By David Ponce

They sure as hell didn’t have cool toys like this when I was a kid. We had to play laser tag wearing body suits almost half as heavy as we were and pay through the nose for the privilege. Kids of today will get to enjoy a better, iDevice enhanced version of the game. Hasbro will be releasing the Lazer Tag Blaster gun (1 player) and Lazer Tag 2 Blaster set (2 players) that feature an iPhone slot at the top. With the related application launched, players will have an HUD giving them an augmented reality view of the game. In one player mode, you can shoot virtual enemies while in two or more player mode (up to 24 simultaneous players supported), you can keep track of ammo, score and the location of your enemies. You can even shoot them from as far away as 250ft. “A virtual leaderboard keeps track of each player’s profile and, with every successful mission, players will gain in-game access to upgradeable attacks, missions and gear.”

The summer’s just around the corner and the Lazer Tag Blaster guns should be available August 1st for $40 for the single gun or $70 for 2.

VIA [ Geeky Gadgets ]

By David Ponce

As you can imagine, the name “Rubik’s Cube” is registered. So this is the “IQ Brick Cube”. And if you were having trouble solving the original, expect to spend countless hours with this. Featuring one regular sized layer, there are then 7 or 9 extra layers which are much thinner. Being no mathematician, we calculate this increases the complexity a few million-fold. And although it looks almost impossible to solve, there apparently is a method to make things easier.

Both the 3X3X7 and 3X3X9 models are $27, available from Brando.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By David Ponce

“Ferrofluids are colloidal liquids made of nanoscale ferromagnetic, or ferrimagnetic, particles suspended in a carrier fluid (usually an organic solvent or water). Each tiny particle is thoroughly coated with a surfactant to inhibit clumping.” You’ve probably seen it before in impressive videos of it being manipulated by moving magnets around, looking somewhat like an alien substance. It’s an impressive effect and it’s one that you can now reproduce at will on your desk through this Kickstarter project. Coming in two sizes called Ferrite and Ferro, the desk toys are made from a high quality glass tube and an aluminum base. The larger vessel Ferrite stands 8.5″ tall with a 5″ diameter base. The smaller vessel Ferro is 4.25″ tall and 2″ in diameter. You’re provided with a neodymium stylus so you can play around with the material.

Currently 30% funded, $100 will get you the Ferro while $125 the Ferrite. $175 will get you both.

[ Kickstarter Project ]

By David Ponce

Tamagotchis were so annoying, much like receiving endless Farmville requests on Facebook is still annoying; this editor had no interest in seeing how much poop your virtual pet had produced. And it appears that neither of these distractions are going away. To celebrate the toy’s 15th anniversary, Bandai is releasing the Tamagotchi iD L. As you can imagine, it’s gotten quite the technological makeover:

features full color, and tons of different scenes as you explore the digital world with your pet. There are 32 different characters to choose from, with 11 of those being exclusive to the iD series. You can also connect to other Tamagotchi owners wirelessly. You can swap items with other pets, or, if there’s a love connection, join the two pets in marriage (after a proper courting period, of course).

Yes… marrying pets. And the worst part of all this is the price: $113 plus $20 for shipping. Just pray your kids don’t see this post.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ ChipChick ]

By Chris Scott Barr

There are a lot of ways to communicate with someone who’s not right next to you. You can call their phone, send them a text message, email, or even a letter. Heck, you can try yelling if you really want to. But wouldn’t it be cool to send them a message by bird like they used to do back in the olden days? Yeah, good luck finding a bird that’ll actually take the job. The closest thing you’re going to get is one of these Chuckimals.

These plush birds won’t fly, but they’ll still carry a short message. Just press the button on the recorder, then chuck it at your intended recipient. Once the bird slams gently into their head, it will repeat your message, not unlike some birds out there. The person can then reply in the exact same manner. You could have entire conversations by stuffed bird! Just $19 gets you your choice between a chicken and a parrot.

