Is there a ‘proper’ brand of magnetic tiles?

[MrsFionaCharming]

There’s so many to choose from on Amazon, and I don’t want to risk buying something dodgy the magnets might fall out of!

Magnatiles, Picasso tiles, Connetix are the main ones and tend to be more expensive

Magnatiles, Playmags, Connetix I think are the main 3.

Magnatiles and Connetix. Don't be tempted by the cheaper ones. The proper ones are amazing and probably one of the best toys we've had in terms of amount of use. The more you have the better, so get family to chip in too!

Even if you’re going to shop on Amazon, it’s worth checking which brands high street shops sell as a sense check.

Make sure the brand use advanced ultrasonic welding process to secure their tiles. The first set I bought for my daughter very expensive from a major brand and the tiles were screwed with tiny screws. After some time some screws got loose and magnets from the tiles fell. Since then I did some research and got another much cheaper set of tiles from smaller brand on Amazon and they are good solid quality

Magformers are the original I think? They’re very robust.

Magnatiles. You need loads! Christmas present when DD was 3 - she’s nearly 7 now and we played with them all morning today.

This is all really helpful, thank you!

Anything you buy from an actual shop - Argos, John Lewis, Smyths, The Entertainer etc etc - will be safety tested.

Actual magnatiles are the best in my opinion. We’ve had years of play out of ours with very excitable boys and they’ve stood the test of time! They are a bit pricier but 0100% worth it

Magformers were the original ones from memory, we have some that are around 13 years old 😅

We have Playmags and I would definitely recommend them - strong, durable and a good range of shapes (including a set that you can make a dome with). We also got a load of Magna-Qubix, which are made by the Magnatiles company and are 3D magnetic shapes, but they don't seem to be sold in many places. Finally, we bought lots of figures with magnets on the soles of the feet, which the DC could use to populate the buildings and vehicles they built - that's a fun extra.