It’s not the toy, per se, rather a ritualized interaction between people and with a toy with particular limitations and affordances

Two entrepreneurs are currently raising funds for a toy that they say could unlock empathy in K-12 students. The Empathy Toy isn’t too different from basic building blocks, save for several notches and grooves that allow them to lock together. Students have to verbally guide a blindfolded peer through a manual–and somewhat abstract–construction process.