Glow sticks have something fascinating about them. No matter how many glow sticks I made my parents buy when I was a kid, I still want more, even now.

So you can imagine my reaction to the Glow and Throw UFO Flying Disc: “Ooooh, glowing lights!”. The UFO is actually just a disc, but the set includes 14 glow tubes that can be attached to it. The disc has a row of holes along the edge and the glow tubes can be connected to make longer ones, so there’s a lot of cool designs that can be made. Once you’re done it will look pretty weird (a disc with bended sticks poking out of it), but once you throw it you’ll get a great looking frisbee.

Highly entertaining for kids, but I know of a fair bunch of adults who’d also love it.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $10.95 in our store, powered by Amazon.com.

Anyone who’s ever played chess has faced one problem: what to do if you want to interrupt a game? If the chessboard needs to be moved away, the odds of every piece staying in its place are extremely slim. And if the players need to actually pack up the board and continue some other time, the “write positions down” option sucks, frankly.

The New Wave Chess & Checkers set is the first I’ve seen that can be packed up and unpacked with the pieces still on the table. The innovation: the pieces are not placed on the board, they are inserted in it. The same pieces serve for both chess and checkers; they have different images on each half, so simply turning them around changes the game.

It’s lightweight and versatile, it’s original and easy to use. And at $12, even I’m tempted to get one, and I don’t even like chess.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $12 on ParadoxyProducts.com.

Water bags? Water pistols? Super soakers? Fun, but not that impresssive. And absolutely no match for the WildSling Solo Water Bomb Launcher. This is a tool made for serious water warfare.

In order to throw a water bomb 120 feet you need a lot of energy, so you’re going to be using your whole body just like in the picture. Lie on the ground, put your feet in the stirrups and bombs away! It doesn’t get better than this; ultimate water war indeed, and sweltering August heat is the best excuse to act like kids.

But make sure there’s no one in the way and no windows, cars etc. close by. A bag of water flying this fast can be dangerous, and no one wants fun to turn nasty.

How much under $29.99?
A little: ~$24 on PrezzyBox.com.

The Magic IQ Gift Box is a product made by evil people for evil people.

At first sight, it’s a simple wooden box (it’s just 10.5 cm x 6.5 cm). It can hold a small gift (jewelry, game cartridge, MP3 player, the sky’s the limit) but the real trick is getting to the gift, as the box doesn’t have any obvious unlocking system. Imagining a poor bastard struggle to get to his or her present might make you cackle with mean-spirited joy, but… there’s another catch: the box doesn’t come with instructions.

The manufacturers really deserve a medal for this: before you can make someone else suffer in frustration, you must suffer. Brilliant.

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $9.99 on ThinkGeek.com.

This might count as an addmitance of my lowly intellect, but I’ll risk it: the Sudokube sounds like a torture device for me. The Rubik’s Cube is already impossible, but combining it with Sudoku is evil. People have fun with these?!

Of course, if you’re a fan of both games this is a toy sent from Heaven. In order to solve this Rubik’s Cube, you need for each face to have the numbers from 1 to 9. Rubik on steroids, with less colors, basically.

With Rubik’s Cube a hit for the past 20 or so years and the recent popularity of Sudoku, this has the potential of becoming a new must-have item.

How much under $29.99?
Some: ~$12 on PrezzyBox.com.

You’re at work. You have to make a decision. You have no clue what you should do.

Since there’s so better alternative, why not have some fun in the process. The Dartboard Decision Maker is waiting. It’s a perfectly normal cork dartboard, but it’s marked with words, not numbers. Its advice ranges from the relaxing (“play golf”) to the groan-inducing (“stay late”), passing through a wide range of options both pleasant and not, for the user and for his/her employees.

Could this be used for really making decisions? Of course; it’s probably a more advanced version of what many people actually do. But will you do what it says even if it requires you working more?

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $5.99 on OfficePlayground.com.

Via Gizmodo

I found this gadget last night, but it wasn’t until this morning when I really realized how useful it can be. Grandma was bored, so she called and started asking me questions about my life – when I was supposed to be working! She gets upset if I tell her that I’m busy, and there was no one around to conveniently yell “Hey, the boss wants that report now!”. We have a problem.

For my boyfriend, it’s his mother. Most people will have the annoying relative or friend who calls and won’t shut up. If it gets too much to bear and you’re too polite to tell them to go away, a gadget like the Gotta-Go Excuses Machine can be a tremendous help.

It offers 10 excuses: other phone ringing, door bell, baby crying, static, dog barking, traffic, siren, smoke alarm, female calling “Honey I’m waiting…” and male calling “Honey we’re running late. Let’s go!”. While not all of them can be used (if you’re a man, it’s unlikely another man would call you “honey”), but the door bell, static or traffic ones work anytime.

On the other hand, $20 is a bit pricey. Is it worth it?

How much under $29.99?
Some: $19.99 on Tesora.com.au.

Via ShinyShiny

Sometimes technology can make our childhood games better. Sometimes it can ruin them.

Electronic Paper Rock Scissors? Where’s the fun in that? You don’t get to choose, a random sign is displayed. No more complex strategies (“he won’t choose rock 3 times in a row, right?”), no more shaking fists… That’s what makes the game so entertaining, even if it’s so simple. Plus, consider this: time it takes to shake your fist and choose an sign versus time it takes to look for a gadget in your bag/desk/etc. and use it. I’d say the old-fashioned way is much faster and easier.

And no one can be so lazy to want to avoid moving their fingers. They’d be comatose.

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $8.89 on PrankPlace.com.

Via Gizmodo

Love them or hate them, it looks like robotic pets are here to stay. But most of them are just too expensive for what is, basically, a toy. They might be lifelike, but I just can’t see any robot, no matter how evolved, to be at the same level as a real animal.

The Robotic Chick, however, is much more affordable and manages to be cute, not creepy. Maybe because it’s not so “pet-like” as a dog or cat? This ball of yellow (artificial) fluff is 8 cm tall and powered by 3 watch batteries. It interacts with people by cheeping, chirping and flapping its wings when it’s petted, and it will cry if you ignore it.

Unlike a real pet, it doesn’t need food or water, and you can just turn it off if you’re bored. It will also stay cute, unlike live chicks that tend to grow up and turn into soup after mum tells you they ran off.

How much under $29.99?
Exactly $29.99 on ThinkGeek.com.

For many people, work and stress go together; work without stress is unconceivable. So they need de-stressing, of course. And what says “relaxation” more than a box of goo?

Pluto Plasma is blue goo. I doubt they have anything like this on Pluto, but it does look like it could come from outer space (blue putty, Pluto is an ice planet, get it?), or at least from a SF story. And goo (alien or not) is cool. You can stretch it, poke it, mould it, examine the colors and texture, and it even bounces! You might even manage to entertain the office if you’re creative. What happens to the putty if you throw it against a wall, does it bounce back or stick to the wall?

Plus, you’re not just having fun; it’s an intricate physics experiment. Really.

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $3 in our store, powered by Amazon.com.