18 Best Desk Toys (Review) in 2020

The Infinity Cube is the coolest of all of the cool fidget toys and is our number one choice for the best desk toy in our list. It is constructed using durable ABS plastic that is top of the range and is easy to handle with just one hand so you can continue to work while trying to alleviate any negative feelings throughout the day.

Fidget toys get a bad rap due to their association with douchebags who commandeered them when they arrived on the scene, but the Infinity Cube is designed to help battle bad habits and is an enjoyable toy to play with. It is ideal for stress relief, anxiety management, and will keep your brain occupied as a time-kill during downtime at work or school so you can keep alert for when the work finally arrives. Find more great products like this by checking out our guide to the best fidget spinners.

This fidget toy from Helect is designed to resemble a cube with six sides and can be used with significant effect to help alleviate the symptoms of stress and heightened anxiety. It’s portable and compact, so as well as being an excellent toy for a desk, you can also pack it with you to help combat moments when you need to feel calm and more focused. It’s manufactured using high-quality ABS plastic and silicone, which is capable of withstanding hours of wear and tear from repeated fidgeting!

It’s easy to use and handle and, as such, is suitable for both adults and kids. It’s proven to be especially beneficial to anyone with excess energy who might struggle to stay focused and calm. Anyone with ADD, Autism, OCD, or just general high levels of anxiety is likely to find comfort from this toy. Use it to click, flick, roll and spin and grip it with the one hand while you still write or type with your other hand. It’s small but sturdy and durable enough to last for many years to come, even if it’s dropped on concrete or tiles.

If you ever wondered just how the steam engine spring to life and you love anything to do with mechanics or science, then you will definitely appreciate this beautiful desk display. The Stirling engine replica from Djuiino Star makes an excellent gift for anyone with a healthy interest in engines and physics. Not only does it look great on an office desk, but it’s also a unique classroom prop too, expertly introducing kids and adults alike to the original principles of external combustion engines.

It’s easy to set up and start, requiring nothing more than a cup of hot water and a gentle spin. As long as there is enough temperature differential, the little engine will continue to run. It’s a timeless and elegant design, crafted with a high level of artistry to create an exquisite piece of art. It’s also thoroughly safety tested and compliant so suitable for kids and not just adults. It’s an excellent conversation starter and, when in good working condition and fully lubricated, can reach speeds of up to 220-250 RPM driven by nothing more than boiling water.

The Buddha Board is the perfect desk toy for the artistically-inclined office worker. Using just water, you can create amazing artworks that slowly disappear into nothingness – the perfect way to recharge your chi. It comes complete with a bamboo brush and a well-designed stand that stops it from toppling over. Thanks to the design of the brush, your pieces of art will have a Japanese-ink look to them. It’s a great way to practice your brush technique. 

We love this desk toy because it encompasses art and mindfulness to create a perfect stress management tool. It takes you away from work for a moment and lets you reconnect with yourself. 

From the Science Geek, this beautiful desk toy is ideal for kids and adults alike and will look just as at home in the classroom as it will an office or home desk. It’s bound to impress clients, colleagues and classmates alike, visually depicting the laws of physics and the concept of perpetual motion in a user-friendly and easy to digest way. It’s ideal for enthusiasts of science or anyone looking for an interesting and decorative display to admire whenever you feel like taking a break from work and relaxing your mind.

It’s simple and easy to set up, requiring nothing more than a 9V battery to operate. One simple spin of the sturdy base and the galaxy is set into motion. It’s an excellent option for encouraging sensory development, a terrific kids educational piece as well as a superb executive desk decoration, and even a great gift for your boss.

This small desktop probability device is reminiscent of the 11-foot tall probability machine made famous by Charles and Ray Eames. It’s a delightful device, ideal for an office environment, bringing to life the statistical concept of normal distribution. Featuring 3000 beads, the Galton Board encourages the owner to visualize order from the chaos of randomness.

For anyone with a healthy interest in mathematics and the sciences, this is a truly remarkable gift idea. The steel beads can be arranged and accumulated in countless different ways, denoting all manner of centuries-old mathematical concepts. From Pascal’s triangle to Leonardo Fibonacci’s numbers, this fascinating desk toy is approved for STEM educational activities and promotes the idea of maths in motion. What will you be able to deduct from the Galton board? Why not challenge your brain and your mind with this fascinating device.

These visually stimulating and beautiful Liquid Motion Bubblers have the same kind of therapeutic effect associated with lava lamps. Prepare to lose yourself momentarily as you float in a sea of calmness and serenity, mesmerized by the impact of the colored droplets floating downward, seemingly in slow motion. Kids and adults alike will be kept entertained, focusing on the rhythmic floating colored bubbles that appear to defy gravity.

The overall effect is excellent for appeasing hyperactivity issues and encouraging quiet contemplation. They make a fantastic gift idea and look stunning placed on a desk. The other beauty of this style of fidget toy is that it will never run out of energy. Just flip over and start the liquid timer off again, just like an hourglass sand timer or lava lamp as the brightly colored droplets continue to rain down. For improving sensory tracking and maintaining attention, these soothing descending bubbles are a fun and relaxing choice.

Cool desk gadgets are not that hard to come by, but we challenge you to name one cooler than Euler’s Disk, our premium desk toy choice. This spinning disk set allows you to combine science and art in a way that helps to calm the mind through light and sound and creates a stunning visual aid. This is a perfect gift for coworkers from your office.

The hypnotic movement means that you will be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t love this set. Simply get it spinning and it will continue to defy gravity and logic as it just goes around and around (and around). Who knew something as simple as a spinning disk could be so soothing.

