JOYIN 207Pcs Glowing Marble Run, Construction Building Blocks Toys with 5 Glow in The Dark, STEM Toy for Boys and Girls, Educational Toy, Gift for Christmas

My boys enjoy it, and spend less time on tv since they got it

My two girls, 6 and 2.5, both enjoy this. Obviously the younger one doesn't catch on much and builds a pretty straight tower but the 6 year old enjoys trying to create new masterpieces.One night, I decided to surprise my oldest and do my best to recreate the picture/example in the pamphlet that uses all the pieces (she had been trying to make the biggest one possible) I ended up on the floor playing with this thing for MUCH longer than I care to admit haha.The pamphlet/example book is less than stellar, there's whole sections of the run that you can't really see in the picture, so you just kind of guess - there's also only a few examples, which stinks if you have a kid who really likes to recreate.We had originally purchased one from a different store but it seemed flimsy and didn't stay together very well. I searched Amazon and found this one, it cost a few dollars more and came with a significant amount of additional pieces. We boxed up the first one, returned that and ordered this one. Some of the pieces don't stay together the best but it's not a huge deal at all.We really like it, hours of fun for kids (and adults) of all ages.

Hours upon hours of fun!

Pros:Our kids like that the tunnels are see through. There is a good variety of special pieces in this set. Once assembled FULLY the pieces stay together as long as they are balanced (either supported with a base piece or have enough of a counter balance somewhere else in the marble run). You can carefully move the whole marble run to a new location without disassembling it. I held it at two of the heaviest spots to move it. The pieces will come apart if knocked over Godzilla style, but the set is mostly sturdy when pieces are snug in place. The set is compatible with a set of marbles (the game that comes with bumper marbles), but don't use the bumper marbles in the marble run. I don't think this set would need additional sets unless you want different special pieces, but it is fairly inclusive with a variety of special pieces. I might want additional swervy or twisty ramps (set includes one of each style) when my toddlers get older, but they like the variety. There are duplicates (2-3 each) of the spinning wheel styles (3 styles of spinning wheel) and 2 funnel style pieces.Cons:The instructions are pictures only and have several pieces added in the same step. Sometimes a step adds 10 or more new pieces and doesn't indicate which pieces in the next picture are new pieces to add. The beginner set ups are 3-4 images and include most of the 150 pieces. I originally started using any color of the separator tubes when I started to follow the instructions, but I quickly learned that it has to be exact color match if you want the chance to set it up like the instructions. Also, the instructions start with the top and work down to the base. This is not helpful at all because the pieces can't stand up on their own without the base pieces, and when I rested the upper sections on their side they fell off. It took me over an hour to assemble the set with the instructions, and then I threw the instructions away.

This marble run is fun and versatile! So far we have only made the setups in the manual but look forward to seeing the creations my son comes up with. The pieces are a little difficult to push together but I see this as a plus because it means they will stay together. The only exception is two sets of bases that fit together in an archway, they are more loose and collapse, however a couple pieces of tape do the trick to keep them sturdy. When you first put a run together it may be wobbly so you just have to push pieces together until everything evens out. I was concerned about the number of marbles taking up so much of the piece count but there really are plenty of track pieces and the kids love having so many marbles to play with. I highly recommend this marble run. I don’t know if it is compatible with other brands.The only true con I find is the instructions are a bit difficult to understand so kids may need help building the model runs.

Great!

I bought this marble run set alongside another Joyin marble run; the two sets use different size marbles and tracks, so the sets are not compatible. Of the two, this set was inferior in quality, joints falling apart more easily and difficult to move while built. The instructions were also far inferior to the other set; this one had a few simple pictures as steps, but the other set showed pieces per step and greyed out all the previous step pieces for ease of understanding. The tall pair of base-stand pieces (pictured) consistently fell off the build as the two pieces did not attach to one another. Since a similar piece in the other Joyin set stays together even while not inserted into another piece, this set feels more poorly fabricated or designed. On the good side, this set comes with plenty of marbles, has exclusively see-thru translucent pieces, is a larger size than the other set once constructed, and this set offers good versatility in alternate designs. After a few days of play for 3-8 year olds, this set was fully deconstructed by regular play, the main tradlwback being the looseness of the joints. Overall not bad, but the same brand offers better sets.

It took me 3 hours to finally get it right (the expert course using all pieces). The instructions are useless, so you have to go by the box. The problem is that both instructions and box picture are not at an angle, so it is difficult to see whether you have a straight piece or curved piece. Also, some of the colors of the pieces don't match the box, such as the figure 8 coaster track. When you finally get it all together, you have to do a final run to insure that the ramp pieces send the marbles in the right direction, and that the pass through vs marble blocking sides of each piece are oriented correctly. Also, it will easily come apart if he tries to lift it or touch anything besides the marbles. That being said, it is fun to watch and fun to watch the kids play with it. That's the bottom line.