As most of you know Pac Man is a bit of a cult icon from the 1980's and there are all sorts of Pac Man related products from T-shirts to ice cube trays and stress balls! Of course the intent of a stress ball is to give you something to squeeze in your hand as a way of releasing built up stress.

This particular stress ball looks exactly like the pacman we all know and love - it's bright yellow, with black eyes, spherical and has a wedge cut out for the mouth. I'm not sure of the exact dimensions and I don't have a ruler around to check, but it fits nicely in the palm of my hand and allows me to close my fingers around it.

The material in very spongey and pliable, quickly springing back into its original shape as soon as you let go. Personally I prefer more mouldable substances (blu tac, silly putty etc) when feeling a bit stressed as I find it's not so much the squeezing action that helps, but forcing things into different shapes. That said all the stress balls I've seen have been the same essential format as this Pac Man one - so I'll just keep using blu tac!

My boyfriend found this in Paperchase and told me I had to buy it for him - not because he's stressed, but because he likes to have something to do with his hands when sitting at the computer and this usually means clicking a pen top all the time which gets on my nerves! I can't remember exactly what it cost in Paperchase, but I think it was £6 - you can get it on amazon for £5.99.

Overall this is a pretty fun novelty item - it would make a good stocking filler/secret santa type present for anyone who's a gaming or 80's fan. Essentially it's just a good bit of fun and is more attractive to look at than a plain ball. That said a price tag of £6 is quite hefty for what is essentially just a sponge ball - your paying for a brand image over quality or what the product does. So buy it if it's the sort of product you'll appreciate, but don't expect too much from it.