In trying to reclaim floor space in our son’s bedroom, we bought this colorful cube composed of four stackable trays and a lid. Three of the trays have open grids of differing sizes, and together, they function as a phenomenal pickup, sorting (by size) and storage solution for Lego bricks. You just scoop the bricks up (our son has a dustpan that’s dedicated just for Lego duty), dump them into the top tray and shake away. The smallest bricks sift down to the bottom level; each higher tray retains slightly larger bricks. At this point you can either further sort each tray by color and dump them into storage bins or just put on the lid. The cube itself is 10¼” on a side and purports to hold approximately 1500-1700 Lego bricks.

BOX4BLOX has been instrumental for well over a year now in keeping our son’s collection of several thousand Lego bricks in some semblance of order and reasonably clear of his bedroom floor. So we sent one to our nephew for Christmas last year. In my son’s eyes, as well as mine, BOX4BLOX really is a transformative tool— one that elevates a dreary task into something that’s actually fun to do (and done well).

The passionate gamers on BoardGameGeek.com (BGG) devote a lot of time and effort to create comprehensive content and reviews on practically every game that is out there, including out-of-print and small, self-published games. They not only rate the games, but write up rule clarifications, post in-depth game analyses, suggest variants for better gameplay, and even translate rules into other languages. The site features a marketplace where you can buy, sell and trade games with other gamers, forums where you can ask questions, create lists, and tons of other functionality. Of course, the real value of such a large, informed and well-established community is the wisdom of crowds effect you get from their collective opinions. As I write, the #1 game on BGG [Puerto Rico] has 11956 votes compared with 7 votes for the #1 game on the previously-reviewed Board Game Ratings (BGR) [Password]. And since BGG isn’t a retailer (unlike BGR), they have a comprehensive database of *all* games, not just those the store happens to carry.

I probably visit BGG one to two times a month, mostly to browse for new games that might be good (In the past year, I’ve picked up Pandemic, Roll Through the Ages, Caylus, Agricola, Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, Galaxy Trucker, and Ticket to Ride: Märklin.). Also, I sometimes hear about a game through a friend or some other channel, and I’ll go to the site to find out more. Since it’s heavily crowdsourced, and there is such a large, passionate community, I’ve discovered that even the most obscure games will have details like pictures, descriptions, type, and of course ratings. It’s also a great resource when you’re playing a game and need rules clarifications, rule variant suggestions, expansions, etc.

If you are considering buying a game, you owe it to yourself to check out BGG. Granted, the list of top-rated games tends to lean a bit more toward the serious-gamer crowd. But you can use the advanced search feature to look for “light” games with high average ratings, and then sort the results by Bayesian ranking. You’d even do OK just by picking games of the “Hotness” list in the left column.

– Dave Cortright

Board Game Geek

BONUS: For purchasing said games, FunAgain.com is the current consensus among my gamer friends on the best place to buy from, though I’ve also used Fair Play Games with great success. — Dave Cortright

My latest cool toy is the NeoCube, a 6x6x6 cube of 216 small neodymium-iron-boron magnetic spheres which can be arranged into an amazing assortment of geometrical and non-geometrical shapes. You can create various polyhedra, even Buckyballs, and all kinds of familiar shapes, too. It’s basically a 3D tangram on steroids. As fascinating as it is addictive. It is mesmerizing to rearrange the spheres. I carry mine in my pocket and will often spend around 45 minutes at a time just playing with it — at home listening to NPR or in the car waiting for my wife. A supreme time-waster!

Warning: arranging the spheres into a cube is not as easy as it seems in the first video below. That is your first challenge.

It’s not cheap, but if you try to buy the magnets yourself, it will cost much more.

NOTE: I made a Buckyball as per these instructions (scroll down). First you make pentagons and stick them together. It’s really amazing how they just snap into place as if they had a mind of their own. Then I made a compound version shown here. I added a ball to the center of every pentagon and then used the remaining balls as a chain. The magnets are so powerful, the chain easily holds the weight of the entire ball, even as the ball rotates!

The recycling, reuse and reppropriation of common household goods, trash and miscellany into functional and/or amusing items is something Cool Tools readers know well. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of tinkerers, whether you have children or not, it’s near impossible to visit Arvind Gupta’s Toys From Trash without wanting to attempt at least one of his many projects.

