My twelve-year-old son loves challenging toys that he can do tricks with. I love that he is playing something that is creative. Kendama USA LLC has several wooden toys to choose from. My son has been using The Pill over the last few weeks.

The Pill, from Kendama USA LLC, comes with the wooden toy, extra string, instructions, and stickers. It’s for both right and left handed players. The best part is that no batteries are required with this toy.

You may be wondering what “The Pill” is? It’s a unique wooden toy shaped like a “pill.” It is approximately four inches high. It’s made out of hardwood. It comes apart in the middle with a string to hold them together on the top and bottom of The Pill. When you separate the two parts one side has a spike and the other side has a hole for the spike to fit into. We received one that is colored on one side and natural on the other side. They do have ones that are all natural. My son thought that the color on one side makes it easy to see when you’re doing tricks. There are several colors to choose from and different hardwood choices.

It’s recommended for nine years or older. I agree with the age as it can leave a few bruises and knots while you are learning how to use it. We have smacked ourselves many times in the head and hands.

It took a lot of patience and it was a huge learning curve for my son. My son was determined to figure it out and is pretty persistent. The instructions have eight basic tricks which only have a sentence and basic illustrations. Honestly, the sky is the limit with the tricks you can come up with outside of the instructions. There are a few videos out on The Pill but not as many as the other Kendama toys have.

It took him a good two weeks to just to learn how to conquer the first trick, the Spike. This is basically getting the spike into the hole while you swing the other side upwards. My son figured out that he shouldn’t swing it but pop it up into the spike while bending his legs. Once he mastered that trick he was able to get the other tricks down fairly easy.

The Pill will definitely test your eye hand coordination, dexterity, patience, and your imagination with the tricks you can come up with. My son likes showing off his skills and trying to come up with some new tricks. He has created quite an interest among his circle of friends. One friend already has one and I suspect his other friends will follow shortly.

The Pill from Kendama USA LLC is a high-quality toy. It’s been a fun and challenging toy. I would definitely recommend it.

-Product review by Renee Knoblauch, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October, 2018