12 Intelligent Toys for Kids that You’ll Love Too

Toys for kids have come a long way in the past few years. Gone are the days when children must make do with measly hula hoops, or jigsaws of kittens in baskets.* Now there are intelligent wonders popping up left right and centre, some taking old toy concepts and giving them a technological spin, others creating a new type of toy entirely. Amongst all these newfangled objects, there are some rather brilliant gems – here are 12 of those intelligent toys for kids (that we think you’ll love too).

*Note: We don’t actually have anything against hula hoops or jigsaw puzzles. They encourage outdoor fun and thoughtful play, and we’ve certainly used them at home – we were writing this in jest, really.

Bloxels

Bloxels is a magnificent game that lets the player place physical blocks into a 13 by 13 grid, that will then translate into a playable game level – effectively letting you design your own video games. No coding skills are required, which makes the game easy to pick up for all ages, but the level of depth and personalisation you can put in is still immense – whether you want to create unusual character designs, strategize about checkpoints, or include witty text-hints, Bloxels lets you adapt the game so you can create it exactly how you want it. The games that come out of it look a little like a Super Mario game – only vastly more personalised.

This is great for kids to play by themselves, as it boosts their design skills as well as strategic thinking and planning skills. But it’s also a brilliant for helping encourage teamwork, as families or groups of kids can work together to create a unique and wonderful game. You can also in turn share your game with others, which is a very satisfying experience for kids and adults alike!

Bloxels is already being used in classrooms, where kids are adapting the games they make according to educational themes. We’re fans of physical-digital hybrid toys, and the fact that this one also lets you take charge of creation and exploration makes it all the better. As we said, it works well for almost any age group, but from 8+ we feel kids can really make the most of all aspects of design and creation available to them.

Osmo: Coding Awbie

Osmo have a whole range of brilliant intelligent toys and games for children, so it’s hard to pick just one, but if we had to we’d go with Coding Awbie. This is (surprise surprise) another game that connects physical and digital in a worthwhile way – it teaches the basic logic and understanding used for coding in a fun way: by getting you to code the way for Awbie, an adorable monster, to get their beloved strawberries. The combination of physical blocks and digital results makes it easier to pick up how coding works, since there are actual tangible objects that are put together to create a result (i.e. the collection of sweet, sweet strawberries).

It’s great because it teaches without making learning a chore, and gently paves the way for those curious about coding to get into more complex line-coding in the future. It’s good for keeping a kid occupied by themselves quietly for an afternoon, but also works well as a puzzle that two people could sit and work on together. Like Bloxels, we’d recommend it for kids aged 8+, so they can get a good grasp of all of the different functions required to get Awbie moving.

LittleBits: Rule Your Room Kit

Depending how much you snoop through your kids’ stuff, and depending how much you mind being put in your place for it, the Rule Your Room Kit may or may not be the toy for you. Still, we think it’s great for encouraging kids to get creative, innovative, and engineering with their toys. The Rule Your Room Kit has sets of inventions kids can put together and use to tamper-proof all of the stuff in their room, from a Burglar Buzzer that goes off when someone tries to take a prized possession, to pop-up puppets that spring up and say things on command. These contraptions are rather obvious – you’d see most of them as soon as you stepped into the room – but that’s actually part of their beauty. By seeing clearly how each contraption works, and having the results of what they’ve put together obviously displayed, this kit encourages kids to get hands on with electronics and small-scale invention. Just be warned, you may get some interesting welcomes if you enter your kid’s room without their permission! Based on the complexity of the kit, we’d recommend it for kids between 8-12.

Tech Will Save Us: Dough Universe

Tech Will Save Us make it their mission to create toys that help kids learn about the world around them and engage in STEAM subjects through creative play. Their latest set – The Dough Universe – does this extremely well. Whilst at first glance it may look like a simple playdough set, don’t be fooled – combined with a controller and beautifully illustrated app, this is a set that teaches kids the fundamentals of electronics. There are 3 sets that make up the dough universe, each one focussing around a different element: light, sound, and movement. With each of these, kids follow the app to shape their electro-dough into anything from a musical keyboard to a rotating racecar, inadvertently learning about resistance and mechanics in the process. If you have all three sets these can be combined to make even more crazy and creative things, including a high-five machine that involves a rotating hand that whizzes round to high-five another.

We like this because it combines many facets of play and learning together seamlessly – you have artistic imagination (yes, even in the hands of a four year old, play dough can be formed into something akin to art), tactile play, and engagement with Science and Technology.

Jimu Robots

Whilst we’re on a DIY-toy kick, we thought we’d mention Jimu Robots. These take the fun of playing with toy robots, and gives them a tech-age spin. With Jimu Robots, you get to assemble robots of your choice, then program them to move or act via an app. There are an increasing number of games and toys that are coming out with connected apps, but not all of them are executed well, and not all of them feel like the app was necessary. Luckily this isn’t the case with these robots, as the app is not there simply for the sake of being techy, but to make assembling the robots super simple. The app includes 3D instructions on how to assemble the robots that makes the job fun and easy to get through (now, if only they had that for Ikea furniture…)

We also like Jimu Robots because it is highly adaptable to different age groups (from ages 8 and above). As we mentioned, there are some pre-designed robots you can make (including a penguin with a charming little bowtie), but if your kids are slightly older they can also make something entirely of their own creation. It’s a similar case when it comes to programming the robots – there are some instructions you can get them to do quite easily (e.g. dance), but they are also modular enough that you can edit and connect sequences to create new moves for your robots. Because of this it’s a toy that has strong reusability. Plus, the packaging is beautiful (lots of brightly coloured boxes and a neat overview of all of the parts), and we’re suckers for pretty packaging.