His web site boasts a fantastic range of educational experiments like how to fashion a potato battery and a bottle barometer, as well as a section called “Pumps from the Dump” which includes a stellar-looking Syringe Pump. Granted there’s an array of light experiments akin to the ones you’ll find in the previously-reviewed Science Toys You Can Make With Your Kids. But in addition to the nerdy, educational stuff, Gupta’s site features quick and easy one-offs that aren’t the least bit science-y, like how to fold six types of newspaper hat.

I first perused Toys From Trash a couple years ago, but found myself diving back in recently after a friend reminded me just how much cool stuff Gupta’s published. Many of us already tinker, create, deconstruct and build stuff back up for fun, work, education, etc. — or at the very least we’re partial to blogs and publications which show us what’s possible. I’m guessing one of the biproducts of the economic downturn in the U.S. will be an increase in DIY and, therefore, even more kids raised on transforming what could be discarded into treasures.

– Steven Leckart

Toys From Trash

Paddlboarding is a great way to stay in shape for surfing, to explore the coast, to watch birds, and to cruise around in almost any body of water. Paddleboards, like surfboards, snowboards, skateboards and other devices used for moving through space, have evolved greatly in recent years. For years, Eaton paddleboards were the primary manufacturers of quality racing boards. Lately, Joe Bark has been turning out beautiful stock and custom boards. This summer I bought a slightly used Joe Bark 12′ “Surftek” paddleboard in L.A. for $1,000 (“Surftek” is the nickname for lightweight surfboards/paddleboards built with Styrofoam and epoxy resin, rather than the more standard polyurethane foam and polyester resin). The board is feather light (22 lbs.) and lets me skim through the water like a water skeeter. Boards run from 12-19′ or so. The 12-footers are the most popular partly because they are the easiest to transport and store. The longer boards are slightly faster in races (there are over 70 races a year in Southern California), but more cumbersome to deal with on land.

– Lloyd Kahn

12′ Surftech Bark Board
$1380
Available from The Frog House

A full range of boards, including standup* boards, available from BARK

This is the board I’d get if I were to buy a new one — LK

*NOTE: There is also stand up paddleboarding (SUP), where you use a physical paddle to propel and steer your way through surf and to catch waves. Giant, heavy surfboards, those have a completely different design. The ones I review above are lie-down (or kneeling) boards, which you *cannot* stand on and are not intended for wave riding (though you can catch small waves). — LK

Or in other words, how to have good clean fun. Directions for about 25 well-proven games for groups are succinctly supplied by this free PDF book. These games originated in church youth groups, but I’ve seen them used at camps, large family gatherings, company retreats, and even a few tech meetings. They are aimed at building community, and are primarily ones that can be run indoors. I’ve played a number of these games as an adult over the years and they really are deep fun. It is amazing how fast you can unleash your inner kindergartner. Some of this group fun, like Silent Football, have been around since ancient youth camp times. I wish more folks would enliven their stuffy meetings and offsites with a few of these games.

– KK

Deep Fun
Free from UUA

Sample excerpts:

To make this book more user-friendly for youth and advisors, we decided to organize the games into five chapters, loosely based on Denny Rydberg’s “Five Steps to Building Community.” Introducing new games to your youth group or conference will work best if your timing is right–if you choose games that fit the level of community already attained and nudge the group on to the next level.

Hog Call
Parameters: 15 to 60 people
Have the group split up into pairs and come up with a matching set of words or sounds (i.e. “hic-cup,” “peanut-butter,” or “honey-bee”). Have each person choose one of the words as their own. Then have each person announce their word to the group, so that there are no repeats. Then instruct the group to close their eyes and start milling around the space with the goal of getting as far away from their partner as possible. Once the pairs are well-separated, announce that they are to find their partners without opening their eyes, by shouting their word. (If all goes well, Peanut will meet up with Butter).

Angel Wash Variations
Parameters: 15 to 60 people
(Remember anyone can opt out if they don’t feel comfortable.)
Form two lines facing each other. Have one person from the end of the line (or two people holding hands) close their eyes and place their arms crossed on their chest. Direct them to proceed down the aisle of the double line with their eyes closed. As they pass, each person washes their aura with their hands, passing their fingers and hands lightly over their body, from the crown of their head to the ground, without actually touching them. If the person should stray, the people in the lines can gently direct them back on course. When they reach the end, their friends can communicate to them, with touch, that its time to open their eyes. Continue until everyone has had a chance.

