Fiddlestix in Canister, 144 Pieces

Just like the tinker toys I had as a kid. Some parts are a very tight fit and require effort to put together but my 3 year old loves it and plays every day with it. Very sturdy sticks.

I bought this toy for my 4 year old grandson because I thought it was just like a tinker toy set from my own childhood. The canister arrived open in the mailing box with some pieces scattered loosely out of the canister. I put the pieces in the canister, which had a slightly damaged top. Nevertheless the child loved the toy. However, he is still a bit too young to build anything with out adult help. He loved playing with the sticks as "bad guys and good guys."The toy is different than the old tinker toy. The pieces are larger. The sticks are not as strong. When I tried to force a stick into the tight center hole of a round piece it broke.My grandson enjoys it now and the toy will grow with him as his abilities increase.

Very high quality item. Larger and much more durable than the Tinker Toys I had as a child. I purchased this for my grandson for Christmas and he and I have really enjoyed putting together the structures that are on the build sheet that came with the set plus we have built some of our own ideas. I think it is a very good educational toy..................

I have a very old set of fiddlestix from 20 years ago that seems to be made of a much sturdier material. This material is extremely light weight and probably composite. The hole sizes vary a bit so some pieces fit too tightly ( as in you can't connect them without breaking them) and then a few are too loose. Most are very tight. Kids would find it difficult to stick some pieces together. Also, the flag pieces will break the sticks sometimes when you try to put them together. I think there is a problem with the sizing. The pieces just don't seem to have ever been tested with each other to see if the fit. Out of the box I'd say 70% of the pieces are usable as long as you are strong and care as to how you put them together. Also, the more they are used the better they fit together with the exception of the flags. If you try to put a flag into a stick that has been used a lot, the flag will break. I was disappointed they weren't of the same quality as my other set but I guess they work.

I ordered this product for my 4 year old son for his birthday. He played with it only under direct supervision by myself or my wife. Within a week 12 of the connecting sticks had broken. I broke 3 of them myself while using them very carefully. The ends of the sticks have an end-cut to allow for the stick to squeeze into receiving holes of connector pieces, and to allow for the thin, hard plastic triangle shaped pieces to slide into. This is a weak spot that breaks easily. A few of the apparently solid connector pieces have even started to break. I am amazed that this product is even on the market. Now I know why this product is the least expensive among similar products. We now have this 'birthday present' up on a shelf in hopes that I'll be able to return the remainder to amazon for credit toward a similar product that I can trust to last.I will say that the premise behind this toy is a lot of fun, my son suprised me with how easily he 'invented' different items from the toy such as a vacuum sweeper, swingset, bridge, lawn mower, etc.

We bought this to supplement our “vintage” fiddlestix. They don’t make them like they used to :-/ each time we got them out a stick would break with typical play/building. Also, they are not compatible with older versions. Sizes are a little different making compatibility an issue.Wonderful concept for toys- maybe we had a bad batch. My kids do love fiddlestix, we just had an issue with the quality of these.

Just as good as the name brand I remember as a kid. These are bright and fun, my nephews have loved them and they don't know (or care ) its not the nostalgic brand. These are pretty heavy duty for little wooden dowels and have even stood up to the test of clumsy adults stampeding all over them. Bottom line, unless you just need the throwback container, you don;t need to spend the extra money on the ones you had as a kid. These are just as good.

My rambunctious 4 yo son received this for his birthday. He loves building new things every day. We help him build the more difficult ones, though. This is one toy that has great repeat value and will grow with him. In terms of durability, we've had two pieces break in the last two weeks. I've been able to fix both pieces with some strong wood glue.