There are plenty of things you can pull out of your pocket for entertainment value, but we've never seen anything quite as ingenious as Cranium Keychains. Indeed, when we first heard about these pocket-sized marvels we thought somebody must've zapped 'em with a Honey I Shrunk the Kids-style laser beam. How else could such multi-faceted playthings be so effectively miniaturised?

Closer inspection of these beautifully put-together games reveals that simple ingenuity (and someone with incredibly small hands) is responsible for this successful miniaturisation job - and what a job it is! Because both Cranium and Cadoo are award-winning 'guess what I'm thinking?' party games crammed with something-for-everyone fun. You never know what kind of question, task or teaser you're going to get.

In any given game of Cranium you could be asked to draw, act out a movie scene, spell backwards, sculpt a celebrity, hum a tune, answer trivia, unscramble a word and more. There's always a new challenge to keep everyone in stitches. And, believe it or not, the impossibly titchy Cranium Keychain contains a playing board, 80 Cranium cards, 4 playing pieces, a tub of clay, a timer, die, pad, pencil and instructions. Amazing!

Of course the incredible portability of both Cranium Keychains means you can now play these brilliant games whenever and wherever you please. They're fantastic hour-crunchers on long journeys and great at dinner parties because you don't have to turn up carrying big boxes in a geeky, 'ooh, let's all play the games I've brought along' fashion. Simply pull out your keychain in a casual, 'seen this?' kinda way and let the fun commence.

We've even played with our Cranium Keychains down the local - although attempting a Nancy Sinatra impression in a bar rammed with football fans is not something we'd recommend, especially as her biggest hit involves the words 'boots', 'walking', 'over' and 'you'. Cranium Keychains are great little gifts for fun loving games fans, and they're so small you'll forget they're in your pocket until you need a giggle.

Cranium Keychains are available from Firebox priced at £9.95 

If you're a puzzles shmuzzles type of person you've probably clicked on this page by mistake. After all, puzzles are for squares and Billy No Mates-types, aren't they? Well, no, not when they're as toe-curlingly addictive as Kaleidoscope Classic.

In fact, this is one brainteaser that should come with a warning, as it is so fist-bitingly compelling you may find yourself buying an anorak and proudly scrawling 'Puzzle Nerd' on the back, because once you start fiddling with Kaleidoscope Classic you'll be so enthralled you won't give a hoot what anyone else thinks.

So what's it all about then? Well, basically Kaleidoscope Classic consists of an 8×8 square board composed of 18 pieces, each unique in size, shape and/or colour. The object is to create a designated pattern using all 18 pieces. Each challenge varies in difficulty and whilst one pattern may have 20 billion solutions, another may have just one unique solution. The possibilities are endless!

Kaleidoscope Classic comes complete with a book containing 101 exciting challenges and a strategy manual to help you on your way. The challenges range from relatively easy to extremely challenging, so you'll always have something to solve. And even if you don't, Kaleidoscope Classic can be endlessly mucked about with in order to discover new patterns. Speaking of which, new challenges are being created all the time so you'll never run out of pesky puzzles to solve. Riveting? This nifty, take-anywhere mind-mangler makes Rubik's Cube seem about as gripping as an episode of Eldorado.

And that's hardly surprising as Kaleidoscope Classic has been created by a psychologist and a mathematician/physicist, and is designed to appeal to your left-brain, right-brain, memory and creativity. We don't know about that, but what we do know is that Kaleidoscope Classic is giving us brain ache (in a good way) as it is, without doubt, one of the most engrossing and original puzzles we've seen for absolutely yonks.

The Kaleidoscope Classic is available from Firebox priced at £19.95

We love everyday essentials with a trendy twist. And they don't come much more essential than loo roll. (At least we hope they don't). But how do you make bog-standard toilet paper trendy? No, you don't draw designer logos on it with toothpaste and glitter (ouch!). You make it black like Papier Noir.

This über-chic toilet tissue is set to take the botty-wiping world by storm because it's completely jet black - right down to the cardboard roll. Yes, we know you can buy loo roll in baby blue, pink and peach, but style-savvy toilet-goers wouldn't dream of sullying their designer loos with anything so naff.

So why is black loo roll so ridiculously stylish? We don't know. It just is. Shove a roll of Renova Black in your bathroom and it adds an instant designer vibe. But don't just take our word for it; chi chi clubs and hotels across the globe are racing to replace their white rolls with Papier Noir. And so should you. Newspaper blurb claims this super hip toilet tissue can be used as a 'symbolic object of counterculture'. Maybe, but we prefer to use it to joosh up the bathroom. And the obvious.

