Recommended toy for killing time. Also good for relieving stress.
Bored with nothing to do and too much time on your hands? This article introduces time-killing toys that will fill those idle moments.
We’ve gathered a variety of toys, from brain teasers that give your mind a workout to stress-relief gadgets.
There are options perfect for keeping your kids entertained, too! When it comes to killing time, we tend to reach for smartphone games, but once you get into the kind of analog games we’re about to introduce, you might find yourself completely hooked.
Be sure to give them a try!
Recommended toys to kill time. Also great for stress relief (1–10)
Infinity Cube
The endlessly unfolding infinity cube is a type of fidget toy for passing the time.
How to play is super simple: just open the cube vertically and horizontally.
If you keep your hands moving without thinking too hard, your stress and restlessness might gradually ease.
Unlike a Rubik’s Cube, there’s no goal like “matching colors,” so you can simply enjoy the movement.
As long as you supervise to make sure it doesn’t go in the mouth, it’s something you can enjoy playing with even with small children.
Squeeze
Squeezes, those irresistibly tactile toys, spread worldwide thanks to overseas YouTube videos and have become hugely popular in Japan too.
They’re perfect for passing the time when your hands feel idle or when you’re stressed.
You can even make your own squeezes if you have slow-rebound sponge, paint, markers, and the like! It’s also a great idea to try crafting an original squeeze based on your favorite character or food.
Just be careful not to create so many that cleaning them up becomes a source of stress instead!
tape ball
The tape ball that went viral in videos by famous influencers and creators! Many of you have probably thought, “I’ve never made one, but I’ve seen it countless times in videos,” right? You roll up only the adhesive side of vinyl tape, layering it over and over and shaping it into a ball.
If you use a few different colors, you’ll see beautiful layers when you make the final cut! If you score the side with a utility knife, multiple layers of tape will seem to burst out from the inside like a living creature! Thanks to its massive popularity, there are even “tape ball–specific tapes” on the market now, so give it a try.
fidget cube
A fidget cube you can touch, press, and twist for fun! “Fidget” refers to a type of toy you can fiddle with to feel a bit calmer and pass the time.
As its name suggests, the fidget cube is shaped like a die, with different mechanisms on each face.
You can roll a steel-ball-like part, rub a textured surface, or click little buttons… Nothing in particular happens, but it just feels good somehow—an ideal toy for zoning out and pleasantly passing the time.
Peg Solitaire
Peg solitaire is a single-player board game in which you move pegs placed on a board with holes.
You start with pegs in every hole except the center.
Whenever there are two adjacent pegs with an empty hole immediately beyond them, you can move one peg by jumping over the other into the empty hole.
The jumped peg is removed from the board.
Repeat this process, and if you can end with exactly one peg remaining in the center hole, you win! It’s not a head-to-head game, but it requires strategic movement and brainpower, so if you want to focus intensely on one task while passing the time, give it a try!
Snake cube
Popular as an educational toy, the Snake Cube is a toy that lets you create various shapes by twisting a cube made of small tetrahedral or cubic parts.
As its name suggests, you can wiggle it like a snake to make all kinds of shapes—rockets, balls, hearts, flamingos, and more! For those who enjoy puzzles, it’s the perfect way to pass the time.
Since the difficulty varies depending on what you make, why not start by challenging yourself to transform it from its long, rod-like state into a cohesive form like a large cube?
Pop tube
Pop tubes are fun, corrugated plastic tubes you can bend and play with! Every time you fold them, the oddly satisfying “pop” and “crackle” sounds and tactile feel become addictive—perfect for passing the time.
Thinner tubes make higher-pitched sounds, while thicker tubes produce lower ones, so it’s fun to collect a few types and enjoy the differences.
Their simple design makes them safe and easy to play with, so they’re great for enjoying with kids, too.
Why not try them as a stress-relief tool as well?