Desire Deluxe magnet tiles reviewed: Magna Tiles counterfeit
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Should you buy the original Magformers or can you just get the cheap Desire Deluxe magnet tiles? Is cheap really really bad? I've found it's not.
The Desire Deluxe tiles are fun to build with younger children, the tiles are a bit larger and more robust to grip, which makes stacking into a building or castle a bit easier.
It's clear that Desire Deluxe is more focused on making figures and buildings, and Magformers more on educational geometric shapes, you can even see it from the examples in the booklets.
- Sturdy and safe
- Made for building houses and castles
- Colors are not as bright as advertised
- Scratches fast
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From: 3 years
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Best: 3 – 5 years
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Up to: 7 years
- Material: Plastic, ABS
- Theme: Building and construction, Blocks
- Play Mode: Solo
- Price at time of writing: €32,99 – $29,99
- Durability: None
- Learning objective: STEM/ STEAM, Architecture
- Storage: Compact
- Safety Components: Non-toxic material
- Playing Time: Longer (10 – 30 min)
- Gender inclusivity: Gender neutral
Let's discuss the specs first:
From toddler to toddler activity book collection
Educational games and coloring pages for 3 to 6 years
Your toddler and preschooler will love this e-book, along with the accompanying printables. He or she can play with it at every stage of development, together with mom and dad.
Buy at Bol.comWhat we discuss in this comprehensive post:
Specifications
- BPA free plastic
- Square 20 pcs
- equilateral triangle 12 pcs
- right triangle 2 pcs
- sharp angular triangle 4 pcs
- four windows 2 pcs
- rectangle 4 pcs
- window empty 4 pcs
- large square base 2 pcs
- click frame 4 pcs
- wheelbase 1 pc
What are the Desire Deluxe magnet tiles?
With the Desire Deluxe tiles you can more easily build larger structures, even with younger children.
Desire Deluxe costs €0,53 per tile and Magformers €1,29 per tile (counted in a comparable set of around 45 tiles). So that makes a lot of difference.
However, not everything is perfect about the Desire Deluxe tiles and here's why sometimes spending a little more is better:
- The colors are in reality not nearly as bright as in the picture
- They scratch very quickly which makes them look gritty pretty soon after buying them.
- Magformers has a handy system where the magnets on the inside of the tiles can rotate and thus never repel each other, cheap tiles like Desire Deluxe don't have this and some tiles repel others, which can sometimes be frustrating
- Desire Deluxe's box states that it could be a choking hazard for young children. They are not small tiles, so I assume that they can break quickly so that the loose magnets can be swallowed, for example, but I have not yet succeeded
And I tried!
Desire Deluxe is another brand that appeared on the market after magnetic tiles had proven their success.
A cheap copy of other brands with no attempt to distinguish itself.
That doesn't mean they aren't a lot of fun! Your child can have hours of fun playing with these tiles.
Just like the PicassoTiles, they fit on the same type of tiles as Magna Tiles. They also scratch just as quickly and are not very brightly colored.
Building and constructing with magnet tiles requires problem-solving thinking and engineering skills. Children should think about how to connect the tiles correctly to create sturdy structures. This stimulates their spatial skills and improves their ability to plan and build and gives it a high educational value.
Desire Deluxe are a cheaper variant of Magna Tiles (the original magnetic tiles) with a very good price-quality ratio and fit on any of these types of magnetic tiles. In addition, it is also great to combine with almost any kind of game, because you can make all kinds of things with it. From houses for animals or dolls to robots to beat. This gives it tremendous replayability.
These types of tiles may look a bit cheap, but they are safe. I tried to break the case by throwing it and hitting it with a rock, but the magnets wouldn't come out. The toy score could have been slightly higher if the material used and the lifespan had been slightly higher, but in the end this only has a small impact on the fun.
I suspect they come from the same factory with just a different brand put on it.
The play value is also very high, especially due to the open-ended game where children can use their imagination. In addition, a large set like this gives the opportunity to build together and seek social interaction.
The different shapes and house-like tiles that you get are a nice addition. That makes the tiles slightly more expensive than PicassoTiles, but perhaps also a bit more fun.
Of course you can also combine it perfectly with other types of building toys such as Lego, Duplo and other building blocks.
Best price quality ratio
The different shapes and house-like tiles that you get are a nice addition. That makes the tiles slightly more expensive than PicassoTiles, but perhaps also a bit more fun.
Desire Deluxe alternatives
Magformers Basic Set
Best overall magnetic tiles
Toddlers love to discover what you can do with it while playing, but also at a later age there are much more difficult things to build.
If you are educationally magnetic toys want, then go for the Magformers Basic Set (reviewed here). If you just want to build a nice building and you have a small budget, it is also fine to opt for Desire Deluxe.
Smartmax Start Try Me
Best magnetic rods to build with
Clicking these together is a lot easier than the tiles from Magformers. This makes the toy really suitable from 1 year old as SmartMax says.
Where Desire Deluxe magnet tiles are, the Starter Set from Smartmax (reviewed here) a system of magnetic rods and balls.
Quite a challenge to experience beautiful buildings. They are slightly more suitable for younger children than the Desire Deluxe magnetic tiles.
Beyond that, it's mostly a matter of personal preference.
Desire Deluxe is more for making structures like houses and castles. Smartmax is more for making figures and geometric shapes, but for children from 3 years old.
Conclusion
Desire Deluxe are actually very good tiles for a low price. There are better quality ones out there, but these budget versions build just as well.
Also read: these are the 8 best magnetic tiles reviewed
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.