As well as looking incredibly sexy (yes, sexy), Papier Noir feels incredibly luxe. Hardly surprising as it is made from 100% biodegradable virgin pulp and is entirely recyclable. Whether you're a scruncher, a folder or a one sheet wonder we guarantee you'll be impressed. And unlike the aforementioned newspaper, Renova Black won't leave black marks where it shouldn't.

Before you scoff at this convention-defying triumph of bumbum-based design, it's worth considering that loo roll is something we all buy on a regular basis. So why not mix things up once in a while with a few rolls of Papier Noir? We guarantee guests will love it. And with three rolls in each incredibly smart tin, there'll be plenty for everyone. So get ordering. Your botty won't notice the difference but your bathroom will never be the same again!

Paper Noir is available from Firebox priced at £9.95

Have you heard about VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), the amazing new technology that allows you to make free phone calls using your Internet connection?

If you have, you'll know that it can save you an absolute fortune, especially if you've got friends and family strewn across the globe. If you haven't, you really need to get with the program pronto, because VoIP technology allows you to make free calls to fellow users and obscenely low cost calls to landlines and mobiles all over the world. And there's no easier way to get into the wonderful world of VoIP than via the ingenious uConnect skype phone convertor.

This neat little box of tricks takes the signal from your traditional home phone - be it analogue, DECT or even cordless - and converts it into digital data for transmission over the Internet. Clever, eh? Simply attach your uConnect to your regular phone line and your computer's USB port, load up the included Skype software and Bob's your uncle! It's completely idiot-proof and easier than, er, picking up the phone.

Once hooked up, your phone will work just like it always did, but pressing the * key twice will immediately activate Skype, allowing you to natter away for nothing for hours on end. (You'll need Broadband to get the best from uConnect and it goes without saying that your computer has to be switched on to take advantage of the VoIP function).

If you're into long distance calls the uConnect will pay for itself in seconds, especially if far flung friends and roaming loved ones are Skyped-up with a VoIP-friendly handset like the VTraveller.

Free calls aside, you'll also be able to use your newly-converted handset to access a whole host of user-friendly features, including VoIP voice recognition and speed dialling. And if you've got a DECT handset a nifty caller display feature tells you who's calling. Best of all you won't have to sit by your computer every time you fancy a VoIP-powered natter. And if you're cordless, a wandering you can go!

When it comes to incoming calls your phone will automatically ring as if it's your standard phone. Which it still is. If you want. Which is nice. Converted? You will be, and so will your phone. So come on, get yourself uConnect-ed and discover that talk is not only cheap, it's FREE!

The Skype Phone Converter is available from Firebox priced at £29.95 

Along with chocolates, neutrality and cuckoo clocks the Swiss are renowned for their ability to manufacture pocket-sized precision implements. And although the prospect of putting a multi-purpose metal thingamabob in your pocket or attaching it to your keys might seem somewhat unappealing, we guarantee you'll change your mind the second you get your mitts around the ingenious Swiss Tech 8-in-1 Tech Tool.

This impossibly teensy multi-tool will soon become an indispensable take-everywhere item, alongside your keys, wallet, mobile and SpongeBob Pez dispenser (what, haven't you got one?). Because let's be honest, carrying around a full-size toolbox wherever you may roam is impractical, not to mention pretty weird.

Handier than a sackful of handy things from the handy store in Handyville, the compact Swiss Tech 8-in-1 Tech Tool is one of those bits of kit you might not use today, or even tomorrow, but use it you will. And when you do, everyone will want to know where you got such a gorgeously engineered gizmo. Robust but weighing in at a virtually unnoticeable, keyring-friendly 39g, the ultra-compact Swiss Tech features eight useful tools for all manner of tricky situations, including:

• Precision pliers with posi-grip jaws
• Phillips screwdriver
• Flat screwdriver
• Micro Phillips screwdriver
• Micro flat screwdriver
• Wire cutters/stripper
• Sheet shears
• Measuring tool

Impressed? You should be, because as well as its amazing versatility the Swiss Tech 8-in-1 also features a robust self-locking mechanism to avoid any in-pocket accidents and comes packaged in its very own luxury metal gift tin.

Add to this a lifetime guarantee and you're looking at an implement that no sophisticated man-about-town should be without. Because, un-Swiss as it may sound, you never know when you may be called upon to tighten, prise, strip, shear or quite simply show off at a moments notice. As they say in Switzerland, vorsprung durch das Swiss Tech 8-in-1 Tech Tool.

