Spirograph Deluxe Set

The one from your childhood, still doing the thing.

A tray of interlocking gears and rings, a set of pens, and the faintly hypnotic business of watching a complicated curve appear one rotation at a time. Spirograph has been in and out of production since 1965 and the fundamental pleasure of it hasn't shifted at all — you know exactly what it's going to do, and you do it anyway, for an hour.

The deluxe set includes a design board that holds the rings steady, so there are no pins to lose down the side of the sofa and no moment where the whole thing skids sideways and ruins forty seconds of careful work. Beyond that there's no method to learn. You pick a gear, pick a hole, and go round until it closes.

Perfect for: Rainy afternoons, children who need something to do with their hands, and adults who will buy this "for the kids" and then not let anybody else near it.

1 player | Age 8+