Card game helps kids learn about colours and be offline

Posted on 09/05/2024 by Ida Torres

There is still an ongoing conversation (debate) amongst educators, parents, and psychologists on the amount of screen time that we should allow kids to have. Of course there’s a balance between screens and offline activities although that’s pretty hard to achieve. It’s also hard to wean this generation away from their devices but one way is to provide alternative activities for them at school and especially at home. And maybe, we can even get them to create their own alternatives.

Designer: Pupils from The Piggot School

The winner for this year’s Design Museum’s Design Ventura competition may be a fun alternative for children and adults alike. The Colour Countdown card game created by the pupils at The Piggot School was inspired by classic analog games Uno and I Spy. It can bring out the competitive spirit amongst players but also lets them interact with their surroundings instead of just focusing on various screens. This is an annual competition for students aged 13-16 to create something that will eventually be sold in the Design Museum.

Each card has a coloured cellophane window and can be combined with other cards to create different blends of colours. The players have to find things around their space which will match the card or cards that they’re holding. It can be played in any environment but of course since you’re dealing with colours, it is better played somewhere with a lot of colourful objects around. The cards are also eco-friendly as it uses FSC-certified paper and the cellophane is made from wood pulp.

The next step for the Colour Countdown is that it will be developed by the students with a professional agency. It will eventually be manufactured and then sold at the Design Museum Shop so you actually have the chance to own and play this game. Who says only kids need to be weaned away from their screens?

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This playable Tetris LEGO set will have you brain exercising for hours on end

Posted on 01/05/2024 by Gaurav Sood

The nostalgic play of the Tetris game has got generations of love and for good reason. 15-year-old Willis Gibson finally managed to beat Tetris by reaching level 157 of the classic video game and setting the internet on fire. Now that Willis has got this challenge under his belt, a LEGO enthusiast has got a real-world Tetris set game to engage in.

This is a LEGO Ideas submission by designer victorvey300 that’s insanely clever and seems like total fun to kill some free time. The real-life Tetris game incorporates the gameplay and elements of the video game ingeniously and challenges even the most seasoned Tetris fans to get a high score.

Designer: victorvey300

Called the Tetris Solid, this LEGO set has got my solid vote for being the next big LEGO Ideas project that should hit the shelves ASAP. The small case with the LEGO bricks opens up to reveal the vertical lanes where you slide the tetrominoes in the desired orientation. A rollable treadmill on the right shows the next brick to slide, and you have to think fast on your heels where the brick should go. You can even keep a score of how well you are playing which is ingenious.

Pretty obviously, you cannot make the lines disappear when a horizontal gap is filled (it’s real life not a video game graphic, remember). That’s why the maker took the liberty to tweak the rules a bit, wherein you have to fill the board complexly with all the pieces, just like a puzzle game. A Tetris spin-off for sure but still has the classic influence for the most part which is impressive.

You win if you manage to add all the pieces to the board without any gaps being left. Of course, it’ll take a lot of tries before you get the hang of it but if you do fail, there is a reset button in the form of a lever that lets all the pieces drop back into the box to start fresh. To commemorate Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris, the box has a hidden compartment that reveals the geniuses’ diorama complete with a PC depicting the time when he created the game.

That said, the current 4,000-odd supporters for the Tetris Solid is quite low considering how cool this idea actually is. Let’s hope this LEGO idea reaches more enthusiasts who’ll eventually push it into becoming an official LEGO set someday.

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This LEGO Mechanical Heart Beats Just Like A Real Heart Would

Posted on 30/04/2024 by Sarang Sheth

A real heart beats at roughly anywhere between 60bpm or 100bpm on average… LEGO builder Anatomical_Brick’s ‘Motorized Beating Heart’ outputs 55bpm, providing a near-perfect replication of what an actual beating heart looks like. The coolest part, the entire thing is made from LEGO bricks and is powered by a set of replaceable batteries.

