It is undeniable that in the last two years Connetix has inspired a good portion of the population by bringing a wonderful open ended material with immense potential into the homes of the most reluctant, making a game of the highest educational value a game of the masses. We immediately believed in this game, so much so that we at Millemamme were the first to import it into Italy and among the first to import it into Europe.

What are Magnetic Cards?

The Connetix Magnetic Cards are translucent cards of different colors, shapes and sizes that have magnets inside. There are two focal points:

1. They are magnetic. It means that they easily join one to the other, allowing the child to build different scenarios working with their imagination. Also imagine them as "facilitated" constructions, because it is the magnet that unites them and not a joint, consequently even the youngest children can play with them easily and independently.
2. They are translucent. This creates infinite plays of light, both by reflection and by refraction! Pure magic!

The story of Connetix begins in Australia in 2019 when the two families of Brea and Dave meet thanks to their children who attend the same primary school. The children played continuously with magnetic cards found online, but the two parents wanted to create a superior product in terms of both quality and safety. Indeed they succeeded!

Connetix magnetic cards have no equal in terms of quality: the cards are super resistant and hardly scratched. They are made of non-toxic, BPA and phthalate-free food-grade ABS plastic.

Regarding safety all magnets are securely fixed inside each card by ultrasonic welding with the addition of rivets. All products are tested regularly and meet all major consumer toy safety standards.

Benefits of Magnetic Cards

In addition to being popular, Connetix Magnetic Cards have an almost infinite series of benefits.

They are Open Ended games. They have no "instructions", or right or wrong ways to be used but they leave free rein to the child's creativity. They grow with the child! Being unstructured materials, they become what the child wants and the game changes according to the child's interests and skills. I would literally recommend her for two to ten years. There aren't many games that can be said the same about!

They are also part of Steam games (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics).

They help stimulate the following areas:

1. Geometric and Mathematical skills: ability to build two- and three-dimensional creations, counting, symmetry, pattern making and recognition, color recognition, classification, one-to-one matching, number sense, fractions, quantities, learning mathematical and spatial relationships, building skills, sorting and stacking, weight, stability.
2. Concentration and focus, persistence, frustration tolerance.
3. Critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, imagination.
4. Fine motor, gross motor, hand-eye coordination, visual discrimination, balance.
5. Magnetism.
6. Standalone game.
7. Challenges the child's creative construction, improves cognitive processes, lateral thinking and planning skills. It helps to understand the mechanism of cause and effect.
8. Language and communication, cooperation, teamwork, self-esteem, sense of self-efficacy.

The various sets! Which ones are they?

Below you will find a comprehensive explanation of the different sets currently available. This list will be updated often as Connetix regularly releases new features. First, let's break it down by category.

The different lines

At the moment there are three lines: Arcobaleno (the original one) with the six typical colors of the rainbow; Pastello instead presents 8 colors in softer shades; The latest addition is the line of Transparent tiles, without any color.

The different colors 

The colors are purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red for the Arcobaleno line while the Pastello line has four predominant colors in two different color intensities: blue/purple, fuchsia /pink, deep green/light green, orange/yellow.

The different shapes

The currently existing possible shapes are: large squares (contain 4 small squares), small squares (side of 7. 5 cm), huge squares (they would be the bases and contain 16 small squares), isosceles triangles, equilateral triangles, right-angled triangles, window squares, door frame squares, rectangles, fences, magnetic cars, hexagons.  

The Run for Marbles or Ball Run

The Pista per Biglie had, among the various sets, a resounding success. Tracks are very popular with children, especially those who are exploring the action pattern of trajectory observation. You can click the link if you want to read more about the Schemes of Action.

The marble run has only square tiles with a hole in the center (where the rails fit), rails of different types and marbles. While the tiles stay together thanks to the magnets, the tracks are without magnets and click into the hole of the tile. Creating this connection is not very easy for a child, especially a small one, it takes considerable strength and fine motor mastery. Added to this is the instability of magnetic cards. Applying force to connect the rail to the tile could cause the whole building to collapse. In short, the Track is not a game suitable for younger children because it first of all requires an extra step to fit the tracks into the "holes" tiles.

It also requires a considerable level of planning that a 3-4 year old certainly does not have. Therefore, if you want to encourage autonomy, we recommend waiting for the track. If, on the other hand you are ready@ to sit on the ground and play with your children, even earlier is fine.

Remember that almost all sets also contain a little book of ideas and a bag for storing the tiles.

The Rainbow sets

Car Pack 2 pieces - this set includes only two magnetic cars. Useful for those who have children who love wheels and want to integrate a set that doesn't contain them.

Set of 24 - includes two magnetic cars and some mixed pieces. It's fine to "try" but rest assured your toddler will ask you to implement!

62 piece set - perfect for getting started with a wide variety of pieces! It's called the Starter Pack precisely because it was designed as the first set par excellence.

100 piece set - this is also a great starter and one of the most popular. It obviously has more pieces than the previous set and a better number of tiles/price ratio.

