In the next lines we will talk about our experience with Geomag magnets, between buildings and so on. Is it a valid game? Read on to find out!
Those who, like us, were born in the 90s or before, will know well that brand of magnets which, if put together, allowed to build a myriad of compositions. No, we are not talking about the well-known plastic bricks, but rather about metal sticks and balls with magnetic properties.
Geomag it has in fact characterized part of our childhood led by curiosity and, therefore, by the desire to discover and design. When the Swiss company invited us to try their products, we didn’t think twice. And with an immediate heart sank and 4 packs of Geomag Pro-L from ours, we were ready to go back to the past to find out if, in 2021, a product like Geomag can make sense in the hands of a child or not.
Let’s discover the Geomag products
Assuming that many may not know the company, it seems only right to make a brief introduction.
Geomag started putting its “magnetic constructions” on the market in 1998. When I think of the brand, the model that was more popular than when I was a child comes to mind: Geomag Classic. The packages of the latter contained colored magnetic sticks to which the iconic ones went to magnetize spheres. Based on this memory, therefore, I thought that the Geomag catalog ended there, but I was wrong.
In addition to the myriad of colors (glittery and even glow-in-the-dark) to choose from, we can divide the Geomag catalog into 5 large categories. Let’s start with the Magicube: real magnetic cubes designed for children from 1 to 5 years. Immediately after we have the Classic (which we talked about earlier), which are recommended for children aged 3 and up. Disease is the name of the game which, using more rounded shapes, allows children to create particular animals.
Geomag Mechanics it is characterized by real mechanical elements that allow you to create structures that are able to move, further developing creativity. Pro-L finally, it is the product designed for the older age group (8+ years) and is nothing more than the evolution of the Geomag Classic. Unlike the latter, in fact, the components have much higher magnetic properties. This, also thanks to the plastic parts, allow to create more complex and solid structures.
What’s in the box?
Although there are 5 categories, they are available numerous packs with a variable number of pieces inside and, automatically, with different prices. Geomag has provided us with packs of 174 pieces each. Each of these does not include 174 magnets, but also plastic panels; more specifically: 26 magnetic bars, 20 spheres, 14 triangular panels, 12 square panels and 3 pentagonal panels.
The packages feature images of the New York Skyline recreated with magnets, as well as specifying the quantity of pieces included and the various wording of the case. Once opened, there is one busta (resealable) containing the plastic parts, while the magnets are contained in small polystyrene boxes.
The small windows, in addition to not all being of the same geometric shape, also vary in color. THE triangular panels I’m characterized by a blue, while i squares e i pentagon have a lighter shade, tending tolight blue. I sticks I am instead totally in silver color. The peculiarity of these bars compared to the “Classic” lies in the fact that these have a small dark mark, which highlights the polarity. This represents a strong help in the moment in which we will build since it will be easy to understand the direction in which to anchor one magnet to another.
In addition, in the package there is a small booklet that will show us some of the myriads of constructions that we will be able to set up thanks to the magnets.
Our experience with Geomag Pro-L
We wanted to start using these constructions just as a child would: omitting the appropriate instructions. Perhaps this is precisely the strong point of the game. Despite the small variety of pieces available, we assure you that the possible creations are very numerous. Starting to randomly connect the sticks with the spheres, we thus proceeded to create the first “palace” made essentially from stacked cubes. Then creating the second building, we thought of joining the two buildings with a subspecies of bridge and that’s it. It all makes sense thanks to the plastic parts. Not only these guarantee the creations to keep their shape, but they also have a really pleasant aesthetic result.
The fun then joins the artistic property that these works emanate once completed! Having made the first section of Skyline, we wanted to study slightly to create something more complex. True, perhaps the Ferris wheel and the sphere would never have come out if we hadn’t looked at an illustrative image, however this allows us to learn the basics of making original and even more structured creations. In addition to the booklet, in fact, on the Geomag YouTube channel there are a lot of tutorial dedicated not only to the Pro-L model, but to all categories of its products.
Once we put on these real architectural works in miniature, we realized how, in reality, these can represent excellent ornaments for interiors characterized by a modern design. Think for a second if your children made a structure with these magnets and saw that the same structure is then displayed on the furniture in the house to “reward” it for its originality.
To all this, there is one really not bad stability. We did not in the least expect that we could even lift the constructions once they were completed without doing any damage. The strength of these magnets is in fact such as to resist stress well.
Let’s sum it up
Let’s go back to the question we asked ourselves at the beginning: Is Geomag a valid product for the enjoyment of children and not? In our opinion, yes. This is because it is a really immediate game, which develops creativity and, if you like, can make children curious about science, physics and, why not, architecture. The only negative point is, in our opinion, the a bit high price at which the sets are sold.
With a pack of 174 pieces, the feasible constructions will not be very many and, in our opinion, to fully enjoy them you need to have 2 or even 3. However, each of these has a price of about € 80.00 at the time of writing this. analyses.
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