Janod Tubix Mikado from The Toadstool: A Review

Janod Mikado from The Toadstool

Mikado, often better known as 'pick-up sticks', is one of those classic games that is fun for all the family, bridging across generations and simply has long-lasting appeal as a good old-fashioned family game. A true 'slow toy' needing no gimmicks. 

This Janod Tubix Mikado set from The Toadstool contains 41 good quality wooden pick-up sticks. My children have owned a set of pick-up sticks in the past and this set contains bigger and better quality sticks in a sturdy cardboard tube. 

Because it is such a great game for keeping the kids engaged and entertained, and because of the sturdy, yet compact packaging, we took the Janod Mikado set to granny's house over the Christmas holidays and it was a great game for our children to play with their cousins. It would also be great for taking on holiday with us too. 

It is a game that encourages cooperation and turn-taking between players, as well as coordination as it develops fine motor skills as children concentrate to pick-up a stick without moving the other sticks. 

Turn-taking is a skill that we are working on developing with J. Because of his Aspergers, this can be something he sometimes struggles with. The reason being twofold. Firstly, he doesn't always understand the social 'rules' of games and secondly, waiting and transition times can be hard for him. So playing Mikado is a fun way of helping him to develop those all important turn-taking skills.

It was truly refreshing to find a toy that needed no batteries, was simple to understand, and that the children could enjoy both on their own or with family members of all ages. Whilst this product is not recommended for under 5s, there is certainly no upper age limit as it appeals to parents and grandparents too. 

This is a great value product at a pocket money price point (please see The Toadstool for up-to-date price information). It would make a fantastic stocking filler too!

We have found this to be a great way to spend some really special family bonding time! Thank you The Toadstool! 

Disclosure: We won this product from The Toadstool and have chosen to write this review about it. All opinions are our own.