A Review of Jishaku

Look what we got in the mail! The Jishaku Game- The Game of Magnetic Power! Doesn’t that sound so impressive?! It’s another non-electronic game, so it’s a hit with me already, lol. Jishaku is $20 from the company’s website, and a little under that at Amazon.

When my 12-year old son saw that this game has magnets, he took off with the box. Sheesh! I guess he liked it! He was having so much fun with the magnets that I had to get him to settle down and read the instructions for the game! By then, my other son, 14-years old, and my husband, almost 50-years old, lol, were interested. My husband loves these kinds of games.

Jishaku comes with 18 magnetic stones, a box with an egg-crate-looking foam insert grid, and a black plastic box to hold the insert. (And instructions). The foam insert is purposely asymmetric. There are 3 different games in the instructions (but the boys invented a few more, because they loved playing with the magnets!). The one my husband did with the boys is the most fun- each player gets an equal amount of magnets. The players take turns dropping a magnet into the foam grid. As you do, you must not allow your magnet to remove the other player’s magnet that he has already dropped in. It is extremely challenging! I couldn’t do it very well. I’d had four cups of coffee that morning and my hands were shaky, lol!

It’s a very fun game, and it gets the kids interacting. I don’t know about you, but playing video games together is NOT kids interacting. So I love this game.

It’s constructed well. The instructions say that the magnet stones do lose strength over time- I figure perhaps over a few years? The stones in the game are extremely magnetic as they are, so if they lose a little of their power, I don’t think I’d mind it — I might even be able to play the game after drinking coffee! I did see on the Jishaku website that you can buy extra pieces if necessary, for only $5. (The website also has tip and tricks for playing the game).

I recommend this game. It’s educational, teaches motor skills (and patience), teaches the concept of magnetism and the laws of attraction and repulsion, and encourages interactivity with the other players. It’s also very easy and simple enough for young kids to play with older kids and adults. And when the kids are not playing the actual game, they like to fool around with the magnets, too. 🙂

See how strong the magnets are? They can hold a stone through my son’s hand! We thought that was neat.