Designer: Anatomical_Brick

At the heart of the model lies a LEGO Technic frame equipped with two interlocking slider mechanisms and a scissor element. This ingenious design allows for dynamic adjustments to the width and height of the central structure. A flexible outer shell, crafted from interconnected segments joined by rubber bands, envelops the core frame. This construction creates a captivating illusion of movement as the structure expands and contracts. The entire model is roughly 3x in scale (to make sure the heart moves effortlessly), and is powered by a motor linked to a battery pack, bringing it to life.

“I initially wanted to make a heart for Brickvention due to my fascination in the organ and had never seen it done using LEGO pieces. When telling others about this project, the reoccurring feedback was that it should move. They were absolutely right! After many months of trial and error, I’m finally happy with the results and so were the people at Brickvention,” said Anatomical_Brick.

The final result is a marvel of technology as well as biology. Sure, LEGO bricks only get you so much realistic detail, but watching the heart beating feels nothing short of captivating, The auricles and ventricles of the heart expand and contract, simulating the effect of blood being pumped through the organ. The red part of the heart indicates where oxygenated blood passes through the organ, whereas the blue part shows the passage of deoxygenated blood.

Currently a submission on the LEGO Ideas forum, Anatomical_Brick’s MOC (My Own Creation) is gathering support from the broader LEGO community. With more than 700 votes under their belt, the submission is en-route to the coveted 10,000 vote mark, following which LEGO’s internal team will review it before turning it into a buyable box set!

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13 Amazing iPhone Shortcuts You Need To Try

Posted on 30/04/2024 by Roland Hutchinson

As technology continues to advance, iPhone users are constantly seeking ways to enhance their device’s efficiency and functionality. The introduction of third-party applications like Toolbox Pro and Actions has opened up a world of possibilities for customization and automation that go beyond the built-in features of iOS. This article delves into a range of innovative […]

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Smart Megatron transforms into a tank, responds to voice commands and shoots projectiles

Posted on 29/04/2024 by Gaurav Sood

While all Transformers fans are tripping over Optimum Prime, it’s time to give the leader of the Decepticons his due chance. Yes, this self-transforming Megatron will win you over to join the bad side of the Transformers universe, the toy is that good. Created by Robosen Robotics in collaboration with Hasbro, the high-tech interactive collectible will force the inner child out of even the most serious middle-aged men.

Everything about this autobot is impressive, right from its design to the cool moves it is capable of. The Megatron is released as a limited edition collectible to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Transformers. Be informed that this thing comes at a steep price tag of $800 during the initial pre-order phase, and after that period the price is expected to shoot higher at around $1,200.

Designer: Robosen Robotics and Hasbro

With a simple voice command, the 21-inch Megatron transforms from a walking bipedal robot to a rolling tank. The way it changes personality in an instant is the most satisfying thing to watch. The voice commands further extend into triggering actions like firing plastic darts from the cannon or doing other cool tricks. It can also play out famous scenes from the franchise in the voice of actor Frank Welker with visual actions. Voice commands can be used to wake up the robot or even play Happy Birthday tunes. The servo motors and microchips let the user control it remotely from a smartphone with the companion app.

Get too close to the Autobot and it reacts to your touch, thanks to the touch sensors placed on the body. Don’t be surprised if it shouts out loud “You Fool” when touched on the front plate and picked up off the surface. In the tank mode, it can fire plastic cannons on voice commands and do a lot of other cool stuff you’ll love. The robot has a lot of servos and they are well concealed behind the clever spring-loaded flaps. Attention to detail is apparent here with small details like the automatically rotating logo when it converts from a tank to a standing robot.

