Pat Pfarr of Kenosha wasn’t looking for a hot-selling video game, animatronic “pet,” electronic gizmo or any over-hyped whatever-it-is, digital or otherwise, to buy as a Christmas gift her 8-year-old granddaughter.

She was browsing the shelves recently at Heim’s Downtown Toy Store, 5819 Sixth Ave., in Kenosha for something with longer-lasting appeal, something fun and educational.

“I was looking for an ‘intelligent’ toy, something she could play with and just learn from ... something she’s intrigued with and can tell her mother, ‘Let’s get more of this,’” Pfarr said, noting microscopes, card games and modeling clay. A beginner sewing kit caught her eye as an activity she and her granddaughter could do together.

At specialty toy stores like Heim’s, owned by Jennifer and John Heim, and Learning Express, 7410 118th Ave., owned by Mary and Bill Lewis, patrons find an array of hands-on toys and games that help develop tactile skills, promote thinking and invite social interaction.

“We’re selling more activity-based things, and we’re also finding more cool activity things to sell,” Heim said.

She said vendors are picking up on buyers seeking alternatives to more costly video games and electronic toys, which typically require continual upgrades.

Plenty of the stores’ offerings encourage mixed group play for a variety of ages, challenging players to match skills, wits or both. More than a few move as quickly as video games, with the added benefit of people actually talking to each other, laughing together and, well, maybe shouting — a lot.

Lewis and Heim cited Ruckus, a card game that can be played by children not yet able to read. At the same time, it has grown popular on campuses and appeals to adults. Similar to the trading game Pit, it’s easy to learn, lives up to its name, can be played anywhere and is designed as a free-for-all.

“It is very popular with all age groups,” Lewis said. “It moves quickly; it lasts less than four minutes per hand. Kids don’t have a long attention span. They like to get it done. They’ll have fun with it. Even college kids like this game.”

Says Heim: “I love Ruckus. There’s no reading. Also, there’s no turn taking, which is key, particularly if you’re going to play with a wide age group.”

Both also list Bananagram as a popular, fast-moving word game as a good seller.

“People don’t come in here looking for video games because they know we don’t sell those kind of things,” Lewis said. “They’re looking for more time for the family to sit down together. When we were children, we played Monopoly. As a family,we would keep that going for days.

“People are going back to something they can do with their children,” she added. “Whether it’s putting a puzzle together, reading a book, playing a game, it’s about interaction. That’s the difference between video and real: You have to think and talk, communicate with other people.”

Toys kids can build themselves or with others and then play with afterward like Quadrilla, Play Mobil, Thomas the Train, Calafant and others are popular sellers, too.

Quadrilla isn’t a game at all, but a marble run kids can put together on their own or with others. The 2009 version employs “tone bars” the marbles strike as they roll downward along a series of runs to the bottom.

“This is ‘intelligent’ playing — in wood,” Heim said. “Quadrilla has been around for a while. It’s been a very good seller for us. Things that are going to sell out are things that are intelligent because people want their kids to think. They don’t want to get them a mindless toy.”