30 Best Toys and Gifts for 12-Year-Old Boys With Strong Opinions

Adults may never fully understand how Minecraft's Chicken Jockey caught on the way it did, but ours is not to wonder why. If there's a Minecraft fan, they'll thrill to this LEGO set, which comes with a buildable Chicken Jockey. In addition, there's a full battle arena setup with Steve, Garrett, Henry, a boxing ring, a baby zombie, and a posable great hog (but really they mostly want the Chicken Jockey). Ages 10+

Give kids a taste for game design that turns their drawings into mobile games they can actually play on a tablet. The set uses different colors for different game elements (hazards, obstacles, characters, walls and floors), so kids can draw out their levels on a piece of paper, then scan it into an iOS or Android app to turn the drawing into a digital game. "I love that the notebook guides you through every single step," one 11-year-old tester said. "It made it very very easy to use." Ages 6+ (with adult help) or 10+ (without adult help)

Most of the drones we tested are only rated for kids 14+, but the Sky Viper Vector Stunt Plane is easy enough for tweens to handle. That's because of its auto-stabilization feature, which even accounts for wind. In the air, it can fly up to 35 mph, do barrel rolls, and make 360-degree loops. Ages 12+

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For kids who love to go head-to-head with games of skill, Sweet Victory is the perfect fast-paced game. Challenge cards reveal a pattern, and then players have to race—one-handed—to see who can move their pieces from pillar to pillar to match the card first, so it works out body and brain at the same time. "Although it's for a family of four, my son spent a lot of time doing some rounds on his own because he liked the mental challenge," said one parent of a 10-year-old. Ages 8+

When it's time to take notes, this is a pen. But, when it's time to listen to lectures, tweens can take apart, twist, and bend and connect the magnetic shaft into different shapes like a fidget toy. Ages 8+

For STEM-minded kids, building their own toy might be even better than getting one new. This subscription box, founded by NASA engineer and YouTuber Mark Rober, gives them projects like building a disc launcher, coin spinner, drawing machine, or trip wire. "This was a nice sweet spot of complicated enough to seem interesting, but quick enough to build and play with that it was also quite fun," said one parent of an 11-year-old. For ones who are older or more experienced, CrunchLabs also has the Hack Pack, a subscription with more sophisticated projects designed for kids 13 and older. Ages 8+

They can take their art to the third dimension with this pen, which lets kids melt colored, plastic filaments and layer them into 3D shapes. Testers liked how they could control the speed of the filament flow depending on what they were working on. No age recommendation given

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Any kid lucky enough to get a Switch 2 will need a camera to access some of the online screen-sharing features, and this one is perfect for Mario fans. The plant can stand in its pot, or it can be removed from the base and plugged directly into the game console for handheld mode. The Piranha Plant mouth even closes as a privacy feature. No age recommendation given

Good Housekeeping Institute kid testers loved that this came with LEGO pieces, along with instructions for builds like a drop tower, a labyrinth, and a fortune teller. "The visuals in the book were accurate, and it was easy to determine where each piece went,” one parent said. Ages 8+

Kids loved zipping around on this electric scooter, and parents loved that it had a max speed of under 10 mph. Said one parent of an 11-year-old: "My son loves being able to speed down paths on an electric scooter—the freedom, the acceleration, the breeze." Ages 6+

Slammo is great for athletic kids who are ready to try a demanding sport. Players work in teams of two, and each team has three hits to return the ball to the circular net (which is harder than it sounds). The set comes with a net, a large ball for beginners, two small balls for experienced players, and a carrying case. Ages 12+

For players who want to get started on their first campaigns, this set makes it easy to get started playing Dungeons & Dragons. The quests are designed to be played in hourlong sessions, and in that time players can quickly create their characters, learn game mechanics, and start fighting monsters. It comes with lots of tools, including character class boards, dice, maps, tokens, magic items, spells, monsters, and three different adventure booklets. Ages 12+

Kids can tap their inner engineer and build their very own bionic arm with this STEM experiment kit. It teaches how the muscles and tendons work as the robot arm picks objects up from a table. "It helps develop spatial reasoning and engineering skills," said one of our testers. Ages 10+

This game is for those who like the offbeat and irreverent: The goal is to grow a creature's legend, sticking around humans long enough to grow the myth but not so long that it gets caught or exposed. Along the way, players test their logic skills and strategic thinking. Ages 12+

Kids can learn how to do 28 magic tricks with this immersive kit. It includes VR goggles, step-by-step instructions and 75 pieces. This Good Housekeeping Toy Award winner doesn’t just teach how to do the tricks physically, but also gives tips for performance and self-confidence. “It was very organized, which helped immensely for my son who has ADHD," a parent tester said. Ages 8+

Tweens can use the included laser to guide this car across the floor, sure, but it gets even cooler than that—it also drives up walls and even onto the ceiling. Good Housekeeping Institute testers said this had a huge "wow" factor. Ages 8+

This new twist on the TikTok-beloved Kanoodle game makes players think fast! Challenge cards present a shape or pattern that players have to re-create with their pieces. But as the seconds tick by, the wall moves closer and closer, and players have to finish before the wall knocks everything down. It's great as either a one-player game, or families can challenge each other to see who can complete the most in a certain amount of time. Ages 7+

By the time they reach 12 years old, they're definitely ready for a step-up in terms of LEGO difficulty. This set lets them build a replica of a tractor, inspired by the real John Deere 948L-II Skidder. When it's done, it'll have real steering, four-wheel drive and a moving engine. Ages 11+

If they ever wanted to try their hand at stop-motion animation, these figures make it easy by clicking into place, making them easy to pose and move incrementally. They also suction cup to different surfaces so they won't shift or slip. This set only comes with one figure and a car, but you can always get more Stikbot and Klikbot figures. Ages 4+

He can get those easy-breezy hammock vibes wherever he goes—without the need for trees, clips, ties, or air pumps. He just has to simply wave this lounger around to fill it with air, and then it's ready for lounging. No age recommendation given