Early Learning Centre Marble Madness > Reviews > Real marble madness!

Author's product rating:   

Age Group	3 - 5 years
Wear and Tear	Average
Value for Money	Average

Advantages:	lots of different routes to build, lights, sounds,
Disadvantages:	pieces don't always fit togother properly,

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I bought the marble madness set as a xmas gift for my daughter with a voucher given to me from a previously useless ELC toy!

I was really keen to get this toy out on xmas day thinking that my husband and i would have great competitions in making the best marble run, i have to say i wasn't that amazed by it. Granted it is a childs toy but the pieces dont stay together after putting them together so after building a lovely tall marble run you look down to find that bits have pooped off all over the place and then when you try to fix it the whole thing crumples and you have to start over again.

The concept and design as a whole is great, the pieces are brightly coloured and there are plenty of them to make countless desgins. simply build them together as you like there is even a piece that works like a corkscrew to wind the balls up to the middle or top of the structure (it is a bit stiff to ge t going and sometimes you end up knocking the whole thing over trying to get it moving) but its a good idea.
Another would be good point of this toy is that one of the base units makes sounds and flashing lights when a marble falls into it. now i say "would be" because mine is faulty adn either doesn't make sounds at all when a ball passes or decides to flash and "boing" when nothing is near it. obviously faulty and will need to be returned.

The set itself contains 50 building pieces, 10 marbles and requires 2 x AAA batteries and costs £20.

Now i myself find ELC to be quite expensive but as i say earlier i had a gift voucher to use as another of their toys kept injuring my little girl. So kean to prove to myself that that 1 toy was just a fluke and the rest of their toys are worth it i purchased this one. (the other toy by the way i have been told has been redisigned to avoid further injuries)

I am disappointed in this product even though my girl likes it the fact that it keeps popping apart really annoys me so i think i will probably be taking it back and also the faulty base unit is another factor too.
If the pieces would fit togethere properly this would be a great toy for kids of all ages!