This is a very unique Mario Bros.-knockoff toy that both my one year old and three old enjoy playing with. They both approach each feature of the toy as a puzzle to solve, and they have great fun using the magnet to guide the metal ball to each corresponding location. The design of the toy, complete with built in sliding puzzles, engages education in colors and numbers, which is great, overall!

I do wish the magnet was a bit stronger on this toy, but overall this is stand-out toy that flexes creative thinking, problem solving, and fine motor skills. 4/5 stars, overall!

Ya get what ya pay for. Nothing fantastic as it's a cheap child's toy. Magnets could definitely be stronger though. At least the stick magnet.

Edit: customer service is fantastic. I'm bumping the review up to four stars with that In mind.

My son loves video games, marble runs, and puzzles. He has just turned 9yo. He played with this puzzle for an hour, figured it out and was done. That said, it is a good solid toy that would be good for fine motor and handwriting skills as well as reasoning, sorting, puzzle solving, and counting. It will probably be passed on to his little cousins eventually.

I ordered this for my 4 year old (who knows his colors and and can easily count beyond 10) because it reminded me of the "ball sort puzzle" game he plays on my tablet. He is great at solving puzzles and I wanted him to have more of a hands on game rather than tablet time. This has an "easy" way and a more "difficult" way to get the balls organized.

He sat working on this for a solid 15 minutes and then discovered a red ball was missing. He was pretty upset about it. Turns out there is one extra green ball and 1 missing red ball. The construction of this is well made but that also means there is no way for me to pull out the extra green ball and paint it red.

Had this little puzzle come with the correct number of magnet balls, I probably would have rated it 5 stars. I am a little apprehensive giving it 3 but it doesn't bother my son as much as I thought it would (he got over the initial frustration and just likes moving the balls around) and it doesn't confuse him having incorrect colors.

I hope the manufacturer tries harder in the quality control department - this is after all a learning toy for children.

*** UPDATE *** Less than 24 hours after posting my review, the manufacturer reached out to me with an apology, empathy and a willingness to right a wrong. They were very understanding of my concern and less than a week after responding to their email, my son had a new maze puzzle - and all the colored balls were correct in their numbers. One of the "elevators" gets a little stuck when we try to move it but with every pass the little splinter is worn down and is easier to use. The seller was more than understanding and truly stands behind their product.

I would recommend this product and if you receive one that is faulty, leave a detailed review and explain what is wrong with the maze or just reach out to the seller directly. It will be worth the few minutes of your time.

This looks like a great game for younger children