I have to start off by saying I am a huge Puzzle Lover and a (Rubik's) Cuber. From riddles, illusions and physical puzzles, I am addicted to all things puzzles.

I have a ton of physical puzzles like Puzzling Obscurities and Rubik's Cubes. This puzzle serves as a very easy and laid back coffee table like puzzle. Very easy to solve and make shapes, magnetics are so tactile and pleasing to the touch, and makes for a very passive puzzle experience. The cube is plastic shapes held together with decorative strong stickers. The magnets are there to hold shapes and combine more than one cube together.

The instructions says if it doesn't feel right it isn't right when shaping the Shashibo. Here the fact about the Shashibo's different shapes, there is just very few and the rest in between are just floppy in between messes less satisfying or useable. I put it at a level 6/10 for difficulty.

Shashibo has 4 separately decorated side that will always face a particular direction in different configurations. Basically, if the cube is red as the smallest cube configurations and also has yellow, blue and green; well, the cube will always be red in that configurations and cannot simply be twisted around and closed back up with a different color. The different configurations will always have the same decorative sides in their exact same place.

So buying one is a waste of money. $25 and can form the same 4 basic major shapes (the other shapes are rather useless and unsatisfying). Buy 2, 3 or 4+ and that's where this product shines. 2 Shashibos have a couple of combinations that are rather satisfying, 3 and you can cleverly hide a cube within the others in a couple of shapes, 4+ and now we are taking. The 4 cube set seem to be the sweet spot in your purchase. The most satisfying use of this product for your money and you save just a little bit from individual purchases. If you buy 1 it is a dull and short experience with Shashibo. You need more or you're going to immediately want more. Save you money and go straight for 4. 1 Shashibo has a bigger diminishing return than just buying 4. Combining these cubes is where all the magic is at for this product.

A standard sized Rubik's Cube will fit inside 1 Shashibo cube for those who are curious.

In the end, it is a fun and relaxing product that I would say has a coffee table fidget charm to it. I definitely say go straight to more than one for your first buy, and in my opinion 4 cubes is the sweet spot to get the most out of this product.

I bought this for a grandchild for Christmas. She loves this kind of thing and I thought she would enjoy it. They are a little steep in price and I must say, I was a bit surprised when it arrived in a tiny little 2.5 x 2.5 inch box, (From the pics, I was expecting something about double that size). I wanted to be certain I was getting a decent quality item, so I removed it from the box and started messing around with it to check quality and entertainment value. Well, we are now 3 days closer to Christmas since it arrived and I am no closer to getting back into that 2.5 x 2.5 box it came in. It is ridiculous how many times I have tried to fold it back into a tiny little square! To be honest, I simply feel frustrated with the whole damn thing. I even had ideations of tearing it apart and gluing it back together. (Then I remembered what I paid and I thought better of it.) The quality certainly seems decent. I am basing that on the fact that it didn't come apart yet and I think I have folded it every which way to Sunday. On the upside, my granddaughter is probably going to love it! She is just 9 yrs old, but will probably get it back in the box in 5 minutes!! So, I guess what I am reluctantly saying, is that I think the entertainment value is there. I still have 20 days to get some help (probably from a kid!) with getting this back in the box it came in. Otherwise, I will find a new box to wrap it in and keep the old box - so I can show the granddaughter how it looked when I got it. It is a little embarrassing that I have found this to be so difficult. But, I am trying to be transparent here and forewarn you that UNLESS you have some help from a genius (ok maybe exaggerating there), DO NOT take it out of the box to try it out if it is a gift for someone else! If they weren't so darn expensive, I would have simply just ordered another one and kept this one for my dumb self. 😜

EDIT: 01/24/23 - I did order a second one for myself (and company) Mind you, I did not even get it out until several days after Christmas. Today is the 24th of January and so we maybe had it opened 3 weeks. It has been played with quite a bit by kids and adults alike, however it is tearing apart at one of the seams. So, frankly we are a bit disappointed for spending $20 on something we thought we would enjoy a bit longer. After only 3 weeks, it is clear this one is not going to last much longer. I guess on the upside, $20 is really pretty cheap entertainment these days, when you consider the cost of going to a movie or bowling, eating out or any other activity. We probably did get at least $20 worth of entertainment, but still. 😢

I liked everything about this item. I purchased this item for our best friends 10 year old daughter and found the whole family enjoyed playing with it. Very well constructed. Very nice patterns just added a positive to this block design. They told me she never ever puts down her tablet but she sure did for this item. They said it was a great gift as I watched her play with it for at least 2 hours. I was very happy with this item! I highly recommend this for anyone who likes puzzles! Great value for the amount paid. It is well worth the money. Wasn't expensive at all and got a great value for the old might buck!

It's a fun toy, but overpriced for what you get. In terms of fidgets, it's more distracting than a lot of other options. Great gift idea though.

Life Impact: Shashibo Shape Shifting Block is well made (it isn't exactly cheap), and it is one of those toys that gets played with for a few days. Stashed and then played with it again. You really need to be 2 of these to get the full impact. (Again- if you buy this, get two). When you have two, there are a lot of options for combining the two blocks and making cool designs.

Product Comparison: As far as other shapeshifting puzzle situations, I would be shocked if there was something better out there. It has a nice smooth surface, so that is satisfying, but it isn't notable for its texture.

Would I buy it Again: Yes, emphatically.

Six-Month Update: It's still a popular toy with my son (older teen), but after a lot of use, some of the paper sticker edges have frayed a bit. Nothing that impacts the blocks but it does look worn.