Playfoam® Putty Review

Playfoam Putty

The kids really enjoy doing lots of arts and craft activities in our house, especially over the past year with various lockdowns and school closures. Over the past few days, they have been particularly enjoying playing with Playfoam from Learning Resources. You’d think at the ages of 8 and 11, they’d be a bit beyond stuff like this, but as soon as we get any of it out, they’re both there like a rocket!

For those of you that have never come across or experienced the joys of Playfoam before, the best way we can describe it is as brightly coloured tiny malleable and mouldable balls that are bound together in a semi-sticky goo. It is non-toxic with a non-stick formula (it only sticks to itself and not to clothing or the carpets), it never dries out and leaves no mess.

As they have been enjoying the Playfoam so much they were absolutely delighted to receive the new addition to the range, Playfoam® Putty – you can squish it, squash it, stretch it and pop it!

Playfoam Putty is slightly different from original Playfoam. It combines the squishability of Playfoam with stretchy, pliable putty that crackles with every squish and stretch, and it never dries out. It actually looks a bit like the original Playfoam, contained in goo or slime. In reality, the ‘slimy’ looking part isn’t gooey at all, and is a stable and totally non-runny putty material. Our eight-year-old reviewer thinks the texture is really fun, especially the way it starts off quite firm but gets ‘stringy like pizza cheese’ as it is handled and warms up, but doesn’t ever stick to your hands.

The pack of Playfoam Putty comes with 4 tubs of different coloured neon putty: blue, green, orange and purple. It suitable for children age 3 years plus, and we really do mean plus – as I said, even the 11 year old in our house loves getting her hands on it!

When removing the putty tubs from the outer packaging, the tubs look like they have a slime substance in them. But when the tubs are opened the contents are rather different. The putty isn’t slimy or gooey, in fact it is fairly solid with small beads within the putty. It has a strange feel to it due the tiny bead-like texture and it crackles when you pull and mould it, and as it warms up, it becomes softer and more stretchy, but never loses its form like slime or goo does – very good for sensory play. Each tub is like a stretchy, cracking, bumpy stress ball.

Playfoam Putty

The putty can be pulled, stretched, squeezed and moulded into shapes, with the texture feeling quite satisfying whilst you are doing it and the crackling, popping sounds are strangely enjoyable. It can be played with over and over again without drying out and can be put back in the tubs (each tub measures 7cm in diameter by 3cm high) for storage when not using it.

The putty is a very different substance the original Playfoam; it’s just as much fun to play with and we particularly liked the vivid colours and the way that the texture of the substance seems to change as it is handled. It is very satisfying kneading, squishing and squeezing it into shapes, and both kids said they could have played with it for hours!

Purple Unicorn with orange mane and tail on green grass and orange sun in the blue sky

For adults it is an excellent stress reliever with its squishy beady texture and for kids the very malleable putty is great for building shapes and models that can be constantly shaped and re-shaped, whilst the texture and crackle & pop sounds make it good fun. A quite clever putty that is great for imaginative and creative play, and without loads of mess.

There is a warning on the pack about possible colour transfer on to fabric, carpet and wood but as yet we haven’t had any issue with this (although do take care when using it just in case).

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £13.50

For more information or to buy, visit www.learningresources.co.uk.

DISCLOSURE: We received this product for free for the purpose of writing an honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

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