Commercial Games That Use Magnets

Attract and Repel Strategy Games

• Some games use magnets' ability to repel and attract other magnets and metals as an integral part of strategy.

  When playing Jishaku, each person tries to place all of his magnetic "stones" on a board with other stones. The players must determine where to place a particular stone by judging the magnetic attraction or repulsion between the playing piece and those already on the board. The game, made by RSV productions, is suitable for players 14 and older.

  In Yikerz, players also attempt to move their magnetic playing pieces around the board by repelling or attracting other magnetic pieces, and even using magnetism to push competitors' pieces off the board. The winner is the first player who has no pieces left. Players can alter the board layout and the initial placement of the pieces to change the skill level of the game. AB Games produces Yikerz, and the game is suitable for players 14 and older.

Magnetic Games for Young Children

• Young children enjoy games that use the "magical" power of a magnet to pick up a metal object, like the magnetic bug game from Melissa &Doug. The game has a wooden board with various metal bugs inset into the board. Children use a magnetic butterfly "net" to pick up the individual metallic bugs, such as ants, caterpillars and bees, and then use the net to return the creepy crawlies to their rightful position on the board.

Classic Games

• Chess, backgammon and checkers are classic games for two players to practice strategy. Magnetic sets can be tidier than traditional wooden or plastic sets, and are useful in travel situations when the pieces would otherwise slide around the board.

Movable Magnetic Structure Games

• Some board games use magnetic pieces that link together as part of the game strategy. Geomag, a Swiss company, makes Magnetic Challenge, a construction game that uses magnetic attraction as part of the building fun. Two or four players use an octagonal board to connect magnetic rods and steel balls and to move their construction from one side of the board to another. The first gamer to get her handiwork to the other side of the board wins. The game suits children 6 and older.