Description:

Kapu is a modular cup and ball game aimed at ages 3+. With swappable cups via the simple twist & lock mechanism, Kapu challenges kids to develop their fine motor skills as they try to overcome each difficulty with joy. The way all cups easily stack together makes endless fun available anywhere.

Kapu was designed as part of a 12-week brief provided by New Zealand-based Wishbone Design Studio to redesign a retro or classic children’s toy following their ideological and ecological principles. Kapu took inspiration from the traditional Japanese skill toy Kendama, which consists of a handle, a pair of cups (sarado), and a ball (tama) connected by a string.

The 3 interchangeable cups provide the user with a multi-level difficulty game, resulting in the development of fine motor skills as they conquer each level. The modular cups connect to the wooden handle through an innovative twist and lock mechanism. The white pin acts as an extra addition to the existing cups, it can also be used by itself as the most difficult level. The white pin also helps hold the stack of cups together in travel/storage mode. The New Zealand native Nīkau Palm Tree inspired the aesthetic form of Kapu.

In America, the average number of new toys a child receives in a year is 70 (stuff.co.nz). Over 90% of these toys are plastic-based. Kapu provides a reinvented perspective on a timeless traditional toy, where the modular cups are proposed to be made from post-consumer injected moulded plastic, and the handle is made from wood - a highly renewable source.