Melissa & Doug Jumbo Extra-Thick Cardboard Building Blocks - 40 Blocks in 3 Sizes

I worried when I purchased these that they might be flimsy, difficult to assemble, or cheaply made with too many yellow blocks. After a few months with them, I can safely say that they've exceeded my expectations.They do require assembly, but they all fit together in the same fashion. The first two or three might take you a while to figure out, but once you have the pattern down, you can move really quickly. The first blocks might have taken me 5 minutes each to put together, but then I was doing them all in 2 minutes or less each (all sizes - all colors...they're all really the same basic folding design).These are strong, and solid. The coloring on them holds up well. They stack well and are solid cardboard. This means your kid can stack them up and knock them down as much as they want and they'll stand up to the play.There are fewer red bricks than blue or yellow, but that wasn't an issue for us. Kids aren't architects, they just to stack stuff and knock it over...and it doesn't matter which blocks I use to do that - it's still fun for them.This container has 40 blocks in it. That's more than enough. When you've got a dozen or so folded up, they take up a lot of space, so you just keep the rest for replacements. However, it has been a few months and none are worn out or broken. Now that I've got a daughter who's approaching the age to play with these, I'll be using the existing blocks and those left unfolded still will be used for her enjoyment.High quality. Fun to play with. Will probably last longer than your child's interest in them.

Given some of the negative reviews, I was a little worried about these cardboard blocks, but decided to give them a try. I'm so glad I did. My 26-month-old son LOVES them and they are so great for imaginative play. "Build-a-house?" he asks me.These blocks are quite durable. We made a pile of them at the bottom of his slide for him to barrel through (hysterical, if you haven't tried it) and they haven't shown the slightest bit of wear yet. He steps all over them, stands on them, and falls off of them but they don't cave or collapse inward. We have built huge towers and brought them crashing down and they still look great.Some people complained about not having enough blocks, but these were plenty for us. Maybe as my son gets older, we'll need more, but at 26 months, 40 blocks is more than enough.Another complaint people had was the assembly of these blocks - I don't get what was so bad about it. My husband and I folded them one night while watching an episode of Friends - it only took 20 minutes with two people to do all of them, and it wasn't difficult at all. After the first one, you get the hang of how to fold them and then it's easy. I'm also surprised at how many people complained they weren't aware they had to assemble them; I would imagine that more toys DO require assembly than DON'T. If you've ever put together Little Tykes Cozy Coupe, you are a seasoned veteran indeed and these blocks are an absolute cakewalk.I'll be buying this toy again and again as my friends' children turn two because of the HOURS of fun, creative play they bring to kids. Definitely worth the price for me and I have zero complaints about this product. It beats the heck out of the loud, obnoxious toys shown on every commercial!

I bought these in 2013 and still have them. the blocks have held up well!! they were only 19.99 at the time and i got 2 boxes worth. They make great fun for kids of all ages! great buy!

These brought back some childhood memories, some of which I prefer to keep buried:Build a Super Mario Bros. castle, only to have my brother destroy it and laugh.Design and build my very own house, only to have my brother destroy it and laugh.Build a staircase for my action figures, only to have my brother destroy it and laugh."Insert anything I ever built", only to have my brother destroy it and laugh.However, my 5 year old son loves to use wood and boxes to build a "house", so we thought this would be an excellent gift for him. And we were right, he used them first to build a wall to stop his siblings from leaving the living room. I decided not to invite my brother to this party, given past experiences.The boxes are excellent quality. The kids stood on them with no creasing or collapsing.Folding the boxes looked a whole lot more confusing than it actually was. It took about 4 minutes for the first one, then once the concept sunk in, it took 20 second each.We are disappointed that the set included so many of the small, yellow rectangle boxes. They are quite small and do not offer a lot of function by themselves but all together they are useful. We wish the set had more of the larger red boxes. Those are the kind that my broth.. nevermind.

We’ve had these for about a year now. My expectations were low— after all they are cardboard, how good could they be? Well, actually, surprisingly strong, durable blocks. The 3 year old walks on them. She’s ridden her trike and her balance bike full blast into them, with barely a dent. I did not see the advantage to cardboard blocks until she started building tall structures, and then knocking them over. The light blocks can fall onto all of us, and it does not matter, unlike being pummeled with a falling pile of wooden blocks. Overall, we were surprisingly pleased with the quality and frequency of use. Complaints: yes, it’s a tedious job to put them together. Easy, but tedious. And also, the set needs more red blocks. They are used by far the most often. I am searching for a way to order more of the red ones, without getting stuck with a senseless number of additional useless little yellow blocks.