Qixels Reviews: Editor’s Thumbs Up

Qixels

Qixels are cubes which can be used to make creations that are fused together with water. The creations resemble retro 8-bit video game characters.

Claims & Features

• Kit contains over 1000 cubes
• Make designs with templates or your own creations.
• No heat or glue. Creations are fused with water.
• Ages 4+
• Themes include martial arts, medieval, monsters, deep sea, skeleton army, and warriors.
• By Moose Toys

Cost & Availability

Currently, the complete Qixels set appears to only be available online at the official website at buyqixels.com. It sells for $29.99 with free shipping.

Refill packs are available at Toys R Us for about $10. Kits can be found in stores for $16-$24.

Qixels Commercial

The TV commercial below has been airing as of July 2016.

Qixels Reviews

Qixels by Moose Toys is a crafting set primarily marketed to boys which brings retro 8-bit characters to life. To create a Qixels character, you start with a template (or your own creation, but we think the templates are far easier), and begin placing colored blocks in the appropriate locations. When complete, you spray the blocks with water, which are then fused together. After about 20 minutes, you can remove your creation for play and display.

Without directly mentioning Minecraft, it does appear that Qixels is piggybacking on the popularity of that game by offering its retro 8-bit characters. Qixels are not simply copycat or generic Minecraft characters, however. In fact, the 8-bit appearance is about where the similarities end. Qixels gets kids off of the computer and brings the fun of 8-bit crafting into the real world.

Despite what seems to be a somewhat high price tag, a total of 1000 cubes does seem sufficient for creating a number of characters out of the box. How many cubes it takes to create a character varies, but we found about 150 cubes was the average.

If you don’t want to wait for shipping, you can find a number of Qixels sets at Toys R Us, although the current television offer is unique to the product website.

A trademark for the Qixels name was first filed in September 2014.

Similar Products

Moose Toys has done a good job of carving out a unique niche with Qixels. There are several Minecraft-related toys with an 8-bit look which vaguely resemble Qixels. These range from Minecraft Legos to Minecraft “papercraft” toys.

Overall, Qixels stands as a rather unique product.

Epic Conclusion

Qixels beautifully blends the current trend of retro 8-bit graphics with real-world crafting, creating a product we feel has value beyond just fun. Highly recommended.

If you’ve used Qixels, please give it a star rating and comment below.

Revised July 23, 2016 to include updated cost and availability information.