MomReviews

Jishaku is the Japanese word for magnet, and the game seems so simple-a small square “egg carton” made of foam, and 18 polished hematite magnets. The idea is to place the magnets into the depressions in the egg carton, but there’s a twist. All magnets have North and South poles, and so do Jishaku magnets, but they aren’t marked. As you place the magnets, the poles attract each other, and sometimes not right away. You can place a magnet and 30 seconds later, it suddenly “finds” the opposite magnet, and BAM!, the two magnets FLY towards each other to connect!

You can really make up any game you want, but the most popular way to play is to have two people, each with nine magnets, and the first one to run out wins. See, when you play, if the magnet you put down suddenly attracts any other magnet, you have to pick yours back up plus any that are touching. So running out is harder than it sounds!

It makes everyone who plays the game jump, every time! On the Jishaku website, click the Jishaku in action link to see what I assume is a Jishaku “tour”, where someone took the game around and asked people to play, in both indoor and outdoor bars and I think also Disneyland, because at one point, Jack Sparrow is playing! Click HERE to watch the fun!

Thanks goes to Lisa at Kidstuff PR for sending our family a Jishaku game to review, my oldest son in particular found it addictive. He kept playing and kept playing until he figured out a way to get all the magnets into the carton! And there were NO VIDEO GAMES INVOLVED, which is something I never thought possible You can get your own Jishaku game on the Jishaku website for $19.95 (plus shipping), or use the Store Locator to find a store and buy one for a gift or just for a fun family game!

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