Connetix tiles have enchanted us! How we love to play!

Connetix tiles are a wonderful and versatile open-ended toy that will blow you away. At least they did for us! They are beautiful and clear and at the same time very strong. It’s fascinating to see how they captivate children’s attention, and they will invite them to play with them for hours and days. You can do so much with them! 

The magnetic tiles awaken their curiosity, engage their imagination, and help develop spatial awareness. They are great for flat designs and 3D building, and it involves a lot of problem-solving during playtime. I think it is brilliant for girls and boys of all ages and they can enjoy playing together. It’s one of the few toys that engage at the same time my 3-year-old son and my 6-year-old daughter. It is simply incredible. 

In this post:

• About Connetix
• Are Connetix tiles fun?
• What are Connetix tiles?
• Why did we choose Connetix?
• How do we play with our Connetix tiles?
• Where do we store our tiles?
• Connecting with other tiles
• Where to buy

*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself, and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you; when you buy through the links, we may earn a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks!

About Connetix

Connetix is an Australian-based company officially launched in 2019 by two families who met when their children started attending primary school together. They saw that their little ones enjoyed playing, and on top, they learned when playing with magnetic tiles. For this reason, they decided to create their own version that was strong and safe while offering clearer refractions than the tiles that existed in the market.

Brea & Dave are the two minds behind the business.

“Brea is an experienced primary school and Masters qualified early-childhood teacher and mother to three young children. Brea has a passion for learning through play and a love of open-ended quality toys that grow WITH your children! “

“Dave is a businessman with a strong financial and entrepreneurial background. After spending five years working in Engineering offices as a mechanical designer, Dave has extensive experience with manufacturing and shipping products. He understands what it takes to bring a quality product to market. Dave has two young children who enjoy playing with their Connetix wherever they go (yes, they take a travel pack out for dinner!).”

Are Connetix tiles fun?

Oh my! Yes! Without a doubt! My children have tons of fun with them – they can build whatever they imagine. Honestly, the only limit is their imagination (and the number of tiles you may have 😅)

You can build houses, animals, cars, garages, rockets, slides, and ball runs… the possibilities are endless. 

It is a fantastic toy to play with indoors, but you can also take them outside. We’ve taken some of the tiles on short trips or to the doctor’s office to have them entertained. It is also a fantastic toy to share with other children so they can play side by side (when they are smaller) or build things together as a team.

And what is fantastic about open-ended toys like these tiles is that they grow with your child. What they create will evolve as they grow and gain more skills. They will start with a small house when they are three, and by the age of six, they may have built tall buildings with windows and bridges. It is magical and something that children of all ages (adults included) can enjoy together. These toys are not just for children. You’ll be surprised to find out that there are many #adultswhoconnect.

What are Connetix tiles?

Connetix tiles are magnetic tiles made using non-toxic ABS plastic that is BPA, Lead, and Phthalate free. Each tile is sealed and riveted for extra safety, and its unique beveled design allows Connetix to be strong while creating beautiful refractions. In addition, the design makes the tiles not completely flat, which helps reduce scratches and make them as clear as possible.

The tiles are designed in Australia and manufactured in China. The company makes sure that all necessary testing and approvals required to sell them have been undertaken as they assure they take the safety of their products very seriously.

Why did we choose Connectix?

So we have had small sets of other magnetic tiles before, and they have always been a success at home. They had been surprising gifts from family and friends, and my children loved them from the first moment they arrived. But the size of the sets we had was tiny, and what they could do with them was very limited. So these are the two sets we had:

So after seeing how much they liked playing with them, I thought we should go bigger at home and buy a more extensive set that they could enjoy together and not fight over the only 2 “big squares” that we had. That’s why I started researching so Santa would bring us an enormous gift as a family: a mega set.

I had been seeing the Connetix tiles for some time on Instagram, and the pastel tiles were so beautiful and unique that they stole my heart. But I did do more research looking into other tile brands and sets. I knew I wanted strong magnets, a set with more than two big squares (to avoid squabbling), clear tiles to play with light, and easy delivery home to Spain. Connetix ticked all the boxes, and the pastel colors were the deciding factor. No one has tiles as beautiful as these. And I am so happy we went for the pastel range.

At a point, I had doubts if we should get the Rainbow color tiles, so they could match with the tiles we had at home, but in the end, I decided that the pastels were too beautiful to leave behind. We can combine the Connetix with the Magtiles we have, but we never do. There is color clashing 😅 if you know what I mean. 😉

I ordered them online on their website in November. There were talks of driver shortages and problems with delivery for the end of the year 2021. Because I could not find them in my usual online stores I did some research and discovered that they sold directly in Europe. It was a great decision. It got home in 3 days (faster than the five they had said), and it was lovely. We got the Pastel Mega Set (a gift from us to the family) and the Ball Run (a gift from my parents).

It was a Connetix full-on surprise with all those beautiful tiles and slides on Christmas day. 

How do we play with our Connetix tiles?

This open-ended toy is AMAZING. I know that having played with it for three months, we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential. But I wanted to share with you what we’ve done so far.

All the Connetix products come with an Inspiration book that is great to get ideas from.

Buildings & structures

Creating these were my children’s first instinct. They started making houses, towers, and castles. And then they started placing their favorite toys inside, from little dolls and cars to big plush dolls. So I guess it is safe to say it is their favorite way of playing with the tiles.