Hanging out in the realm of fun desk toys, this desk sculpture set combines the joy of magnets with creative possibilities that could lead to you waste your day away experimenting with different models, but we know you have much more self-control than that.

Through it’s entertaining and challenging setup, SPOLEY Desk Sculpture can help relieve stress by channeling any issues through your imagination and clear your head. If you are sat in front of a computer all day, this set is a welcome distraction to give your mind and eyes a rest. It comes with 221 balls and is small enough to fit on your desk without getting in the way. Our handy guide to the best magnetic toys features more great products like this.

These beautiful magnetic balls from Speks make an ideal executive toy suitable for decking out your desk, not only looking good but also enabling you to stay more organized too. The super sleek and sturdy electroplated nickel-coated magnetic balls perfectly fit into the palm and are ideal for office fidgeters. They’re designed to resemble art, creating a cool desk sculpture but can actually be used practically as an organizational tool as well as a means of busting stress.

Use them to organize paper clips, neatly store business cards, or pile them up to create a fascinating conversational piece for colleagues and co-workers passing by your desk. These powerful magnets reassuringly clack together and are available in your choice of either gold, gunmetal, or a stunning oil effect finish.

As desk gadgets go, Stealing Coin Cat Box won’t help alleviate stress or anxiety like the fidget boxes will, but it can help you find calm in another way. Its cute, chic design is aww-inspiring and makes for a perfect desk mate that won’t leave type too loudly or crumbs covering the surface.

For those bad with money, the magpie-esque kitty cat will help you save just a little bit during the day that you can use to treat yourself or your partner. Its polite ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye’ feature makes it a welcome office addition and your coworkers will be fawning over its design. Overall, an adorable desk gadget that gives just as much as it takes. This is also a perfect Christmas gift for your colleague.

This next item on our list of cool desk toys comes in the form of everybody’s favorite little tree-based life form from the Marvel universe: Groot. This funky little desk toy comes with the voice of an angel and is designed to entertain you and anyone who passes your desk with its rendition of ‘I Want You Back’.

Groot is sound activated and loves to give you a little jive whenever you walk past any time of day. This is a great little addition to have around the house for when it gets too quiet. If you need a quick, fun break for your daily routine, look no further than the adolescent Groot to help get you through the day. A quick warning, though, he can get just a tad noisy.

Every great, fun office has something like a ping-pong table or foosball table. Your office might not yet, but getting your hands on this tabletop air hockey set can help transform your office atmosphere for the better. Air hockey sets make for excellent office desk toys and can be easily stored away when not in use.

40 inch Table Top Air Hockey Set is small enough not to intrude on everybody’s work but is still the perfect break-time activity to keep people on their toes. When employees need something to unwind with after a long week, there is nothing better than an air hockey tournament to help blow off some steam.

This is perhaps the most useless of office toys, but that is the entire point. The Useless Box is exactly what you would expect it to be, but this shouldn’t put you off adding it to your desk toy collection. A simple and entertaining toy that highlights just how easily guys (and girls) can be amused, you might think the novelty will wear off soon enough, but you’d be wrong.

There are no fancy gadgets, no cool sounds or hidden features. It is just a box with a switch that doesn’t want to be messed with. At the end of a crap day, sometimes you just need a little laughter to pick you up and keep you going, and this box can provide that time after time.

If you find yourself frequently bereft of inspiration and ingenuity, maybe this Albert Einstein Bust Magnetic Paper Clip Holder can help you out. You can use its magnetism to create a genius hairstyle that is fun, funky and downright ridiculous with any spare paperclips you find lying around (or ones you lift from the supply closet).

Einstein is a great companion for any desktop and can help you unlock the intelligence and innovation that you need when you start to lag during the day. A certified novelty item to add some spark to your desk, you’ll have people commenting on it all day long.

‘Stay boy, stay! Good rock.’ The pet rock is a classic toy that harkens all the way back to the 70s and has entertained generations of people who want a pet but don’t think they can deal with the responsibility of a dog or cat or rabbit. The Pet Rock is low-maintenance, but still gives you all of the love that you would expect from something that doesn’t mess, eat or sleep.

It comes with a comfortable bed to sleep on as well as an instruction booklet that outlines proper care of your new rock. If it (or, more likely, you) ever gets restless, then there is a walking leash provided to help it get some fresh air and bound about with the other rocks. If you need a companion that won’t bark into the night, scratch at your door, or require almost daily cleanings (looking at you, hamsters), then the pet rock is the best friend that man could ever have.

This set of Speks Original Nickel Magnetic Balls is definitely one of the ultimate desk toys. You get a total of 512 tiny ball magnets that can be used to create intricate structures or squeezed together to release stress. The only problem with this desk toy is that you’ll probably enjoy it too much and forget to do your work. The set comes with a 16-page starter guide that provides a bunch of different designs you can work on. The guide also includes a plastic splitter card that you can use as a tool to create your masterpiece. It’s important to note that you should keep this toy out of reach of all children. Individually, the magnets could be easy to swallow, making them pretty dangerous. 

Next up, we’ve got a desk toy that you probably weren’t expecting. If you’ve ever driven past a car dealership, you’ve probably seen a tube man (aka a skydancer, air dancer, or wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man). These dancing giants tend to invoice one of two reactions –  unbridled terror or pure joy. If you’re the kind of person that loves to see them, you’re going to love this miniature desk toy –  the Wacky Waving Inflatable Tube Guy. It’s a scaled-down version of a tube man. It works in the same way except that it’s powered by a 9V battery. It’s not much, but it will definitely soften the blow next time you have to fire someone.