The Greatest Toy on Earth

    “Tinkertoys are pretty sweet,” some may say.
    “Wooden blocks are the toy standard for the ages,” others might argue.
    “Bosh to them,” I say, “for clearly, Lego stands above them all.”

There is no toy now in existence, nor can there ever be a toy superior to Lego by merits of a few simple reasons. If a toy is to be excellent, in my judgment, it must meet these criterion:

Durability –	Does the toy hold up to children's play? Will the toy a child enjoys survive to please his own children?
Adaptability –	Does the toy, by design, allow for play in a variety of modes or situations?
Portability –	Does the toy require special locations for play such as electrical access or fair weather?
Neutrality –	Does the toy, by design, exclude people on the basis of its theme?
Ingenuity –	Does the toy, by design, encourage creative play or interactivity?
Sociality –	Does the toy require or exclude the presence of multiple participants?
Viability –	What is the likely life-expectancy of the toy as a diversion for its audience? Will a child tire within minutes? Does the toy have a narrow age-range appeal?
Transferabilty –	Does the play extend to real-world scenarios? Can a child apply principles in the play-experience to scenarios he will later face in life?
Challenging –	Does this toy make demands of the player to stretch his skill sets?
Fun –	Does this toy deliver the goods?

              I am hell-bent on tedium at times. That's right, only tedious people use 'tedium' anymore. But I would plunge my own fingers into my side and pull out a kidney if someone could suggest a better fit to my list than Lego. The only item Lego suffered boldly from is Viability. No one likes standing in line or looking for lost contacts. That's what it was like looking for Lego pieces in a bucket until Brikcrate fixed it. Even without our narcissistic back-patting, Lego stacks up to the requirements uniquely.
    Go ahead and spend $650 on Thomas trains for little Jimmy when he's two and let us know how interested he is at seven. Lite-brite was way cool for about an hour at a time every three years or so. Play-doh, slinky, toy soldiers. All of them work fine, but the answer is obvious. The only contenders are balls and dolls, but there's no reason we need to ditch them just to prove my point.
    Let your boys have balls and girls have dolls, and let the Lego too, flow freely through your door.

Ty Hansen of www.brikcrate.com is a freelance badass living in Naples, Florida with his wife and passel of children. He produces storage solutions for the avid hobbyist.