The Swiss Tech 8-In-1 Multi-Tool is available from Firebox priced at £12.95

Whether it's Cod Stewart, Squid Rock or a completely unfishy artist, this funky fish-cum-interactive speaker will sway its tail and flash its lights to your music. Simply plug in your MP3 player and watch as iFish rocks to the beat. For mellower moments iFish is preloaded with several soothing soundtracks, (rippling waves, bubbles, etc). It's the greatest desktop companion in fishtory!

The iFish is available from Firebox priced at £39.95 

Keys. We all use them, and we will continue to need them for the foreseeable future, (at least until biometric recognition systems become the norm and we can get into our house or car by having our retinas scanned or pressing our hand to a sensor plate. Won't that be lovely?) Until then, though, we must resign ourselves to lugging around big lumps of jangly metal on our keychain.

However, clever folks have realised that along with boring old keys we can adorn and personalise our keyrings with a wide range of useful, idiosyncratic and downright funky additions which give us a little spark of pleasure every time we unlock a door. With this in mind, may we proudly present Qees.

Qees (rhymes with 'keys'- clever, eh?) are 2 & 1/2-inch tall collectable keychain figures. Most of us have collected something at some point in our lives, whether it was stamps, football stickers, Beanie babies or those Wade's Whimsies that grandmothers are so fond of. You may not have noticed, but recently vinyl figures for grown-ups (known as 'Urban Toys' or 'Art Toys') have become extremely fashionable and desirable collector's items among the cognoscenti. The craze started in 1997 when one Michael Lau turned up at the Hong Kong toy fair with an armful of GI Joes he had customised into hip-hop street fashions and things exploded from there.

Initially most popular in Hong Kong and Japan, the craze soon spread to hip young urbanites in Europe and the USA who appreciate the high production values, attention to detail and funky designs of these Urban Toys - leading designers such as Lau, Pete Fowler and Tristan Eaton are now celebrities in their own right. Many of these figures are extremely collectible (early Michael Lau figures have reached $10,000 on eBay!) and Qees are no exception. Many of the rarer examples have already appreciated considerably in value and there is a very healthy market of avid collectors out there.

Each series is produced in strictly limited editions - and once they are sold out they are gone forever. Qees usually come in three basic forms designed by Steven Lee: BearBearQ (a bear with round ears), KitCatQ (a cat with pointy ears) and DoGgyQ (a dog with floppy ears), . BUT, and here is the clever bit, these basic forms are decorated with cutting edge designs from some of the most respected names in the world of graphic design, illustration and art - folks such as Alice Chan, Dalek, Tim Tsui, Kerb, Xiao Ming Lam and Playskewl with whom you are perhaps already familiar. Even if you have never heard of any of them, all you need to know is that Qees look very cool indeed.

Series 5C is comprised of 14 different designs, plus several special ultra-limited mystery figures. They are 'blind-packed', which is to say that when you buy one you don't know what you are going to get, which we think just adds to the fun of collecting them. Should you happen to get a duplicate, you can always give it to a friend as a gift, or even trade it with fellow Qee devotees. 

For less than a fiver you can have a piece of limited edition art to hang on your keychain, or if you would rather keep them pristine you can stand them on their very own plinth and admire them at your leisure. Also included in each pack is a co-ordinating graphic card by the designer responsible. If you really like a particular Qee why not check out the website of the designer? We can't think of a more fun way of getting into the funky world of art and design. A word of advice though, collecting Qees can become extremely addictive and once you start, you may find it hard to stop!

New Gold & Silver Metallic Qees:
Pull out the polishing cloths… The latest Qees have just arrived. These very limited edition metallic coated Qees, available in gold or silver, are a must have addition to any Qee collection, or a perfect way to join the craze by picking up a shining example of designer toy goodness.

Qees are available from Firebox priced at £4.95 

Plotting the perfect route is hard enough in real life, without having to worry about brightly coloured crates, annoying grids, devious challenge cards and little red men. So why would anyone want to mangle their mind with Tipover, as it involves all of the above and more. In fact, this fiendishly vexing one-player brainteaser is a masterpiece of mind manglery (yes, we made that word up) and it's guaranteed to have you hooked the moment you start tipping.

So what's so good about a game that involves tipping? Well you won't have to work out 15% on your fingers or scarper before the waiter realises what a tightwad you are, as it's not that kind of tipping. No, the idea here is to tip over various crates in order to create a path to a red destination crate.

