Ollie Blocks

Origin story: This project began in 1988. Yep, over 30 years ago. It was for a product design class in the Ohio State College of Industrial Design, and the assignment was to build a wooden toy. My lab partner and I had to build two to show it could be mass-produced. I don't know if his model still exists, and I regretfully don't even remember his name. My kids enjoyed playing with my copy, and over the years it slowly fell apart. The dogs chewed up a few pieces, the wheel covers fell off, and the pieces swelled and didn't always fit.

I kept the model and thought about making more some day. I called them "Imagiblocks", but I didn't really like the name. I even redrew the original design in SketchUp, but a few things kept me from starting. I had no wood shop tools. I didn't know how much extra space I needed to make sure the pieces always fit even if they changed size when it was humid. I didn't know how to make sure the wheel covers stayed glued. I couldn't find true 1-inch wood stock anymore (it's all 3/4-inch), and the toy design was based on a 1-inch grid system. Lastly, was it worth all the effort for a toy that was fun for a while, but got a little boring just building the same 5-6 things? Lots of little hurdles, and not enough reason to jump them all.

In January 2019, several stars aligned. My grandson Oliver had his first birthday recently and was starting to play with toys. I pulled out my old model and started to get energized about the project again. I had gotten a few cutting, drilling, and sanding tools as a gift, and I had space in the garage and guest bedroom to use them. Then on 1/20/19, I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea about maybe changing the original pieces to make it more fun to play with. What about adding more holes, and a second dowel? I scribbled some notes on my phone, and fell back asleep. I woke up again, and suddenly I had the name -- "Ollie Blocks". Fun to say, and a meaningful tribute to my grandson. I was off and running. This project would FINALLY move forward.

The prototype

I built a prototype in my garage from January-June 2019 using a simple table saw, drill press, and belt sander. It took five months because I had to learn basic woodworking at the same time as I was trying to refine the design and construction. There was a lot of wasted wood while I learned how to make accurate cuts, what a "kerf" was, and how to cut dado and rabbet joints. I started with the original glued wheels idea, then changed to removable wheels with a magnetic wheel cover, and finally went back to a safer "all wood" design but still with removable wheels. In the end, everything fit, I sanded it soft and smooth, and the playtesting began.

The pieces

There are 8 pieces of various shapes, plus a flippable base with removable wheels. The pieces are carefully designed to be modular, varied, non-specific (or non-prescriptive), and provide a lot of creative flexibility.

The play experience

I've playtested this with boys and girls from 18 months to 12 years. I also spent a lot of time experimenting with the prototype myself. I learned a few key things:

The toy is highly engaging for all ages. If there are two or more kids, the only problem is they fight over it. :-)
Parents seem to enjoy watching children play with it, and often want to join in on the fun.
There can be an encouraging social aspect to it, with lots of "can you..?" and "ooh, look at this one!"
The toy meets the child (or adult) at the level of their creative, conceptual and motor capabilities. It begins simply, and advances as they are interested, with no new pieces required.
I knew it would have many configurations, but I honestly had no idea how many ways the pieces would fit together. Months later, I still find new ways every time I play with it (or when I show someone else).

I discovered there were three main levels of play.

Level 1 - Stack and Fit

Start with a dowel and a wheel. Let the discovery process happen at a natural pace. Slowly add more blocks, one at a time. Depending on child's age, this can happen over days. Each new block multiplies the options exponentially.

Level 2 - Match and Build

Make a dog, train, airplane, race car, robot, bunny rabbit, helicopter, and other shapes. Figure out how to make them by looking closely at the pictures. Practice concepts like observation, visualization, comparison, symmetry, and orientation.

Level 3 - Explore and Invent

Find new ways that the blocks fit together. Change previous setups. Make completely new setups. Create something you’ve never seen before. Add other toys and objects. Then, show someone else what you made!

Play and Learn with Ollie Blocks

Developmental play can be serious fun. Enjoy as the child naturally moves through these levels and surprises you with new configurations they discover and share with you. Watch how their play changes over the years, and how they keep coming back to the toy. My son Andrew and I just played with the blocks for over an hour, and he's a 26-year-old engineer.

Next steps

Finish one perfect set and give it to Oliver (completed 9/14/19, about 2 weeks before his 2nd birthday)
Find a small manufacturing partner to make a couple dozen sets.
Attempt to sell those through local toy stores, or to local schools, or even through an Etsy shop to test demand and pricing.
Based on success, find a large manufacturing partner, and attempt to successfully fund a Kickstarter to bring Ollie Blocks to the world.