Archive for 'Activities & Amusements'

Bought for a 4 year old's birthday
I bought this for my son for his 4th birthday. Although I will agree with some comments about the blocks falling over and some difficulty setting up the railway, I believe this is a product which works better as a 'guided fun' due to the learning curve of the system. I am a former grade school teacher and feel that the quality of the blocks and expansion units make this my FAVORITE toy for my 4 and 7 year old!

Hours of building fun
This toy has been a favorite for our 2 1/2 year old for months now. We started with the twist and rail and when we had exhausted ourselves with the booklet contained in the set we opted for the rail extension set which has added another dimension to the complexity of our construction. We play with this toy for at least an hour each day.

Great quality & fun for all ages!
My 2.5 year old son loves playing with the old marble tower game that my mother has at her house from when I was a child. So I set out to get one for our house. After getting one of the plastic ones that looked similar to my old one for my nephew and being disappointed with the quality (thinner plastic than the old one and shorter connections that just make it cheap), I decided to give this one a try. Even though my son certainly can't build it on his own yet, he LOVES putting the marbles in and watching them go down. He can't build the plastic one either. The plastic version is MUCH easier to put together, but this one is worth the effort. He will have this toy forever, and my nephew's has already cracked. I definitely recommend following one of the examples the first time you put it together until you understand how all the pieces work. Once you've done this a few times, though, you will be able to put it together pretty easily, but I would think it would take an older whild to do it (maybe 5 or 6?). My niece who is 6 and cousins who are 11 and 13 were very interested in it.

One of my biggest concerns was the fact that it could be knocked over. It is easier to knock over than the plastic version, but my 2-yr-old seems to play fine and only knocks it over occasionally. It's usually time to build a new one anyway. I wouldn't let this deter you unless your kids are really, really clutsy or wild. My kid's pretty wild, but he seems to be calm while playing this.

My only complaint (and the reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5) at this point is that a toy this nice should certainly come with a marble "catcher". The marbles come shooting out the bottom. On carpet or rugs, this is ok, but we have hardwood floors, so it's a huge pain. Marbles go flying all over the room and get lost or stepped on "ouch". Why in the world wouldn't they include a tray or two? Even the plastic version has pieces designed to catch the marbles. I have tried to solve the problem by putting a plastic Elmo plate under the hole where the marbles come out, but it's loud, and sometimes they still fly off. There appears to be a piece made by Quadrilla, but best I can tell, you have to purchase the melody set to get it? Ridiculous.

Bottom line: if you want a marble tower game, this is great quality, and I would definitely recommend it! You will enjoy it for years to come! Appropriate for kids of all ages who won't eat marbles!

My 9 year olds new favorite toy!
Its VERY well constructed, entertaining to everyone around when its pulled out(kids and adults suddenly ALL become know-it-all architechs :-) ) I cant say enough good things about it.
We purchased this set for christmas with the melody composer and the switch set, both VERY good add ons to whatever set you start with. The noise of the melody set is a very interesting twist to it.

Worth the money and great for all ages.
This is a very well made wooden toy that should last forever. We looked at some of the cheaper marble runs on the market, but they seemed like disposable items that would break easily compared to this one. This one is expensive, but completely worth the money. We recently purchased it for our 4 year old son. He is still pretty young so he does need some help with the construction, but he likes to help pick out the right color blocks and loves to load the marbles when it is ready. The instructions included several construction models which gives a lot of variety...and they have a website for more building options. Plus they can be creative and build their own structures as they get older. Great educational toy!

We brought out the marble run at our christmas party, and everyone was having a great time with it. Grandpa was down on the floor helping to "race" the marbles right beside all the kids. It really is a toy that they can play with for years to come. The box accurately states that it is for ages 4 - 99!

smart fit excelent
excellent toy. we bought for Christmas the baby. the day we received it yesterday and tried it and it is easy to install on the tv. even children can do. game is fun. the level of teaching is very good and at the same time enables them to jump, run, duck.

running on thin air
MY THREE YEAR GRANDSON WILL ONLY PLAY ONE GAME . I TRIED BUT HE IS JUST NOT INTERESTED. HE IN PRESCHOOL NOW SO HE DOES'NT NEED OR USE IT NOW

A perfect gift to your child.
When I bought this interactive mat first time I didn't even think
how much my 3-year-old daughter will be engaged in the activities
it offers! I have already bought 5(!) mats to make gifts to all my
relatives's and friends's kids.

Not The Best But Still Fun For Kids
I like this product. The graphics aren't very great but my 2 year old loves it. She's still a little young to use it but its a great toy to learn with. She loves anything that plugs into the TV and eventually she will be able to understand the game. Worth the money if you ask me but should def have better graphics, we have a 50" TV so it could be part of the problem, I really don't know. But its not a good enough reason not to buy and educational/fun game for my kids!

Fun, fun, fun
My three year old niece loves this! She has issues with certain aspects, but overall figures it out. It is easy for her to use even without adult supervision. She is very independent which makes this toy great! She jumps and runs in place which wears her out!

A toy that keeps interest longer then 5 minutes
The bench is great. My grandson will play with it for hours. He even can use other toys that aren't related to the bench and play with it. The toy is good for their imagination and fun to watch them play with.

FUN WORKHSOP!
Grandson received this for Christmas and absolutely loves it! He's 3 1/2 and has made a robot and a birdhouse with his grandpa and uncle. It's durable and has great directions and places for all the parts and pieces. Santa did a great job!

Worth the MONEY!!
I purchased this toy for my 3 1/2 year old son for Christmas and it is well worth the money. The cool thing about the set is that you are able to build many projects and take them apart and start over. You do need to keep the pieces kept up and put away so they do not get lost but my son and I love to spend time building things. I do wish they gave a few extra nails and screws in the kit, but we have not lost any yet!!

4 year old says it's the best toy
My son received this for his birthday. He says it's the best toy. He plays with it all the time. He really likes building with his dad, so this toy was perfect for him. There is little storage, but with a plastic container it was easy to fix. We picked him up a little toolbox for storing all of his tools, he has quite a collection. We also hung the blueprint up on his wall near the workshop. This will keep it from getting ripped, and it is easy for him to look at. This is a great toy for young Handy Manny fans.

Very Pleased!
My son turned 4 just before Christmas and absolutely loves this toy. It was extremely easy and quick for my husband to put together on Christmas Eve. He and my son have built many projects and have a great time playing with it. It is very sturdy.