35 Best Toys and Gifts for 6-Year-Old Boys Who Are Collectors, Gamers, and Enthusiasts

The Good Housekeeping Institute's in-person testers thought the headbands in this game, which have magnetic UFOs dangling off the ends of them, were so funny. The object is to use your head—literally—to lift the magnetized cows out of the spinning pasture and see who can collect the most. Testers reported kids kept coming back to this one. Ages 6+

Our kid testers loved setting up these tubes, turning on the fan, and watching as the foam balls fly through and pop out at the end. “We had fun taking turns to design our own creations/paths and experimenting with the speed of the air and how it impacted the balls,” one parent said. “[My son] in particular enjoyed starting the balls at a lower speed so the ball would hover at the end of the tube, and then putting it on full blast to make it go higher.” Ages 3+

Kids know how much fun it is to smash the Stomp Rocket launcher and send the foam-tipped projectiles high into the air during the day. But this set looks even cooler at night, when the LEDs make it glow as it rises for up to 100 feet. It comes with six LED rockets, and kids can experiment with force and angles to see how that affects how they fly. Ages 6+

It only takes a minute of setup, and then they'll be on their way to making their own cool airbrush designs. All they have to do is pop a Crayola marker in the back—and any Crayola marker works. Then, they can either use stencils or just spray to their heart's content. At Good Housekeeping Institute's in-person toy tests, this was one of the most in-demand toys, and everyone wanted to take a turn. Ages 6+; four AA batteries required

With the World Cup this year and the Women’s World Cup coming up, kids may have soccer on the brain. Instead of getting a full foosball table, which takes up a permanent space in your living area, give them this play set. The green can be spread out over any table, and the pieces are handheld guys that spin when you squeeze them. Kids are then challenged with using the spinning players to kick the ball into the goals. “They loved setting it up and playing with it and keeping score,” one parent told the Good Housekeeping Institute. It comes with players from USA, Brazil, and Mexico, but other Foosbots Rivals players can be collected separately. Ages 6+

Mash up Kooshes and lacrosse, and you've got Flix Stix. Kids can toss the Koosh back and forth to each other, or see who can hurl theirs the farthest. Either way, they'll be burning some energy. Ages 6+

For kids who love hidden pictures an seek-and-find puzzles, this book challenges readers to find Steve—a yellow duck with big glasses—in a variety of pages. Warning: It’s a challenge! The book also comes with a few small ducks so kids can play IRL. “It's the best book ever,” one kid tester said. Ages 6 to 9

RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Awards

Toy cars are always a good idea, especially ones where you get to blast them off from a launcher. The pocket-sized racecar goes in flat and then bursts out of the launcher at full size, making this previous Good Housekeeping Toy Award winner extra intriguing and cool to watch. Ages 5+

Now that they've seen The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, they're going to want a Yoshi of their own. This one comes inside an egg that wobbles and signals that it's ready to hatch. After Yoshi pops out, the egg can be used as a little nest, and Yoshi makes different sounds and reactions. “He loved how the fun didn't stop after Yoshi hatched,” one parent tester said. Ages 4+; three AA batteries required

This skater feels light as a feather—the better to fly through the air! In-person toy testers loved revving up the engine, launching the skater down the hallway, and seeing it hit the ramp and fly really high through the air. (The brand says it goes up to 6 feet high, and after toy testing, it seems believable!) Ages 6+; four AA batteries required

With this HD video camera, kids can become their own production teams. There are lots of in-camera effects, including on-screen animations and interactive backgrounds. “My son walked around the house taking pictures of everyone and everything as soon as I gave him the camera!” one parent tester said. “It was easy to use on his own, and they had fun getting creative and capturing their own little adventures.” Editing can also be done on the camera, and then it can connect to the computer with a cable (not Wi-Fi, so you don't have to worry about privacy). It even comes with a tripod and a green screen. Ages 5+

Need we say more? We don't know any 6-year-old boy who doesn't think farting is funny. Luckily, the "blasts" of scented smoke coming out of this toy smell more like bananas and burned popcorn than, well, you know. It's a good one to get this year, since Minions & Monsters was released earlier this year. Ages 4+; six AA batteries required

Even if they're not monster truck fans, kids will get a kick out of ramming this remote-controlled car into walls. When they do, dents and dings sprout up, which repair themselves at the push of a button. Good Housekeeping Institute toy testers went back to this one again and again (and our hallways survived). Ages 4+; the truck is powered by USB, but two AAA batteries are required for the controller

Minecraft fans probably already know about Preston Playz and his YouTube channel, and he designed this gift to feel like an IRL loot box. Each one comes with a lava desk holder, a mystery plush, a poster, stickers, a mystery squishy, a wristband, and trading cards. “My son was so excited to get this because it's from his favorite YouTuber,” one parent said. “Since it was a blind box, he had a lot of fun opening it and seeing what he got.” Ages 5+

Good Housekeeping Institute testers found it easy to make simple marble runs with this set, where pieces of the track are built into hexagonal snap-in tiles. This set also has jungle-themed pieces to add in an element of imaginary play, but there are other starter-set themes (polar ice, undersea, dinosaurs, desert), along with expansion sets that add in different tricks. Ages 3+

Kids who love pranks and icky things will take to this remote-controlled fly, which really climbs up the walls. (It also has an "auto" mode, where it will scurry about on its own.) One parent tester mentioned that her daughter “fell in love with it as she played with it," even though it's an insect. Ages 4+; two AAA batteries included

LEGO's new SMART Play system adds a new element to LEGO-building: Sets come with SMART bricks that light up and make noise, and the noises change depending on what SMART Tag or SMART Minifigure they're close to. In this set, for example, the sounds change depending on whether or not the brick is near the Luke minifigure, the Leia minifigure, the R2-D2, the X-wing, the Imperial turret, the transporter, or the command center. It also comes with everything you need to charge the SMART Brick. Ages 6+

RELATED: I Tried LEGO’s New Smart Play—Here’s What Surprised Me

T-rexes, triceratops, spinosaurus, and other dinos come to life in mosaic scenes that kids create themselves by matching colored stickers to their correct spaces—an activity that takes some hand-eye coordination, by the way. In addition to the art activity, each page has facts about the different dinosaurs. Ages 5+