Building Sets Reviews

"Cathedral" is a simple game to learn and one that will be quickly picked up by anyone who tries it.

The idea is to take over as much territory within a medieval town's walls as possible. You do this by placing your various buildings in strategic places within the playing area.

The game itself is made from wood, and the pieces are quite a good size. As such, they are durable and will last ages before any wear and tear begins to show.

I personally found myself quickly becoming bored with the game, as it does not seem to have the endless variety that a game such as chess can provide. The relative movements and strategies you can develop are fairly limited, in that sense.

However, "Cathedral" is different and it is simple. If there are only two players, it makes a quick, fast game to fill a few minutes with. However, should your inclincations be toward longer, more in-depth games, this is not the best of them.

I saw this "interationalized" version of the standard Cathedral game in a store, and it is most impressive. The instructions indicate a somewhat more complex game than standard Cathedral. It is pricey, but I might splurge, if I could just find that lottery ticket!

My review of standard Cathedral:

This game is like a puzzle put together by two people. Each player has an identical set of pieces (that look like medieval buildings) and they take turns placing their pieces to capture territory. The game is fast-paced (a game is two rounds, each taking only about four minutes) and easy to learn. While it does not mention this in my game instructions, the game can also be used as a solitary or two-player puzzle; "Can we get all the pieces in without having to move around any already-placed pieces?" I'm a child psychologist and keep this game in my office. The kids love it, I enjoy it, and it teaches planning ability, frustration tolerance, and problem-solving. The version I have is made of hard plastic instead of wood. I imagine that the wooden version looks better, but the plastic version was cheaper and has proven to be very durable. I'm not sure the wooden version would have withstood the beating my emotionally disturbed clients have occasionally given it (I did say it helps teach frustration tolerance, but not perfectly or rapidly!).

Cathedral is alot of fun...my husband and I enjoy games that require strategic thinking(9 men's morris is the best!)
This game is alot of fun and quite addictive! It's also pleasing to have a beautifully crafted, high quality wood game. the only problem we had was that one of the pieces was received unglued but that was easily repaired!
I highly recommend this game for folks of all ages!!!!!

This is a toy I reccomend to kids who dont put things in their mouths. lol. But anyway really fun and keeps me busy for hours. Great price too. WARNING: DONT LEAVE NEAR CELL PHONES, LAPTOPS, OR ETC. Can seriously damage electronics if you leave them near it.

The chrome-like set for the MAGNETIX system is a construction activity based on combining steel balls and magnetic rods (these limited to the metal colored design), joined together to create whatever shapes and objects you can think up. The play is limited to which expansion set you have, the 70 pc. is an ok SET, but it lacks any structural aids like the wall shapes or the longer flexible attachments. I would also like to see some hint/idea books included in the sets, the only books that came with this set was offers for other expansion sets (which Do look neat, but still).

All-in-all a fun time can be had with a couple of set variants. Some of the variants are hard to find like the "Glow-in-the-dark" set.

System could easily transfer nicely to the classroom, for math and science projects building models. Having children construct square, triangle and other shapes or using MAGNETIC x-treme for more architecturally directed play linking and locking assembly connectors.

Does contain small chrome parts that present a choking hazzard for children under-3 yrs.

I received a 70-piece Silver Magnetix building set for Christmas. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up buying two more similar sets so I could build bigger structures. I've always enjoyed magnets and building things... so when you put the two together I am sure to like it.

Another thing nice about the Magnetix building sets is that once you take your stuctures apart they don't take up much room. I have three 70 piece sets (126 rods & 84 balls) stored in a 3x5 index card containter.