Downhill skating is like surfing; carving back and forth on long downhills. Note: you guys who skated as kids and have quit. The technology is way advanced these days. Decks, trucks, wheels, designs. It’s a different skating world. If you’ve ever skated, you’ve got the motor skills (due to “muscle memory”), and you’ll be surprised at how much fun you can have skating downhill with today’s boards. Here are three unique skateboards meant for downhill, as opposed to acrobatic street and ramp skating.

– Lloyd Kahn

Loaded Carving Systems

This is my board of choice, after maybe 20 boards. The decks are made of 1/2 cm strips of vertically laminated bamboo (with the grain running truck to truck,) sandwiched between layers of fiberglass. The decks are convex (from end to end) and you can pump to accelerate, gaining speed from the flex of the deck and rebound from the truck bushings and wheels. They produce a graceful and flowing ride. I’ve got a Dervish model with Orangatang wheels. Check out the film clips on their website.

Dervish complete board w/wheels
$328
Available from Loaded Boards

Carveboard

This is a whole other animal. Surfers love them. They’re heavy, have adjustable air pneumatic tires, and the deck tilts off springs so you can carve insanely tight angles. I use one with tires deflated to about 10 lbs. pressure to be able to skate a steep local hill that I can’t handle on any other board.

43″ Carveboard
$359
Available from Carve USA

Landyachtz Evo 2008

From British Columbia, land of heavy-duty mountain bike riders and downhill skaters, come these downhill racing boards. The drop-down decks give you a lower center of gravity and great stability at high speeds. Being closer to the ground makes it easier for skaters to get a padded glove on the ground for sliding (to slow down).

Evo 2008 w/Gumball wheels
$252
Available from Landyachtz

Safety Gear

Loaded sliding gloves
$56
Best ones available. When you fall face down, these save the skin on the palm of your hand. They are also used for sliding.

TSG Force 2 knee pads
$58
Top of the line; you can put these on over long pants.

NOTE: top image via the Northern California Downhill Skateboarding Association –sl

The VibraSpin fuses together two concepts that are very popular in fishing: the standard spinning lure, which uses a rotating blade to create a visible flash in the water, and the newer principle of using a flat blade that pushes the water as it is pulled forward. Fish, more specifically predators such as bass, muskie, pikes and walleye hunt by not only sight, but all their senses. Sight hunting is covered by the flash of the spinning willow blade as well as the back and forth of the “vibrashock” blade and the various colors available. Sounds and actual vibration are added by the spinning blade, and even more so by the swim blade. The flat blade imparts a thumping or vibration on the lure that has to be felt to be believed. Since I started using a prototype of these last spring, I have caught more fish than I used to with the standard spinning lure.

– Doug Mainor

VibraSpin Fishing Lure
$7
(various colors)
Available from the manufacturer, KaRu Lures

[Click here and scroll down to see a video of the lure underwater -- sl]

Related items previously reviewed on Cool Tools:

Wiggle Rig

The Curtis Creek Manifesto

Hookout

We’ve been playing this word-based card game for the last three years and it continues to be an enlightening ice breaker. There are two types of cards: nouns (red) and adjectives (green). Each player is given a small stack of nouns. The game begins when one player (the judge) draws an adjective. Each player then anonymously lays down one noun he/she believes the judge will associate with the adjective. Players can try to sway the decision, but ultimately, the judge’s power is absolute. Some people are inherently literal, sarcastic, wishy-washy, optimistic, stubborn or dryly humorous. The challenge lies in figuring out what type(s) of judges surround you and what kind of judge you want to be. Discovering who’s on the same wave length is always interesting. What’s more “magical” — a sunset, Thomas Edison, the Pyramids, surfing the net, or Barney the dinosaur? Subjectivity rules!

—- Steven Leckart

Apples to Apples
$25
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Out of the Box

Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:

Tangoes

All-Star Games

Set

I love bass fishing, but often I am frustrated because I can’t get the action I want on plastic worms and lures. Wiggle Rig gets the most outstanding lifelike wiggle on a lure that I have ever seen. It was designed as a dropshot rig with a twist. Below your hook and attached to the weight is a special elastic made with spectra fiber (making it much stronger than general elastic). Move your rod tip and the action of the “SpecTastic” (the green-blue strip below the lure in the photo above) creates a stretch and release motion that allows your bait to move much more fluidly and with a greater range of action than just fishing line would. Plastics become almost lifelike. After viewing the videos, I just had to give them a try. I will never fish without one again.

– Doug Mainor

Wiggle Rig
$3+
(depends on kit + shipping)
Available from and manufactured by SpecTastic Tackle Company