Ensure you're always ready to play by carrying this Jack Spade Ping Pong Paddle Case. Crafted from 24 oz. canvas with a nautical flag-inspired design, it has room inside for two paddles and a ball, all of which are included. The plastic handles of the wooden paddles keep you comfortable, and an exterior wrist strap makes it easy to carry around.
With a transparent glass top set atop a glass base, the Elite X1 Everest Pool Table is an impressive piece of engineering. The playing surface is made using Vitrik, a fine mesh embedded in the compound that replicated the rolling resistance of felt and provides some shock absorption for the glass underneath. Global suede from Warwick covers the bumpers, while integrated LED lighting lets you keep playing well after the sun goes down. Available exclusively in an 8' x 4' configuration and limited to just five per year.
With a curvy form you'd be proud to display in your house and a build that lets it stay outside, the Pure Outdoor Foosball Table is ready to provide entertainment no matter the season. Designed by Alain Gilles for Debuchy by Toulet, it resembles a modern soccer stadium from above, with a competition-quality pitch, stainless steel bars and players, and a wooden surround that either complements or matches the teak or Freijo wooden legs.
Built in 1959, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City is another stunning achievement in the portfolio of the late Frank Lloyd Wright. To celebrate what would have been his 150th birthday, Lego is adding The Guggenheim to its architectural series. The cylindrical building is wider at the top than the bottom and is known for its unique ramp gallery and iconic skylight. The Lego replica includes 744 pieces, including Wright's architectural lettering on the Guggenheim sign and a section of New York City's 5th Avenue Museum Mile, complete with its signature yellow cabs.
Lego's Ideas program is proof that you can build almost anything with those little bricks, especially if you're using their more advanced Technic system. This Lego Technic Drift Wagon is further proof. Built by an enthusiast, it's a fully-functioning remote control car. It's not all Lego, though: two r/c buggy motors drive the axles, while a servo handles the steering and a separate motor engages the brakes. Four pairs of LEDs provide lighting, and r/c lithium polymer batteries power the show. Several pieces were also 3D printed for better performance, but as shown in the video above, it's all worth it to see your creation sliding across your living room floor.
If you've ever wanted your very own pinball machine that just happens to be customizable, the Makerball DIY Pinball Machine is for you. It's made mostly of wood and can be assembled in 30-60 minutes. Once it's set up, you can start to play right away with the starter kit that includes a basic obstacle set. But what really helps it stand out is the options to customize your machine. Paint it, make crazy obstacles, decorations, or upgrade it digitally using the instructions on their website. There's even an option to connect the included wire to a microcontroller and install the free Make & Play score app on your smartphone.
We've come a long way from the remote-controlled cars of our youth. The latest leap comes from the team at Sphero in the form of Ultimate Lightning McQueen. It's not hyperbole when we say that this Cars franchise star is a toy unlike any you've seen before. Sure, it has the ability to drive, drift, play games, and train for races while being controlled from your iPhone. But what really sets it apart is how it moves and reacts just like a cartoon (or maybe it's the deeply disturbing Homunculus Theory). The car has animated eyes, an animatronic mouth, and a complicated suspension that help make this the closest thing to what you see on-screen during the animated feature. McQueen will even physically respond to a tap on his roof, hood, both side doors, and his rear window. And fire up "Watch With Me" mode after you're done racing to watch him react to the movie as you watch it in real time.
We spend about a third of our life sleeping, so the mattress you sleep on every night is incredibly important. Make sure you get the right one by trying out a Casper. This USA-made mattress is made up of multiple layers of foam, including one for support and pressure relief, and one to make sure you don't get too hot. It's all wrapped up in a durable woven cover, and shipped right to your door in a box that's easy to maneuver into even the smallest abodes. You get 100 nights to try it out, can return it for free if you're not satisfied, but if you are (and you probably will be), you can upgrade even further by grabbing some of the company's soft Supima cotton sheets and dual-layer pillows.
Presented by Casper.
Built with top quality components and thoughtful construction, you can't go wrong with a made to measure gray or blue suit from Indochino's Premium Collection. All their suit jackets are half canvassed, with fully fused fronts, for greater versatility and excellent shape for your body. Each jacket also features fully canvassed lapels, bullhorn buttons, lightweight shoulder pads and high-quality collar felts. Just choose your fabric, customize your suit, and submit your measurements. The result is an investment-quality suit that's far more attainable than bespoke options and fits better than off-the-rack options. You can wear them year round, and you get the most bang for your buck as each suit is under $400.
Presented by Indochino.
It's fair to question why a company known for handbags and fragrances is suddenly selling outdoor toys. It's also fair to wonder why anyone would buy them. Nevertheless, Chanel is now selling a Boomerang. As elegant as you'd expect, it's crafted from wood, with a dark black resin coating the majority of the object, and the wood exposed underneath a layer of clear lacquer on one end. Like many of the company's other products, it's also jaw-droppingly expensive, making you more likely to display it on a shelf than chuck it across the yard to see if it comes back.