212-piece set - this set is the most complete of the line, it also includes the geometry pieces and the magnetic machines.

Ball run 92 pieces - the highlight of Connetix! 92 pieces of pure fun! This track was a huge success. Read above for clarification though! It's not for everyone!

Marble Run Extension - this set has just been released together with the pastel shades one to expand the fun.

Replacement Marbles Set of 12 - you know you're going to lose them! Hahaha!

40 Connetix set - this set includes only square tiles: four large and 36 standard. Very useful as a complement to add volume to the loot.

Geometry Pack 30 pieces - the set includes only hexagons and triangles. To be avoided for the little ones if exclusively because the tiles do not have the same stability as the square ones.

Blue and Green Base Set - The base set consists of two huge tiles (30 cm x 30 cm) which act as a base for the other pieces .

Pastel sets

Creative Pack 120 pieces - The first useful set in pastel shades, it has an excellent number of tiles and is 

Mega Pack 202 pieces - This set is the most complete of the line. For die-hard Connetix fans!

Marble run (ball run) 106 pieces , Marble run extension and Replacement marbles Set of 16 - Here too we have 3 sets to create the track of your dreams!

Geometry Pack 40 pieces - This too contains only hexagons and triangles! Excellent to complete for example the set of 120.

Set of soft fruit and pastel strawberry bases and Set of pastel lemon and peach bases - Bases in wonderful colors to be used for important structures.

Transparent sets

Set of 34 - recently arrived in the family it has a great number of pieces to start with but it is also fantastic to mix with the colored sets. Also available the Transparent Base Set.

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. What are they made of? They are made of non-toxic, BPA and phthalate-free food-grade ABS plastic.
2. Which are the best sets to start with? The best sets are definitely the 62 or the 100 and the 212 in the Arcobaleno line. For the Pastello line you can opt for the 120 or the 202 one. For the Transparent line, the recommended set is the 34 one. Why do we recommend these over others? Because are the ones that have the greatest variety of tiles in terms of color, shape and size. The other sets are often specific and I would recommend them as complementary but not to start with.
3. From what age are they recommended? They are recommended from the age of three. However, we personally recommend the sets of magnetic cards only even from before (about 18 months) with supervision. Another story for the Marble Tracks that we recommend a lot over three years. Read above!
4. How do I understand which pieces are contained in the box? If you go to the photos of the single product you will see that the second photo is a graphic list of all the pieces with their relative shapes, numbers and colours. There is also a list written in the product description.
5. Are magnets dangerous? It is known that magnets are extremely dangerous if ingested. For this Connetix not only welds them inside the card with ultra sounds (while other companies just glue them) but also uses rivets. If the tiles are intact you can be super seren@. Obviously supervision is always recommended if you have children who still wear them in their mouths even if they are over three years old.
6. Would you recommend mixing the various shades? It depends purely on personal taste. There are those who would never do it, while those who do it without thinking twice!
7. Maintenance advice? The tiles do not require special attention. They can be cleaned with a damp cloth, being careful not to use too aggressive products. We have used them in the water and they are magical! The constructions float if you can believe it but the manufacturer advises against it because you could rust the magnets. We also recommend stacking them neatly, dividing them by shape and color rather than keeping them jumbled in a basket: they will be less prone to scratches and also more easily used by your child.

9 Activity

Finally, I leave you 9 activities to do that are not so trivial and that will greatly expand the possibilities of the game!

1. Classify by colour: create little boxes with different colors and ask your child to put the colored piece in the right compartment. You can create this wonder inspired by learning_in_d . You can use our Mandalas by Grapat as small pieces!
   
2. Place into mini worlds: a building can become a farm, a garage, a castle. And away with peg dolls and wooden animals! Find at this link everything you need to create mini worlds!
   
3. Puzzle-like sticker: join two or more tiles, glue the sticker across the pieces, cut everything with the cutter and we have a puzzle to compose. Here unknitandtiedtogether created a wonderful one!
   
4. Numbers and letters. With chalkboard markers that peel off easily the possibilities are endless. Tiles can become letters, syllables, numbers, parts of a fraction. As you can see, Connetix cards can also be useful in a Homeschooling path. Here are the washable markers if needed!
   
5. On the light panel. Add the light dimension to the game! Considering that the Connetix are translucent, I'd say it's the perfect combination! Here you will find our selection of light panels.   
   
6. Playing on the fridge, on the radiators, on the garage door, on all metal furniture.  Being magnetic, the tiles stick together! Wonderful vertical play.
   
7. Create a mandala. A little relaxation and meditation never hurts! It can even calm a nervous child when needed!
   
8. Create a two-dimensional pattern. imagination is the only limit! Thanks to kellyjaynetrin who kindly allowed us to publish this lovely photo!
9. 
10. A domino! This activity of doing and undoing is particularly appreciated by children!
    

I hope you enjoyed this article! If so, share it on your channels! If you have any doubts or questions, do not hesitate to write to us. See you soon!