Magnetic blocks are the future. I’ve said it time and time again. Enabling gravity-defying block play — wooden magnetic blocks and tiles open up open-ended play to the third dimension.
Like Magna tiles but more eco-friendly — 2021 is all about magnetic building blocks!
The magnets inside the blocks and tiles allow your child to test the limits of gravity — a unique experience that challenges a 2 to 6 year old’s fine motor skills, spatial problem-solving, and creative limits.
But with the world’s most popular magnetic blocks and tiles all made of plastic — I took it upon myself to find non-plastic alternatives.
For you eco-futurists out there — I’ve curated the best magnetic blocks made of wood and other eco-friendly materials.
Mother Earth is smiling somewhere out there!
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“Start Stacking Now” — Your Top 8 Magnetic Blocks Eco Toy Quicklist
Busy parents look to magnetic blocks for convenience on the go. So, let me save you some time.
Here’s your one-way ticket to the best wooden magnetic building blocks for ages 0 to 6 years.
- (01) Tegu Classics “The Original” Magnetic Wooden Blocks (1+ Year)
- (02) Tegu Pocket Pouch Magnetic Travel Block Set For Toddlers (2-4 Years)
- (03) Tegu Travel Pals Wooden Magnetic Baby Blocks (0-12 Months)
- (04) Big Future Toys Magnetic Wooden Blocks for Kids | Earthtiles – Wooden Magnetic Tiles
- (05) Magz Magnetic Wooden Bricks (Colorful Stacking Tower With Magnets)
- (06) Woodpecker For Kids Wooden Magnet Alphabet (Refrigerator Letter Blocks)
- (07) MindWare “Imagination Patterns” Magnetic Wooden Pattern Blocks (Magnet Shapes Play)
- (08) Melissa & Doug Wooden Picture Block Magnet Matching Game
We may have gone a little Tegu-crazy — but we gave the other types of magnetic wooden blocks a fair shot. Check out our complete tegu blocks and toys review — if you love Tegu as much as we do!
Even with magical magnets, those blocks won’t stack themselves. They need your child’s magic touch!
Wooden vs Plastic Magnetic Blocks — Which is right for you?
Plastic Magnetic Blocks vs Wooden Magnetic Blocks — Here’s your 30-second summary. Get to know the basics, and decide which is right for your family.
Plastic magnetic tiles are best for large-scale structures — but quality plastic magnetic blocks don’t exist.
To my knowledge, only one brand offers wooden magnetic tiles — but there are several top-quality wooden magnetic blocks highly recommended for children of all ages.
Both plastic and wooden magnetic blocks have distinct strengths — and each has a handful of toy brands who champion the space.
Kids Magnetic Building Tiles — Big brands you can’t ignore
In the world of magnetic tiles — Brands like Magna tiles and Picasso tiles reign supreme as the year’s most ultra-popular magnetic tiles and building blocks.
In the world of magnetic blocks — Brands like PlayMags and MagBlock say they are blocks, but actually are tiles that form blocks.
Like I said, for classic block-on-block stacking — magnetic wooden cube blocks are far superior to magnetic plastic cube blocks.
Fast forward to the future — Blockaroo brand’s foam magnetic builders are a breath of fresh air. And I’m thinking about buying a set of Pixio blocks for my Dad who’s well into retirement. Blocks keep the gears turning for both kids and seniors — I think!
We turn our attention to the best wooden magnetic building blocks for your toddler — fit to be squared!
Both magnetically futuristic and made from natural materials — wooden magnetic blocks make a great alternative for families who care about sustainability just as much as playability.
(01) Tegu Classics “The Original” Magnetic Wooden Blocks (1+ Year)
The blocks that started the future of building blocks — Tegu’s classic magnetic blocks enable boundless play for ages 1 to 99.
Ideal for a wide age range from 1 to 99 years — Tegu’s classics are what popularized magnets inside blocks from the start.
Like never before seen — the magnets are 100% embedded underneath the natural wood surface. To the naked eye, the blocks appear 100% solid and intact.
How could they possibly have gotten those magnets inside those blocks? I’m as curious as a canary!
For a family-sized magnet block set — the 14, 24, or 42 piece magnetic block sets are the best sizes to consider. They’re available in over a dozen different natural color schemes, so you’re bound to find the colors and tones to match your mood.