Learning Resources Moonscope

The Learning Resources Moonscope is great for getting kids exploring the outdoors and inspiring an interest in science. It’s a smaller and simpler set-up than your professional telescopes, but still has the magnification power to view Saturn, Jupiter, and the moon in enough detail to see craters and mountain ranges. It also comes with a neat journal that has activities that teach kids about astrology. Together, the telescope and journal make for a fun activity for backyard-camping (or, if you’re not going anywhere too far or crazy, just plain camping in general). This is especially the case since it has red LED lighting built in that helps with night viewing, so on a warm summer holiday night outside, this would be lots of fun.

With the journal, there’s a bit more structured activity added to the moonscope that kids can get involved with together with their friends, probably most easily in a group of 2-3. In order to be able to follow these activities, we’d recommend it for kids between 8 and 11. But even without the journal the moonscope is also lots of fun by itself as a tool for kids to explore the wonders of Space freely.

3Doodler Start

Doodling is something we’re all familiar with – but have you ever tried doodling in 3D? This is what 3Doodler Start lets you do (which may not be surprising, considering the name), using a special pen that heats plastic* that can then be traced or drawn into whatever shape you like to create 3D pictures.

We like this one because it helps with training kids to focus, and on developing their motor skills. There is a project book that comes with the pen that helps kids create some genuinely impressive models, including an Eiffel Tower and a pair of glasses – we suspect both you and your kids will be amazed at the kinds of ‘doodles’ that can come out of this tool. But even though the finished results look impressive, they are relatively easy to make – they just require some patience and dedication. It’s also a nice, zen way to keep an 8+ year old occupied for an afternoon.

*The idea of heated plastic may already be setting off alarm bells in your head, but it is completely safe since the plastic only ever gets lukewarm – nothing anywhere near strong enough to cause any injuries.

SAM Labs: Sam’s Curious Cars

Sam’s Curious Cars combines toy cars with programming – a winning combination for most kids. In a set you get all of the pieces you need to assemble your cars, from tilt sensors to lights, along with a controller and guiding instructions. Assembling the car is done with the help of the Curious Cars app, but it’s in the free SAM Space app where things really get exciting. Here you can use a drag and drop system to add a myriad of things to your cars, from music, lights, to even social sharing, if you feel like it. The app is intuitive and rewarding to use in that the results are instantly available at your fingertips through the controller. For ages 7 and above, this is a great way to connect physical and digital learning in a simple way.

Sphero: BB-8

So, if there’s an intelligent toy for kids that you’ll love too, this is it. This tiny Star Wars-inspired droid is adorable, and you don’t need to be a kid to see that. By controlling it with a smart device you can tell BB-8 where to go, to record videos, and even just roam around and explore. Kids will have fun with BB-8 as they’re able to take an awesome Star Wars character and bring it to life in their own home. You’ll love it for pretty much the same reason.

Kano: Pixel Kit

Coding is becoming an increasingly useful and important part of children’s education, so being able to slip it into toys is getting more and more common. This is what Kano’s Pixel Kit does, and it does it very prettily too. It comes with a light-board, a storybook to help set up the light-board, and a coding app. Once you’ve set up the kit, there are already a few mini games and light shows set up which you can check out. These are fun, but it’s the way this kit makes coding more tangible that really makes it (literally) shine.

With the app there are coding projects to embark on that start with drag-and-drop blocks, which are simple enough that kids as young as 6 can get stuck in with. These can also be peeled back to reveal the javascript behind them too, providing a thorough learning opportunity for those who really want to get into the details. Kids will love it for the sense of achievement they get whilst they unwittingly build their coding skills. And if you don’t know too much about coding yourself, Kano’s Pixel Kit isn’t a bad place to start as an adult, either.

Beasts of Balance

If you’re looking for a game that is genuinely fun for both children and adults, you should check out Beasts of Balance. This is a cooperative stacking game that brings physical and digital play together: you stack pieces into a tower, and every piece you add has an effect on your digital world that’s connected through an app. Beasts of Balance is great for kids because it can be played at different levels, and in different ways – it can be played in an explorative style, encouraging kids to discover weird and wonderful new beasts which they can log in their Bestiary. It can be played in a strategic style, as players search for the best stacking methods to get high point scores. Or, with younger children below 7 years old, it can be played in its simplest form; simply for the beautiful pieces and the joy of watching them pile up – and topple down.

As a cooperative game, it also encourages teamwork and communication, so for a group of 2-5 children this would be a fun game to get them bonding and working together. There’s also enough depth and replayability to the game to make it fun for adults too, so it’s a fun game to play as a family…or even after the kids have gone to sleep.

Cubetto

For our final pick, we’ve got a coding toy for youngsters. Cubetto is a coding teacher that works without screens that’s aimed at 3-6 year-olds. However, it’s a little bit different in that the pieces are made of wood, giving it a rather nostalgic old-toy feel, even though it’s teaching new problem-solving skills. Children use the board and wooden blocks to guide Cubetto home across a map they can lay out on the floor, which is easy to get the hang of and doesn’t require any literacy. It has a simple but charming design which means that even when the pieces are left spread out across your living room floor, you won’t be too mad at it – in fact, the mat means it’s easy for you to join in and watch Cubetto on their journey as your little ones craft their path.

This sums up our list of toys that kids would love that we feel adults will love too – if you liked this list of educational toys, please share it with other friends and family you think would like them too! And if you want to hear about more cool stuff, make sure to sign up for our mailing list.