Patterns and flat designs

I love creating patterns and flat designs, and they enjoy it as well. Geometric patterns, flowers, characters, rockets, castles – you name it! You can create these on different surfaces for different effects. On the floor, on a magnetic wall (or fridge), on a light table, or against the window. They make for beautiful backgrounds for small world play.

Animals

Let’s create some 3D animals! These are so much fun, a bit more complicated – as you need to think about how to keep the structure solid so it can handle the weight of your creation. I’ve had mine fall apart many times before actually achieving it, there is a lot of problem-solving involved in the process, and I find it incredible. It’s challenging, achievable, and you just feel so good once your creation is a reality.

Transports

They are fantastic to build cards, trains, trucks, spaceships, rockets, planes – anything they can imagine they can create. The mega set came with two car bases which are great for this, but you can also purchase them separately. 

Small world play

Connetix tiles are fantastic to decorate your small world setups. Make a lake, a field, some trees, bushes, tiny houses, igloos, tents, train stations, garages—anything you can imagine to make that small world richer and much more colorful and fun.

Ball runs

Ball runs are so much fun with the tiles. The sound of the balls rolling down is just mesmerizing. We also have the ball run set, but you don’t need it to create ball runs. Instead of using the slides, develop levels using the tiles as ramps; you have to get creative, which is fun. You can also create a ring run to let coins and rings run down, also a lot of fun. Or have mini cars go down as well 😉

Ball maze

Creating a maze is another way of playing with balls and Connetix tiles. Instead of making them roll down different levels, you make them roll flat. I had this idea of creating the maze on a tray (If we had the Connetix big plates, I would have used those), and since the maze was quite heavy, I thought of placing it on a pillow. Because of it, the child can direct the ball without carrying all the weight, pressing on the corners to change the inclination. I love these!

Games

These are great resources to create games. You can create a tick-tack-toe, checkers board, snakes and ladders, a soccer field – there are so many games you can play or invent!

ABC & 123

The tiles are a fabulous resource to work with ABCs and 123. On the Connetix website, you can find some great free resources. For example, you have cards for numbers and real-size printables for A3 for numbers in color and black and white. They also have printables for letters, which is a fantastic way to get their attention and start identifying them. 

I can’t print in A3, so I haven’t tried those. But you can take a large piece of paper, lay out your design, trace around each tile, and then present the paper to your child, so they have to fill it in with the pieces. It’s like a gigantic puzzle that they can fill in with any color combination. Trace letters, their name, or objects and patterns they’ll love. Loads of fun! 

You can also write on the tiles with a chalk pen and have them order the letters to spell their name or words. Or write numbers and match with numbers of items. Honestly, the possibilities are endless.

Phone stand

Creating a phone stand has been helpful for me 😉 I’ve used the tiles to create frames to record myself making. They are a fantastic alternative when you don’t have your phone stand or tripod near 😂.

Where do we store our Connetix tiles?

When we first got them, we kept them in their original box. But after some weeks I decided to get a metallic cart from Ikea and it has been the best decision ever. They are always stored there and you can move them easily around the house. I keep the boxes in case I want to rotate the toys in the cart, but they have been there for 2 months straight and played with them almost daily, so the tiles are not going anywhere.

Connecting with other tiles

I’ve read that the tiles connect with many other brand tiles like Magnatiles and Picasso tiles. 

I’ve been able to try out with the Playmag tiles that we have at home, and they do connect, and you can combine them. Colors clash a bit because we have the Connetix pastels and the Playmags in Rainbow colors, but my children can ignore it if it means their structure can be bigger. 😂

So if you fear what you already have will be able to connect with these, they most likely will. 

Where to buy it?

Many retailers around the world will offer them in their shops. You can use their store locator here if you want to see and touch them before purchasing. You can also buy them on Amazon worldwide. I happened to buy them during the Christmas campaign when the tiles were out of stock in all the stores I usually bought from. But I did find them on the Connetix website, and we had a great experience. They came sooner than they had said, and everything was smooth. You can buy them here.

Since they were from Australia, I thought they would only deliver in the region, but actually, they have warehouses worldwide. So in this link, you have a list of the areas they ship to, where their warehouse in that area is located, and estimated delivery times. They deliver to:

• Australia
• Canada
• Europe
• Hong Kong, China, Korea, Japan
• Middle East
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• United Kingdom
• United States

So, if you are like me and wish to buy from their website you can get them here.

On the Connetix website you have the whole range of everything they have. The latest product launches are always first on the site. But if you need it faster with you, you can always buy on Amazon. There you will find the most bestselling and more loved sets.

Connetix tiles are a fabulous open-ended toy to grow with

We love open-ended toys at home. It was mostly me but the children are enjoying and playing with them more and more. Bringing open-ended toys to our playroom is one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Because of it, we get to see how creative they get during playtime and what they build by themselves. It’s fantastic

Connetix is one of those toys that just is great for everything. So I know it will be around for a long time as it complements any idea of play they are involved with. If they are playing with dolls, they build chairs and tables. When they are playing with cars, they build bridges and garages. If they are playing with trains, they build landscapes and stations. And if we want to create some ball runs, the slides are just phenomenal. Honestly, we’ve played a lot with them, and I highly recommend them.

So, if you are doubting buying some magnetic tiles for your children don’t doubt it. I am so happy we brought them into our lives and we haven’t regretted it once. And for us, the Connetix pastel range is just the most beautiful there is. We love it and I highly recommend it.

I hope the ideas I’ve shared here will help spark some ways to play with them. I plan on sharing more play ideas as we play more and more with them.

Happy playing!!

P.S. And if you’ve liked this open-ended toy, come check out some of our other favorites.