As a complete set — each magnetic builder piece comes in a different 3D shape — planks of different lengths, perfect cubes, long columns, and funky parallelograms, and more!
Classroom and childcare professionals may consider larger sets with 90 or 240 pieces. And don’t forget you can pick up a booster pack set of Tegu magnetic block wheels to transform the wooden blocks into a working magnetic toy car.
Here’s a Tegu-shopper’s pro-tip — you can buy Tegu wheels separately to add an extra 4 to 8 wheels onto your block-creation. I just can’t emphasize enough just how much added push-and-pull versatility you get with an extra set of wheels.
(02) Tegu Pocket Pouch Magnetic Travel Block Set For Toddlers (2-4 Years)
Road trip and terminal wait room ready — Tegu brand’s on-the-go magnetic travel blocks come with a perfect-fit charcoal-colored cloth pouch for easy transport.
Meet Tegu brand’s ultimate magnetic travel building blocks pack for babies, toddlers, kids, and curious adults.
The perfect fit-pouch means easy-carrying while out and about. Queuing up to get on a plane or waiting in the backseat for the next rest station — just got a little more creative.
“Prism-style” versus “cube-style” magnet block play — which do you prefer? Tegu’s jet-set blocks are available in 6-piece prism sets with triangles and parallelograms — or 8-piece right-angle sets with cubes and rectangles.
Magnets from both sets are cross-compatible — so a “Prism Set” for one and a “Cube Set” for the other would make quite an interesting geometric combination!
Toddlers ages 2 to 4 years will benefit most from these blocks. Both styles are baby-safe for 1 year and up — but square-style blocks are easier for early-years builders to stack structures up with. Plus, we’ll look at Tegu’s baby magnet blocks next — specifically tailored to 0-18 month babies’ safety, learning, and play.
(03) Tegu Travel Pals Wooden Magnetic Baby Blocks (0-12 Months)
With just 6 chunky pieces and a strong magnetic pull — these baby-sized building blocks are easy to take on-the-go — for creative block play wherever you are!
Before becoming parents, none of us guessed how much time we’d spend out-and-about with our kids — and this 6-piece baby magnet blockset is the perfect easy-to-carry starter set.
Each set pieces together into little pet or vehicle shapes — like an airplane, tugboat, or space rocket — and animal sets — like a hummingbird, kitty cat, or whale.
If you think 6-pieces is not enough — you’ve got to see just how versatile these triangle plus trapezoid blocks are. The creative minds down at Tegu offer instructions for 49 identifiable animals and structures.
Get a set of Tegu travel blocks in your youngster’s hands — they’ll invent 49 more!
The number 6 starts to sound sweeter than ever when you think about keeping track of a blockset while you’re on the move. For babies and young toddlers in the car seat — there’s no better seat to bring with you on the road.
Age-appropriate from day one — It’s the best first magnetic blockset for your newborn.
With magnets expertly hidden inside the blocks for a completely smooth-to-touch wooden surface. You and your child will learn to love that signature Tegu “click and clack” sound when two magnetized pieces snap together.
Behold your baby’s perfect travel companion block set — easy carry-on, easy stow-away.
(04) Big Future Toys Magnetic Wooden Blocks for Kids | Earthtiles – Wooden Magnetic Tiles
Earthtiles is the world’s first wooden magnetic tile set — an eco-alternative to Magna tiles for ages 3 and up.
Big Future Toys’ magnetic tiles exemplify the difference between magnetic tiles versus magnetic blocks.
Magnetic tiles are flat — usually square or triangle in shape. Magnets are located around the perimeter.
Magnetic blocks are cubic — in all kinds of shapes, usually cubes, planks, columns, and triangles. Quality magnetic building blocks embed the magnet inside the toys — leaving the surface intact.
Magnetic tiles and blocks are capable of building 2D and 3D structures. No problems here!
For a non-plastic magnetic tile set — Big Future Toys brand’s eco-friendly Earthtiles are the ideal alternative to popular brands like Magna tiles and Picasso tiles.
The Big Future Toys company got their start on Kickstarter, and have since been listed to the wider public on Amazon.