[ Red5 ]

By David Ponce

A toy!? How is a giant (relative to the insect) freaking maggot ever be construed as a toy of any kind? Is this being marketed to entomologists’ kids? This wonderful little creation is the product of HexBug. One of their self-described goals is to “give children a positive experience with robotics at a young age.” Positive experience, eh?… Well, to each their own we suppose. The Larva is but one of a range of creepy crawly robots, with other members being The Ant, The Spider and The Inchworm to just name a few. The Larva itself just barely qualifies as a robot in that it’s autonomous enough to at least avoid obstacles. It does come in 5 colors and is mercifully inexpensive at around $12. Hey, the Holidays are coming and maybe you’ve conceived a little strange one who might appreciate this.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Crave ]

By David Ponce

Got $17,000 burning a hole in your wallet? How bout these Rock’em Sock’em inspired “Bionic Bopper Cars”? They are large (400lbs!), manned, motorized cars with “two pneumatic-powered, tire-tread-fisted arms”. The goal? Hit your opponent in the face, of course! Not his actual face mind you, but that of the “robot” he’ll be driving around. To this end, you’re provided with buttons mounted atop two independent joysticks. Each time you score a hit, a front-mounted display in each robot’s mid-section will keep a tally. There’s a protective steel cage to keep the humans inside safe, while a full tank of gas will provide up to 5 hours autonomy. You can use an area as small as 16 square feet and you should place your order by December 1st for Christmas delivery.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

By David Ponce

So Halloween is over. You know what that means. Santa music’s gonna be blarin’ in malls across America and the pressure is on to spend money and buy gifts. For what it’s worth, the American economy could use a little consumerism at the moment. So here’s a nice and inexpensive present to buy someone. It’s a small RC replica of a Boeing AH-61A Apache helicopter. The remote control however is not your typical radio joystick box but your Android or iOS device. Simply attach the IR dongle (seen in the pic) into your 3.5mm jack, run the app and you’re good to go. The helicopter is gyro assisted so it should level itself out. Better yet, pitch, roll and possibly yaw are all controlled via your device’s own gyro sensor. You’ll just have to use the onscreen controls for elevation. Range and battery life are not discussed, but this is clearly more of a cool toy than a serious RC application so don’t expect to be able to use this from very far for very long.

At $40, like we said, it makes for a cool gift.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Red Ferret ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When anyone asks what my favorite childhood toys were, I almost always refer to my LEGOs. It’s a pretty obvious choice, as I easily spent more time with them than anything else, and I still keep some in my office to this very day. I don’t really build my own creations anymore, as I don’t have time to sift through hundreds and hundreds of plastic pieces looking for that special brick. Then again, with this BOX4BLOX I might not have to.

Using a series of boxes with incrementally-sized grids in the bottoms, this contraption will actually help you sort your LEGOs in short order. Now it won’t organize them in to specific brick piles, but it will sort them into four different sizes. Just start piling some bricks into the top box, then shift them around until the smaller ones fall through. Keep shaking it until you’re satisfied that the majority of the smaller pieces have fallen to the appropriate level. Rinse and repeat until you’re finished. This $40 sifter will hold roughly 1500-1700 of your favorite bricks.

[ BOX4BLOX ]

By David Ponce

Cats chasing a spot of laser light all across your carpet can be a good 5 minutes of fun. Owning a cat when you’re male and single, however, is a sure path to ‘forever alone’ status. Don’t believe us? Ask an eligible bachelorette. Cats’ emasculating abilities aside, it turns out that there’s a cool toy that can give you the same sort of kicks without fear of eternal rejection. Straight out of last summer and brought to your attention today, the Lazer Stunt Chasers are battery powered “RC” cars that follow a beam of light you project on the ground. They work upside down or down side up and are meant to be tossed around in stunts, which you accomplish through ramps and loops. Check out the video below: they’re awesome! And they cost $40.

Of course a ladyfriend might object to a grown man playing around with children’s toys. Should this happen, we suggest you find one who’s a little more geek friendly. Remember kids, geek is good, lone man with a cat… not so much.

[ Lazer Stunt Chasers ] VIA [ Gizmag ]