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This 3000+ brick LEGO Milky Way artpiece captures the chaos of our cosmic home

Posted on 26/04/2024 by Sarang Sheth

The Milky Way is estimated to have anywhere up to 400 billion stars, so it only made sense that LEGO’s reinterpretation of the galaxy was a chaotic combination of thousands of bricks too, right?! Designed for ages 18 and above, the LEGO Milky Way Galaxy (#31212) is a galactic hot-mess of plastic. With over 3000 bricks coming together to make the artpiece, this box-set is as challenging as it’s beautiful. The pieces are color-coordinated and come together beautifully to create the different bands of the galaxy we call home. There’s even a specific point on the painting where a ‘You Are Here’ tag marks the general location of our solar system, and by extension, us.

Designer: LEGO

Like most LEGO artpieces, this rendition of the Milky Way comes with a level of depth that a 2D printout can never have. The galaxy quite literally pops out of its frame, with the use of different bricks from all across LEGO’s catalog, creating beauty and unity in a kind of chaos that seems emblematic of our galaxy. No star or solar system is the same, which is why all the bricks are different too, with barely a few matches. Putting this artpiece together should either feel extremely confusing or rewarding!

The entire painting comes together with a staggering 3091 bricks, featuring popular celestial phenomena such as Trappist-1, The Pleiades, The Crab Nebula, and The Pillars of Creation. Given how detailed the entire artpiece is, it’s split into five panels for easy assembly, each accompanied by a dedicated instruction booklet, fostering a collaborative assembly experience for families and friend groups. To elevate the journey, each booklet unveils a curated soundtrack filled with fascinating Milky Way facts accessible via QR code. When complete, the entire piece measures a staggering 15.5 inches tall and 25.5 inches wide.

The LEGO Milky Way Galaxy starts at $199.99 and begins shipping on May 18, 2024.

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Tower game made from marine plastic helps you think about environmental impact

Posted on 26/04/2024 by Ida Torres

One of my plans in life when I eventually retire is to live somewhere near the beach and just have a daily walk along the shore. Aside from nature and people watching, another thing that I enjoy is to look at some of the things that people leave, intentionally or unintentionally, by the shore and in the water and wonder what’s the story behind it. Of course it’s not a good thing that these trash are left there so it will also be part of my routine to clean this up and think of ways to encourage people not to litter on the beach.

Designers: Shoma Furui and Kem Kobayashi

One idea that came from someone who has been seeing all these tiny pieces of trash left on the Makuhari Beach in Chiba City is to create a game out of them. Debris is a tower-stacking game similar to Jenga and Uno Stacko but is made from the marine plastic collected from the area. The tiles have different color patterns based on the season and the collection site where these microplastics came from. It uses VOC-free (no volatile organic compounds) and water-based acrylic resin as a binding agent.

While you’ll have fun playing the game (if this is your thing), the designer also wants to make Debris a way for consumers to engage with environmental issues. Regular beach clean ups do help keep the shore and water clean but there are also those tiny pieces that remain buried and erode into invisible microplastics. They have an effect on the marine environment that sometimes may not be so visible or obvious to us. Having a game made from these pieces can help us think about our effect on our environment.

It can also be interesting to think about what these colors and shapes were in their previous life as trash. But the important thing is that the materials and process in creating Debris is fully sustainable and it can be disposed of properly when you no longer need it. And hopefully, you get to think about what you’re doing to help preserve marine life and keep places like beaches a safe haven for all.

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A Sustainable Circular Home that displays Discarded Toys on the Walls as Unique Decor

Posted on 15/04/2024 by Tanvi Joshi

Architecture is more than just bricks and mortar; it’s a canvas for expressing cultural nuances, socio-cultural issues, and environmental concerns. From the grandeur of Romanesque cathedrals to the intricate designs of Gothic structures, architecture has long served as a medium of storytelling. In contemporary times, architects continue to push boundaries, as exemplified by architecture studio Wallmakers’ latest creation: Toy Storey, a circular home nestled in the verdant landscapes of Kerala, India.

Designer: Wallmakers

Established by Daniel in 2007, Wallmakers has earned acclaim for its innovative approach to design. However, their latest project takes innovation to a whole new level. Toy Storey isn’t just a residence; it’s a living monument to nostalgia, childhood, and environmental consciousness.

