Christmas morning was full of fun with a toddler this year. Although she mainly liked handing out the presents to other people rather than tearing into her own. This didn’t stop her from playing with the toys once they were finally unwrapped and unboxed.

One toy in particular stuck out to the whole family this year and it was the SpinAgain by Fat Brain Toys. I think at some point each person in the house played with this separately. Yes, a toy given to a toddler was enjoyed by teenagers, adults, and grandparents.

So what makes this toy so fun? I think beyond the style similarities to the Tobbles stacking toy (reviewed last year) it is that there are so many different ways to interact with it.

Let’s start with the base and work our way up. There is no right way to set the base down. If you put it on the flat side it offers a stable anchor to build off. If you set it curved side down the toy turns into a wobbly adventure of spinning madness.

The white stick (sword/lightsaber/projectile – yes it will turn into all of those things) has a spiral guide that help create the spin when the cogs are stacked. This too can go into the base either way so that even a toddler can figure it out.

The last pieces are the cogs. They alternate shapes between rounded flowers and gear-like cogs. Each spinner is larger than the previous like most stacking toys. Small protrusions on the inside slide along the groove of the center column and thus create the spin.

It is relaxing to sit on the floor and stack these, pick up the stick and let them spin off, and then do it all over again. Everyone interacts with the toy slightly different. And there are always new things I am learning it can do. For instance, as I sat down to write this post I looked up the toy on amazon and discovered that the base could be set up the wobbly way.

As a designer, I love that the spinners are a gradient of color from warm at the bottom to cool at the top.  As far as I am concerned Fat Brain toys owns the market in the stacking toy game.

Oh and Juniper loves playing with it too!