This corresponds to the basic $15 Mini WEDGiTS 16-pc. Set (counting stand), shown twice at right - stacked and unstacked. This set has the advantage of a very compact box - though that doesn't have room for the large instruction sheet - I am not sure what its enclosed sheet has, but it does have one.

Stepping up to the larger sets in much bigger boxes, one gets more pieces and the big plasticized sheet with a row of building suggestions for each set - with five "standard" designs using the basic pieces plus five "bonus pieces" designs - on one side and a tips and tricks for each set (how to 'lock' pieces together, etc) on the other. This is available as a PDF download from the Products page at wedgits.com. A PDF of a product brochure which lists the contents of each set is also there.

All of the Mini sets announced so far include as a subset the complete 15 piece set, which is what I use for most of my building, primarily building from the Wedgits Design Cards and 100 Advanced Design Cards. With the Standard designs for the Dog and Owl sets and all the designs for the small sets being for the 15 piece set, the big plan sheet contains twenty of these designs for pocketable inspiration.

Sometimes after I have built from a published design, I like to extend or enhance the construction with additional pieces. So my first purchase was the Dog Set, which cost only $2 more than the basic set, and gave me the big sheet and a few extra pieces to fiddle with. The Dog adds a few more standard shapes and a pair of dogleg angles corresponding to those in the standard sized STiX set.

Mini Wedgits' next, for another $2, is the Owl Set, which includes the same basic Mini Wedgit mix, the alternative enhancements being a few more small octahedrons and four "jumbo" octahedrons, corresponding to those in the standard sized Starter Set . However since the Owl doesn't include that set's "jumbo" green rhombus, you can't build Starter Set Design Cards designs with Minis unless you buy the $33 eXPANnie set as well.

Since the jumbo octahedron is the equivalent of a small green rhombus with two small octahedrons, anything you can build with the former you should be able to build with a latter - with or without the small octahedrons, depending on aesthetics and perhaps on circumstances. In the Starter Set, the jumbo octahedrons are a safety requirement for younger children. In the Minis, this doesn't apply, so the difference would seem to be purely cosmetic. By the way, I cheated in these images - the larger octahedrons here are actually blank polyhedral dice from Math'n'Stuff. They are little loose - I am going to try tape on the faces.

A bigger step takes us to the $23 Frog Set. This has almost two complete 15-sets, a few extras, and two sticks from the Stix set. On the downside, it isn't a complete counterpart to the standard size Deluxe Set , but is short one small green rhombus. The design sheet's five "standard" designs for the frog set are from the Deluxe set designs in the 100 Advanced Design Cards - but two of the designs use all 8 small green rhombuses - one more than is included! To add further injury, another one of the included designs use 7 medium yellow rhombuses - one more than is included in either the Frog Mini set or the Deluxe standard size set.

Not a problem for creative freestylers, but a stumbling block for those who want or need to build first from printed example. My solution was to buy the dog set first, to try things out, then go for the Frog set. That gave me three full 15ers - one for the car & a full double for the house, with an extra yellow for that tricky design card, a few extras for add-ons, and two thirds of a counterpart to the standard STiX package (still missing the short pair) so probably no building from Xtras Design Cards.

Why is this important? Because I expect Mini Wedgits to be my new favorite. I deliberately went back to the old clunky big Wedgits for a couple of days of intensive playing, and after an initial disgruntlement, I enjoyed them. But when I returned to the Minis again, it was with joy and without the transition problem of going from small to big.

Minis may turn out to be quite as good for big constructions (Wedgit for Wedgit) - the fit may not be quite as precise, proportionally, and the lighter weight does make them more vulnerable to being brushed or bumped by clumsy fingers and hands. But even there, the lower demands on wallet & closet may still give them the advantage. Even if I am still tempted to add to my big & clunky Wedgits collection - would you believe pink & purple with cards?

I still haven't seen the two biggest sets - eXPANman and eXPANnie - but will be tempted by the latter at least (which in the downloadable product brochure has a parts count error - there are five large red, not the two listed). That would give me the jumbo greens to build to the starter set cards, and enough Mini Wedgits to test some rather larger constructions.

I really, really like Mini Wedgits.

Good Block Play