The concept behind Toy Storey is simple yet profound: repurpose discarded toys as structural components and decorative elements within the home’s walls. Approximately 6,200 toys, considered unsuitable for recycling, find new life in this unique dwelling. Plastic, a ubiquitous material in today’s world, particularly in the realm of toys, takes on a new identity, serving as a reminder of simpler times and prompting reflection on our consumption habits.

Located in Vadakara, North Kerala, Toy Storey’s design is deeply rooted in its surroundings. The circular layout, accessible from every side with a verandah supported by toys and old Mangalore tiles, harmonizes with the local landscape. The use of compressed stabilized earth blocks (CSEB) and Mangalore tiles, alongside toys, creates a visually striking facade that blends tradition with contemporary sensibilities.

The architectural ingenuity doesn’t end with the exterior. Inside, Toy Storey is a testament to thoughtful design and community-centric living. Divided into public and private segments, the home fosters a sense of togetherness while respecting the need for personal space. Japanese-style shoji screens serve as translucent partitions, allowing light and visual connectivity to permeate the interior.

The incorporation of a central courtyard and composite CSEB-Toy Jaali wall enhances cross ventilation and insulation, ensuring a comfortable living environment year-round. Additionally, a secluded basement level, accessed via a central staircase, offers space for a library and bedroom, further enriching the home’s functionality.

Toy Storey isn’t just a dwelling; it’s a conversation starter. It challenges conventional notions of architecture and consumption, urging us to rethink our relationship with the built environment and the objects that inhabit it. In a world saturated with disposable goods, Toy Storey stands as a beacon of sustainability and creativity, reminding us that even discarded items can find new purpose and meaning.

As Toy Storey demonstrates, architecture has the power to transcend mere functionality and become a reflection of our values, aspirations, and collective memories. In repurposing childhood relics to create a home, Wallmakers has not only crafted a physical structure but also woven a narrative that resonates with people from all walks of life. In the heart of Kerala, Toy Storey stands as a testament to the potential of architecture to inspire, provoke, and delight.

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This LEGO version of the Portal 2 Gun won’t help you teleport, but it looks stunningly real

Posted on 10/04/2024 by Sarang Sheth

Arguably one of the best games from the last decade, Portal 2 still holds its own against games today. Sure, it isn’t open-world, doesn’t have NPCs, and the graphics aren’t bleeding-edge, but the game is a brilliant combination of storytelling, premise, and clever gameplay. For the uninitiated, Portal 2 is a game that has you escape from a dystopian prison using nothing but a teleportation gun. You can create portals that allow you to ‘tunnel’ through reality, and the game relies on your understanding of physics and geometry to help you navigate this futuristic labyrinth filled with occasional surprises and enemies. The portal gun is all you have, and it’s arguably the only thing you need.

Now sure, such a gun clearly doesn’t exist in real life, but this LEGO recreation from Hooded-Blaze sure has captured our fancy! Styled to be a perfect replica of the cyberpunk quantum gadget from the game, the Portal 2 Quantum Tunneling Device is made entirely out of LEGO bricks, and comes with its own stand, as well as the ability to alternate between shooting blue or orange tunnels, just like in the game!

Designer: Hooded-Blaze

Although Hooded-Blaze doesn’t specify how many bricks are used to build this MOC (My Own Creation), chances are the portal gun is just a smidge tinier than the real deal. With its cyberpunk stylings, the gun boasts a uniquely blobject-ish form, looking almost like a stormtrooper ant, with three pincers right in front of the repulsor. The repulsor feeds off a cell that sits in the middle of the gun, and altering the cell allows you to switch between blue and orange portals.

