3 Best Fidget & Skill Toys for Adults in 2019

Best Skill Toys for Adults To Feel Less Stressed
Did you know skill toys and games can help with stress management?

This is probably a major reason why we are seeing more and more startup offices giving these gifts to employees.

All work and no play makes for a….very dull startup office!

What Are Fidget Toys?

Fidgeting is a verb to describe making small movements of the hands and/or feet. Fidget toys are also classified as skill toys or puzzles. The concept of fidget toys is based on providing just the right amount of sensory input to help calm the nervous system.

Benefits of Fidget Toys

Some reported benefits from fidgeting for adults are:
  • Improve cognition
  • Reduce anxiety
  • Aid relaxation
  • Reduce stress
  • Help focus & attention
  • Brain enhancement changes if a difficult puzzle is being solved
As this article from the Atlantic things like stress balls actually might be super important for the mental health of adults!

Of course kids get these type of fidgets prescribed by occupational therapists for motor development too.

Who Should Use Skill Toys?

  • Office workers
  • Company executives
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Stay at home workers
  • Adults suffering burnout
  • Adults diagnosed with autism, ADHD & ADD
In reality nearly every adult will feel better and the fun that naturally comes from playing with one of these sensory toys.

Top Skill Toys & Games

Here are some old, and new skill toys and games that I would highly recommend you consider stocking in your startup office for more reasons than keeping your employees entertained.

As mentioned above, these type of toys, puzzles, and games will provide a sort of meditation & relaxation feeling.

Here are my top 3 picks.

#1 The Rubik’s Cube & Beyond

That’s right, and beyond!

No, no, no it doesn’t just stop at the original 3x3 Rubik’s cube. Now we have tons more difficulty options and variations like:
  • 2x2,
  • 4x4,
  • 5x5,
  • 6x6
  • whateverXwhatevers

Megaminx Puzzle Cubes for Adults
Then there are also weird looking things like Pyraminx and Megaminx puzzles. 

For me solving a twisty puzzle like the 5 shown above is a great form of relaxation, meditation, and allows me to destress.

If I’m working through a tough problem and not making any ground I’ll take a break and do a few cube solves and it allows me to decompress my brain and even some new ideas might pop in.

Give all of your employees a wild cube gift next Christmas and watch the fun they have trying to solve them around the office WHILE potentially improving productivity and mood around the place.

#2 Kendama - YoYo 2.0

Kendamas are sweet Japanese skill toys that involve a wooden handle with several different surfaces that you have to flip the attached ball and string onto, in several different possible sequences.

Like the cubes this is a great mental and physical break from sitting down at the desk all day.

The best part about Kendama for me is the swag aspect. It’s like solving a puzzle, but requires physical coordination and flare while tricking which is really appealing.

Want to see how these yo-yo's work? Check out a quick Kendama video below.



Okay that video is intense and you’ll probably be starting out a bit slower than that, but YEAH!
Kendama is cool, exciting and a great activity for your office. 
They're also really inexpensive toys to buy. If you are in the market for one then you can check out a buying guide for Kendama here.

#3 Board Games

Last, but not least, maybe not a puzzle or a crazy skill toy like the Kendama I present to you… board games!

Yup that’s right :)

Board games are to be played and enjoyed in a group setting. This breaks up the solo game play and allows social play and interaction.

Get some employees together and have them play against each other in teams. This will also help practice team building for office relationships whilst having an enjoyable break time. No need to spend tons of money on paid for team building trips out the office.

Board games are cheap and readily attainable - you may already have a ton of them sitting at home or ask your employees to bring in their favorite games (chances are someone has Cattan at home!).

Stick to classic board games like:
  • Trivial Pursuit
  • Monopoly
  • Chess
Or you can venture out to the new strategy games like:
  • Pandemic
  • Caracassone
  • Settlers of Cattan

ChaoTimer Cube Timer App

ChoaTimer App for iPhone or iPad
This is app not a game, but is more of a professional timer for cube games.

It is our recommended iPhone App when using a cube.

The ChoaTimer app will help:
  • Gives you WCA official puzzles scrambles,
  • Let you time your puzzle solves,
  • Stats calculations and more.
I would recommend it to any twisty puzzle enthusiast who wants to up their puzzle game skills.

Device Compatibility:

  • Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
  • Requires 3.3 MB storage space.
  • Languages: English, Simplified Chinese

Cost:

Free to download on the iTunes store.


To further connect your office staff you could also team up and play some of the most popular board games on your iPhones with app-based games! Here’s a huge list of some iPhone app board game conversions out there. Definitely give these a try.

Hopefully this list of 3 awesome adult skill games, toys & puzzles will help improve the mood in the office, reduce worker stress, and help improve productivity!

Any company would get a good return of investment, with such a small expense to buy them and with the potential for productive happy employees. Hopefully next time you are in the office chill room or lounge there will be some laying around to break the boredom and stimulate your creativity again.

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