Like a jigsaw but not a jigsaw for 2.5yo

[anothernameanotherproblem]

My son went through a intense jigsaw phases just after he turned 2. Could complete a 24 piece in a minute or two. Got up to 50 pieces before he decided he wasn't into jigsaws anymore. Obv after I had raided Vinted for a million new Peppa Pig jigsaws. Anyway. Now 2.5 and would love to find something that would engage him like jigsaws did. Any bright ideas welcome!

Some sort of tanagram puzzle? Melissa and Doug have a 2+ one, but it might be too simple? I'm sure tougher, bit still kids, ones will exist.

Or, a picture plock puzzle thing? Like this: https://amzn.eu/d/6racRsg

We have this from Flying Tiger. The shapes are vaguely animals and you get a flat tray with the outlines of them all on to be fitted in together. Our dc still play with it now at nearly 10.

Would he like something like a marble run or a wooden train track? There's a lot of fun in building them and logic in making the marbles fall right etc.

We have a giraffe puzzle with numbers on one side and the alphabet on the other which my son still plays with at nearly 5. You can make 'wonky giraffes' with legs in the wrong place which amuses him at the moment 😁

Also do you have any Brio train tracks? Might fulfill the putting things together urge.

Maybe Lego Duplo, or we have this brilliant build your own car set from ELC. Hopefully someone still makes it. It's just a load of parts and you can put them all together to make three different vehicles.

Magnetic sorting board like this or we always found the orchard games went down a treat at that age

Duplo is great at that age and has playability for years so is a good investment. Huge range of sets from just bricks to Disney castles and diggers. DS had a train with number pieces on that he loved when he was that age. Playing with Lego and Duplo also helps muscle development in their hands ready for holding a pencil and writing.

Lanka Kade had a wooden fort set which DS loved and still plays with age 5. Can be played with at a lower level and then lots of bits to balance and make a taller fort as their skills improve.

Also, DS had one of these where you can dress up the animals in different outfits and swap their facial expressions. He’d spend ages picking out what to make each one!

These are my guilty pleasure if we ever end up in a waiting room somewhere and there's a magnetic sorting game like this the poor kids don't get a look in.

My first thought was Magnatiles/Connetix/similar knock offs. A different thing as they’re for building not just solving, but might stretch that similar bit of his brain

At that age my ds loved his brio wooden train track and would play for hours making different shapes. The other thing he liked was a wooden marble run where he could make different shapes and towers for the marble to run down - like this

Calmado - 200 pcs Marble Run Wooden Set/Ball Track Set for Kids/Girls/Boys Made of Beech Wood + Bag + Instructions amzn.eu/d/55hhWVg

DS moved onto duplo and lego at that age. Lego was a random box for free building, a few small 6+ sets at age 3 then proper sets from when he was 4.

DD absolutely loved this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Melissa-Doug-Pattern-Developmental-Double-Sided/dp/B0015XQ5TQ/ref=ascdff_B0015XQ5TQ/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=311044052101&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1918721919397422060&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007046&hvtargid=pla-384196059836&psc=1&mcid=0dfbbe20965b30e2a2db37e1ee4d876a&th=1&psc=1

I think she was slightly older though

Magnet tiles!

Thanks everyone! He has a big sister so a lot of things we already have - connetix, duplo, brio (the ikea one). I think he quite enjoys completing the jigsaw so those things are good but don't have a completedness about them.

Love love the look of the magnetic sorting thing. Might ask Santa for one myself