“This would be no doubt a fantastic LEGO set because of how large the Portal community is. Since its release, over 40 million players have played Portal 2 worldwide,” says LEGO builder Hooded-Blaze. This isn’t the first time they’ve submitted the portal gun to the LEGO Ideas forum. The previous fan-made submission crossed the coveted 10,000 vote mark on the LEGO Ideas website with overwhelming support from the communituy, but was rejected by LEGO’s internal team. “Since the last time this LEGO Ideas project was released, it has been redesigned to be stronger internally and externally and more aesthetically pleasing, with some key components staying the same,” Hooded-Blaze mentions. “I have built a physical prototype of the Portal Gun from what LEGO I had. I have learnt a lot from the mistakes I made on the previous version, and it has been significantly improved since.”

With over 7,000 votes, the LEGO Ideas Portal 2 Quantum Tunneling Device is well on its way to crossing the 10,000 vote mark yet again. You can vote for the entry on the LEGO Ideas website too. Maybe this time the LEGO gods will listen to us and turn this into a box-set that we all can buy and secretly ‘pew-pew’ with when we’re bored!

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These Edible Gummy Dungeons and Dragons Characters raised over $300,000 on Kickstarter

Posted on 05/04/2024 by Sarang Sheth

They say you shouldn’t play with your food… but that’s precisely what the Gummyquest was designed for. These mouthwateringly mythical treats were designed to make your game nights fulfilling as well as filling! Meet Gummyquest, an all-encompassing kit of more than 150 characters straight out of a fantasy roleplaying tabletop game. You’ve got dragons, goblins, heroes, dice, potions, everything needed for a rewarding game… but the best part? All the characters are edible! Made out of a chewy gummy gel (like your gummy bears or worms), every character or element in the Gummyquest is edible, with each individual piece having its own distinct flavor. Play your turn, kill a character, use a potion, and destroy the evidence by eating it. It’s a fun new twist on your favorite game with 25 different flavors to keep every single round uniquely tongue-tinglingly fun!

Designer: Jay

Click Here to Buy Now: $42 ~~$60~~ (30%) off. Hurry! Limited availability! Raised over $310,000.

Stories make everything fun, especially food. Whether it’s your parents turning a spoon of veggies into a plane that flies into your mouth, or whether it’s a Michelin-star restaurant weaving stories through their intricate dishes, where there’s a story, there’s a memorable experience. That’s sort of what the Gummyquest series builds on, with its set of 151 characters and items (with more being added to the collection every day) that make for a perfect tabletop gaming day with friends, colleagues, or family.

The collection encompasses practically every element of a roleplaying game like DND – you’ve got heroes and villains, orcs, goblins, dragons, knights, wizards, paladins, and even Dune-style sandworms. Along with players are potions and polyhedral dice to make the game even more interesting. All these elements encompass 25 rather mouth-watering flavors, from specific berries and fruits to more vaguely tropical flavor profiles, to even marshmallow-flavored items. “Some of our favorite fantasy flavors include Orcish Creamsicle, Paladin Piña Colada, Owlberry, and Death”, says creator Jay. Each box is packed with 151 gummies including 76 monsters, 15 heroes, 25 potions, and 35 dice.

The edible set is truly a work of art. Each single gummy was designed and sculpted by a meticulous team of people who fill shelves in every game store in America with miniatures from Dungeons & Dragons, Reaper Bones, and Warp Miniatures. The gummies were designed as a part of a broader story and theme, and were crafted to perfection, with details that would make you want to never eat a boring gummy bear or worm ever again.

Tragically, the set only lasts one or two, or maybe three games. Once the gummies run out, you’ll either have to revert back to playing with non-edible characters, or buy another set. Luckily, the Gummyquest box sets are on discount, priced at $42 for a set of 151 pieces. As the crowdfunding campaign gains speed (they’ve raised over $300k), the kit will include even more characters and items like gryphons, slime monsters, warrior princesses, and even a Kraken! Grab your Gummyquest while you can… I’m pretty sure they don’t expire, but don’t quote me.