We received Marble Run by Galt Toys to review. It is a traditional style marble run with plastic chutes and glass marbles aimed at 4 to 8 year olds.
My initial impressions were that this looked like a lot of fun but I was slightly concerned whether 4 and a half year old Miss M would be able to play this independently. My first thoughts were that she would require adult supervision and we would need to help construct the runs but actually I was completely wrong!! Her eyes lit up when I showed her the box and she couldn’t wait to get stuck in. Apparently they have a similar toy at nursery and before I got a look in, Miss M had taken control and built a tower!!
The plastic chutes and connectors are easy to assemble and relatively sturdy. The only thing you need to ensure is that you don’t create an empty column that the marbles drop down. You need to place the pieces in alternate directions in order to create a run but this concept was picked up by Miss M immediately.
This toy is fun, addictive, challenging and helps develop problem solving skills. I never envisaged how much Miss M would get out of it, but it has become a firm favourite that she has played with again and again. I think construction style toys are always a hit with children due to their varied nature in producing different creations everytime you get them out of the box. This helps keep their engagement with the toy but also stimulates them to experiment with new ideas and challenge themselves to create something bigger and better than before.
At £10.99 I would definitely say it is good value for money although I would opt for the larger set “Super Marble Run” which is £19.99 if you can, purely to have more pieces enabling bigger, higher runs – something Miss M is very keen to do!!
We have loved trying Marble Run by Galt Toys and summarise it as follows:
“A durable, lasting toy that sparks imagination and creativity giving your child many challenges and lots of play value along the way“
All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.