Confused? Allow us to explain: 40 beginner-to-expert Challenge Cards show you how to set up the grid using crates of different heights (yellow crates are 2 units high, green are 3 units high, and blue are 4 units high). All you have to do is figure out the correct tipping sequence to help your little red man (or Tipper) reach his goal.

To move from one crate to another, a tipped-over crate must fall and land adjacent to another crate. The little red man can then move from the fallen crate to the adjacent one. It's a bit like Mousetrap meets 3D dominoes via one of those brainteasers you sometimes encounter in role-playing videogames.

Despite its fairly basic concept, Tipover is excruciatingly addictive as one false move can spell disaster, and seemingly simple set ups can leave you hopelessly stumped for hours on end. Indeed, Tipover is one of those games that takes over your life because walking away from an unsolved grid is just not an option. We tried it and only succeeded in gnawing down a few more teeth before racing back to have another go. And surely that's the sign of a truly crate brainteaser!

Tip Over is available from Firebox priced at £12.95 

Although headphones are handy there's something special about listening to your music through a pair of decent speakers, especially when the music in question is being pumped out via an MP3 player or PC. Because unlike that micro system in the kitchen or the flashy stack of separates in your sitting room, digital players are rarely blessed with decent external speakers.

Yes, you can glue your earphones to the side of a tea chest or crank your PC's speakers up to eleven, but a cacophony of snap, crackle and pop isn't going to impress anyone. That's why we know you're going to love Music Studio's Stripy Speakers.

These über-chic mini speakers are perfect for desktop use and music on the move, and they also make rather attractive robot ears when stuck on the side of your head. But that's beside the point. What isn't beside the point is the fact that, considering their size, Stripy Speakers sound truly impressive. Packing a 9 watt punch (4.5 watts RMS per channel) and made from polished aluminium, these gleaming little cylinders produce big audio dynamite that's sure to impress, even when blasting out Joe 'Shaddap Your Face' Dolce at top whack. (Well okay, maybe they can't save that).

As far as looks go, the Stripys are unlike any speakers you've ever seen (unless you're a music-loving Cyberman) and the clever tubular design means they're capable of swivelling 180°, so you can direct your music anywhere in the room. Clever, eh? Speaking of clever, the Stripy Speakers feature an intuitive one-touch central station that glows a different colour according to the function being adjusted. It's pinky white when switched on, but tap it once and it turns blue for bass control, twice and it goes green for treble, and three times to return it to the default volume control. It's a bit like an iPod scroll wheel with some chilled-out lights thrown in.

Needless to say, the innovative styling of Stripy Speakers really separates them from the competition and they look super sleek in any scenario. But you don't get anywhere on looks alone in the music world these days (just ask Michelle McManus). No, crisp sonics and smart functionality are what elevate the Stripys into the upper echelons of the 'lots of sound for your pound' category. In fact, we can think of no better way to share your digital library with the world than with a set of Stripy Speakers.

Stripy Speakers are available from Firebox priced at £49.95 

Why natter for nothing using a regular Skype phone when you can do it via a goggle-eyed monster with huge hands? Don't ask us - we haven't got a clue. All we know is that everyone who sees a Verball in action is smitten in seconds.

And who can blame them, because Verballs make most communication devices look about as exciting as rectangles with numbers on 'em. Essentially USB-powered handsfree speakerphones in disguise, Verballs are destined to become desktop favourites amongst VoIP users across the globe.

Why? Well, for a start, each cartoon-esque critter waves its oversized hands, gospel-styley, and flashes its horns when a call comes in. So unless you walk around the house/office with a sack over your head, you'll never miss another Skype call!

Maddest of all, each Verball moves its mouth every time your caller speaks. Which is very disconcerting in a badly-dubbed-kung-fun-movie kinda way. It's very funny, too. Especially when the boss catches you conversing with a little furry monster. Thankfully each Verball has headphone/microphone sockets in its rear (ouch!) so you can chat in private whenever you fancy.

As well as funkifying your desk, you can also use these soon-to-be cult creatures to listen to MP3s (via the built-in speaker), download ringtones, use text-to-speech software and much more. All this and free calls too, because we're even chucking in 30 free Skype minutes.

There are currently five Verball characters to choose from: Mr V, Striker, Boss, Britney and Baby. Yes, we realise they look a bit like Freddie Starr with a chronic case of underbite, but once you start chatting to your Verball, you'll wonder what you ever saw in headsets and standard speakerphones. It's good to talk, but it's even better doing it via a cute little monster!

Verballs Internet Phones are available from Firebox priced at £29.95