It’s an almost apples-to-apples comparison. Out-of-box, Earthtiles includes 32 magnetic wooden tile pieces. Near-identical to popular brands — the set includes both square tiles and triangular tiles.
By alternating between square and triangle — you achieve another dimension in terms of the structures you can build.
Try piecing together a complete spherical soccer ball. Or a magnificent towering cathedral. ¡Olé!
(05) Magz Magnetic Wooden Bricks (Colorful Stacking Tower With Magnets)
For people who like wooden blocks first — here’s a tangy rainbow-colored magnetic wooden building set — like Jenga with magnets inside.
To the untrained eye — they look like colorful Jenga blocks. But once you see the magnets — stay attached against the laws of physics — you’ll see it’s like polar opposites!
Magz brand started from timeless wooden building block principles — adding the magnetic element to increase the stability of the castles and towers your child builds.
For parents with a “Building Blocks First” attitude — these didn’t anchor and adjust from the likes of Magna tiles. They remixed the Jenga stacking tower by adding physics-fun-friendly magnets inside each block.
Like magnetic Jenga blocks with pieces both long (≈4” inches) and short (≈2.5” inches) — plus column pieces (≈1 inch) for extra magnetic support.
(06) “Woodpecker For Kids” Wooden Magnet Alphabet (Refrigerator Letter Blocks)
For letters A to Z and numbers 0 to 9 — here’s a kid-friendly educational refrigerator magnet set to learn the ABCs and 123s.
Child-friendly magnets for each letter in the alphabet? It’s the kind of toy that switches on a young learner’s lightbulb.
When made with chunky natural alder wood, finished with a linseed polish, and securely embedded with neodymium magnets — It’s an eco-friendly magnetic alphabet block set that fits right on your refrigerator.
That’s called “Creating an At-Home Learning Environment” — with reading, writing, and spelling set in your day-to-day kitchen environment — your child will more naturally absorb the educational perks.
The self-proclaimed “Montessori Wooden Letter Magnets” — they’re targeted at homeschoolers and other small childcare facilities.
Teach your child to learn the alphabet. Or teach them basic counting and math. “Woodpecker For Kids” brand offers wooden number magnets for 0 to 9.
It’s not as “on-the-go” ready as other sets we’ve looked at — but it’s handmade, educational, all-natural, and comes in a handy bag to keep track of all your letter magnets.
(07) MindWare “Imagination Patterns” Magnetic Wooden Pattern Blocks (Magnet Shapes Play)
Magnetic pattern blocks may be less popular — but like a magnetic wooden Tetris puzzle, they combine artistic creativity with logical problem-solving.
As a lesser-known creative magnetic pattern set for kids 4 years and up — it includes 42 brightly-colored wooden magnetic blocks.
The briefcase board offers a fully magnetic surface area where your kid can arrange the pieces. It folds to easily store away all 42 magnetic picture blocks for easy transportability.
Each piece offers a unique Tetris-style shape to be arranged into a pattern — and each piece has brightly colored patterns too. So it’s “Patterns on Patterns on Patterns” in this wooden magnetic playset.
Not to mention — the magnetic learning surface doubles as a dry erase board for added color to your child’s geometric pattern creations.
If you’re shopping for a toddler age 3+ years — Melissa & Doug brand offers a kid-friendly wooden magnetic pattern blocks 120-piece set that’s highly rated and budget-friendly.
(08) Melissa & Doug Wooden Picture Block Magnet Matching Game
Great for object & color recognition — this set includes playful scenes for your toddler to recreate using 119 cartoon-style magnetic wooden picture blocks.
Like the pattern blocks we just looked at — this set comes with over 4 double-sided suggestion picture cards. That means a fully detailed schene that your kids can use the magnetic wooden picture pieces to recreate.
The picture pieces are like flat wooden blocks — painted in a cartoony object on one side, and with a sheet magnet on the back.
Interacting with familiar school buses, street crossings, playgrounds, and more — your kid will get practice naming things they see in the world around them.
To be fully transparent — it’s not as natural as other sets we’ve looked at. At just 60% wood materials with 15% plastic — that’s a 2-point reduction in my book.
But the toy designers down at Melissa & Doug seldom disappoint. For fine motor skills and challenging magnetic picture puzzle play — it’s an interesting twist on what most parents think magnetic wooden blocks should be.