When you're investing in something as large as a shuffleboard table, quality is paramount. That's what the Woolsey Shuffleboard Table provides. Measuring 14 feet long and 31 inches tall, the table has a top crafted from rift-sawn white oak, treated with two coats of epoxy resin and inlaid with black walnut for the lines and numbers. Solid black walnut is used for the legs, which slide into the white steel frame, and on the perimeter of the table, with space between it and the board lined with charcoal gray felt. The table takes between six and nine weeks to build and comes with four white and four black pucks, a magnetic wall mount to hold them when not in use, and plenty of shuffleboard salt to get you started.
Standing over three feet tall and comprised of 1969 pieces, the Lego Nasa Apollo Saturn V is a brick-based tribute to the mission to put a man on the moon. The main rocket splits apart into three stages, just like the real thing, and comes with matching stands for horizontal display. The set also includes a lunar lander, a command service module, and three new astronaut mini figures complete with an American flag for planting during your lunar landing reenactments.
Legos are always more fun with motors. Lego Boost goes a step further, letting kids code their own creations. The core of the 800+ piece kit is the Move Hub, a stud-covered brick with a built-in tilt sensor, which works with the combo color and distance sensor and interactive motor. With the companion app, kids use a simple coding language to make their creations move, work, and talk. They can create custom voice recordings for their creations, and once they get the hang of it, integrate the Boost into nearly any Lego model. The basic kit includes instructions for five models, including a robot, a cat, and a guitar, and will be arriving later this year.
In 1966, a Ford GT won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 50 years later, it did it again. To celebrate the occasion, these Lego Le Mans Ford GT Cars let even those without a drivers license enjoy these historic racers. Bricks to build models of both the 1966 and the 2016 winner are included, as well as racing driver minifigures, a checkered flag, and a trophy for your own small-scale victory lane celebrations.
Because you can't have one without the other, Flight Cards pays tribute to both Michael Jordan and his sneaker empire. Starting with the Air Jordan 1 as the ace, the deck compiles the ultimate sneaker collection, featuring the first 13 pairs in the series with suite-matching colorways and His Airness in his signature Jumpman pose as the joker. They come housed in a box trimmed in the classic cement elephant print and sporting a version of the original Air jordan logo.
The Ferrari 250 GTO. The Bugatti T35. The 1964 Porsche 911. You don't need to be a gearhead to appreciate these automotive masterworks. But unless you belong to the Three Comma Club, you probably won't be appreciating them from the comfort of a driver's seat. Unless you pick up some Racing Heroes CMC Models. These incredibly detailed 1:18 scale models are made by hand, using hundreds of individual parts per model to reproduce details like working doors and hoods, interior knobs and buttons, and elaborate suspensions.
Some Lego sets try as hard as they can to look like their subject. The Lego Technic BMW R 1200 GS Adventure Motorcycle is more concerned with how its subject works. Developed in collaboration with BMW Motorrad, this 603-part set gets a ton of intricate details right, down to the authentic BMW Telelever front wheel suspension and the 2-cylinder boxer engine that moves when the bike is in motion. Slated to launch next year, the set will also include a specially-designed piece as a nod to Lego Technic's 40th anniversary.
A piece of modern sculpture turned gaming surface, the Eleven Ravens Avettore Ping Pong Table is an angular, agressive piece of furniture. It's available in a number of styles, including lime, orange with maple, orange with black, and our favorite, lucite with leather. Whichever you choose, you'll get nearly-hidden drawers for holding paddles and balls, a sleek black net, and a never ending string of guests wanting a go on its futuristic, regulation-sized playing surface.
It's great to get away from technology and take in the grandeur of the great outdoors. It can also get a tad boring. Amuse yourself and your trek-mates with Camp Cards. A collaboration between 1924US and Bradley Mountain, these playing cards feature amusing illustrations relating to life on the frontier, printed in black and white by the US Playing Card Co. They come in a box that's printed inside-out and features a match strike strip on one side, making them useful for more than just a campfire game of poker. Limited to just 2,000 sets.
More and more things in our life are connected. Which also means they're running code. Give your kid (or yourself) a fun intro to coding with the Sphero SPRK Edition. Like the regular version, it connects to an app for wireless control. Unlike the normal version, the app allows you to program the robotic ball with simple commands, then see the code behind them. As an added bonus, its casing is clear, so you can see the internal components working and better understand the robotics that carry out your commands.
You no doubt spent hours of your youth playing with Star Wars figurines and playsets, but those you had to move by hand. With these new Star Wars Battle Drones, you can finally watch the Millennium Falcon fly across the sky unencumbered — and at speeds up to 37 mph. Available in four models — the Falcon, the Endor Speeder Bike, an X-Wing, and the TIE Advanced X1 — each quadcopter is hand painted to model-quality and has both lasers and sensors that let you engage your friends in galactic warfare right in your own backyard. They arrive in display boxes worthy of your desk or shelf, and are individually numbered for added collectibility.
