Haba Ball Track Construction Set

Bought this for my girl on her 3rd birthday. Both her and her big brother (5) love the toy. Possibilities are endless, from very simple designs to the very elaborate. In fact, my husband is having just as much fun creating very complex and creative designs, with the addition of some other accessories. This toy enthralls them all for hours. Beautiful, sturdy, educational, quiet. Highly recommended. A toy that will grow with my kids. All you can wish for a toy.

Pros: the blocks are well made and durable. My 3-year-old son enjoys playing with it.

Cons: the blocks are stacked on top of each other and/or put adjacent to each other to construct a ball track. They have to be pretty much perfectly aligned for the track to work properly, which is a very difficult task for little kids to handle (hence, you have to do it). Since these blocks cannot be attached to each other, they can easily go out of alignment after a number of runs (marble runs), not to mention when accidentally bumped by the kid(s).

Comments: It would be a major improvement if the blocks are designed so that they can be attached to each other. The toy is fairly expensive.

The set is well made and the blocks were bigger than I expected. Children at first might think its just another block set but when the marbles get rolling their attention follows fast. A bell bridge and a "klicker/klacker" track are the two special pieces included. Made in Germany, it's a bit pricey for the 42-pieces, which is why it gets 4 stars instead of five on the overall rating, but for a toy that is likely to last decades beyond the flimsy plastic junk everything else is, this toy is a worthwhile investment. I hope soon to buy some more accessories such as the domino track. The Quadrilla Marble Railway, Twist and Rail seems to be the main competition.

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