Its name suggests that it's a child's toy. The clean, modern design does not. This Marshmallow Crossbow looks more at home in a bookcase than in the toy aisle. Made by hand in Vancouver, it has a wooden shaft and trigger, with a steel bow, 'mallow holder, and release. It shoots up to 60 feet, so it's perfect for the boardroom, and won't make your office or cubicle look like a playplace when it's on the shelf.
Forget sneaking up on your colleagues, hiding behind cubicle walls waiting for the right shot. With the Nerf N-Strike Elite Terrascout Drone Blaster, you can assail your assistants from the comfort of your own desk. This insane toy has a built-in camera with a live video feed that lets you navigate around your home/office while you remain seated, and even aim and fire the built-in turret-style gun. It also records 720p video while it's at it, so you can instantly share the shocked reactions with the rest of the world.
Some Lego vehicle reproductions simply want to recall their inspirations without being overly complex. The Lego Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS looks like it could take off on its own if you could just find a gas pump small enough. Clocking in at 2,704 pieces, this 1:8 scale model was developed with the assistance of Porsche AG and is shockingly realistic. Its brick-based boxer engine has moving pistons, the double-clutch transmission with paddle shifters is fully functional, and the glove box opens just like the real thing, showing off the laser-printed serial number. It comes packaged with a full-color collector's book in a premium black box, with all the major components packed in separate boxes so you get a little added insight into how its real-world counterpart comes together.
Created by seasoned toy maker Mattel, the ThingMaker 3D Printer gives you free reign over your own in-house toy factory. Design your creatures on the ThingMaker Design app or export them straight from the cloud. They'll be wirelessly sent to the printer where it will spit out your custom action figure. A retracting print head and automated door lock make it safe for the kiddos and overly anxious adults. The app is already available at the App Store and Google Play, but you'll have to wait until the fall to get your hands on those TOTY-worthy creations.
Usually, once you've assembled your latest masterpiece, it just collects dust on your shelf or becomes a plastic paper weight. But click in a few Brixo Blocks and get that Lego Back to the Future Time Machine hitting 88 MPH. Powered by a low voltage battery, these building blocks act as electric conductors to create simple circuits that add light, motion, and sound to any structure, without any annoying wires. A chrome coating makes them completely safe for the little ones, in case you decide to share.
Whether you want a trial run at building an adult-size project or just want to make a shelter for your pet bugs, these Mini Materials let you create custom structures with no permits required. The cinder blocks are made from real cement, the bricks are made from real terra cotta, and mortar that's thankfully easier to use than the real stuff. All the materials are 1/12 scale, which is pretty standard for miniature models, and are only limited by your imagination — and dexterity.
Whether you lack the funds to pick up a vintage Land Cruiser or just don't want to risk taking yours out on the trail, the Tamiya RC Toyota Land Cruiser lets you enjoy the offroad prowess of this legendary 4x4 without needing to get behind the wheel. This complex model comes disassembled, and can take a while to build. Doing so gives you a better knowledge of how it works, however, as well as the opportunity to customize it with your choice of transmitter, receiver, and battery, none of which are included in the package.
Lego's Architecture series has thus far done a great job of offering brick-based models of landmark buildings the world over. Now they're taking on entire cities. The Lego Architecture Skyline Collection includes mini-models of some of the most famous buildings in Berlin, New York City, and Venice. Representing the Big Apple are the Flatiron Building, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, and the Statue of Liberty, while the German capitol is portrayed via the Reichstag, Victory Column, Deutsche Bahn Tower, Berlin TV Tower and the Brandenburg Gate. Finally, the canals of Venice shine in blue tiles, on which sit Rialto Bridge, St. Mark's Basilica, St. Mark's Campanile, St. Theodore and the Winged Lion of St. Mark, and the Bridge of Sighs. Details are scant, but expect these sets to be on the small size — suitable for desk/shelf display — and to number in the hundreds, not thousands, of pieces.
Pairing a smart design with contrasting materials, the Rawstudio Travel Chess Set overcomes the limits regularly embraced by portable games to create something that's both easily packable and worthy of display at home. Each piece in the set is made from heat-treated and oxidized stainless steel, polished by hand to create the differences in color and designed so that they interlock when stacked. This results in a "tube" that can then be used to house the rollable leather pieces, which alternate the skin and suede sides of the Italian hide to create the black and white squares of the board. Shipped in a wooden presentation box, made using Victorian-era machinery in London.
They're nowhere near as complex as most building toys. And that's entirely the point. Cosmos Magnetic Wooden Blocks use a patented system of neodymium magnets that pop up to snap together much like real-world locking mechanisms. They're available in five sets — shuttle, rocket, satellite, lander, and planet — with a grand total of 28 wooden pieces and 58 connection points among them. An ideal gift for aspiring explorers and space-obsessed big kids alike.
