Engenius Contraptions Perpetual Motion Marble Run

Excellent marble run very entertaining. I really enjoyed building this for the seven-year-old I bought it for. He really enjoyed playing with it. Construction would be quite challenging for a child and they would probably need to be in their teens and keen on construction. The plywood can splinter and snaps if you're not careful. Connections to the motor are a bit crude. Other than that it is very well thought out.

Bought for my 9 year-old daughter. She needed some help with construction. She was happy to start herself but needed assistance after the first few steps. The instructions are ok, but nowhere near 'lego quality', the layout of the instructions is slightly confusing, and not every step is clear. On two occasions the wrong numbered piece was labelled in the instructions but we were able to work out from the shape what was required (eventually). Mt daughter, in her enthusiasm, popped out all the pieces from the board right at the start, this was a mistake as they are not marked with a number and so are much easier to identify from the key when still in position. It was not two bad though and for the most part the construction was very satisfying as all the pieces slotted together beautifully to create a very robust structure. There are a lot of clever things about the construction, both my kids were enthralled by how the thing worked and have spent a good bit of time watching it, and trying to make it malfunction.... It is a lovely thing to watch, the balls spinning down the spiral and then climbing again to go down the zigzag stairs. It is regular and reliable and there is always at least one ball running down the track at any time. I feel it is educational too, not just the construction and problem solving, but the engineering, the way the forces work and the transfer of energy - there is a whole load of lockdown home school stem stuff that we have down with this. My kids have been inspired now to create there own marble runs.

We have both had one given to us and since bought for others and all the feedback is positive. The set is beautifully set up so that in what appears to be a slender package there is a lot of kit. The kit requires careful assembly, with instructions that are pretty straight forward you just need to be delicate with the manipulation of the wood. I know that a 9 year old has managed to construct it on his own, as has a 12 yr old, so perfectly doable. Once assembled the marbles move around the two sides of the contraption with grace and intrigue. It has had many people watching and enjoying it for a good spell when it runs, from young to old - totally mesmerising. Would recommend as a gift or just as a bit of enjoyable creative fun with a good dose of mechanics thrown in for good measure.

Very very disappointed with this. Bought it as a Christmas present for my son where we could enjoy the fun and challenge of assembling it together, however that's where the fun stopped!!! So headline comments; very poor instructions (both the written ones and the videos from YouTube) components not numbered even though the instructions indicate they should be, very similar parts not clearly highlighted as to which should be used first (with major repercussions) and component elements not sturdy enough - all of which resulting in two hours of my life wasted trying to put it together with the result of broken parts and therefore a waste of time. Before anyone thinks I'm a ham fisted oaf just trying to force things together, I'd like to consider myself pretty intelligent, methodical and high attention to detail - none of which could compensate for the negative points i made previously. All in all a massive disappointment more so for my son than me. Would not recommend!!!!!

Recipient had to repair a 'rail' as snapped under torsion, but once finished it worked well albeit a bit noisy. Good fun though.

Very satisfying both to build and watch! Instructions were clear, parts well cut, overall well designed. Make sure the parts are facing the right way before adding the next part because it does matter. Get AA batteries too as they're not supplied (it does say this). I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 only because the marbles often get trapped in the wheel and at the bottom of the whirlpool, even then it's more like a four and a half.

This was a very interesting present that I bought, it was complex to construct but I would suggest watching the YouTube video to assist with the construction of the model, but when it it going it operates well apart from the vortex side that sometimes drops the marbles but apart from that it is a nice piece for display, you need 2x AA batteries also

Got this items for my 7 years old daughter for this Christmas, looked very exciting. Unfortunately, when putting it together we noticed that the pieces like the spiral and the run down could not be assembled properly. When we tried to adjust them the run down snapped... which is a shame as it means that the all game wont be able to be used.. disappointing.

Easy to assemble (note, parts are not numbered, so you have to match them with the instructions). Works well. Always amuses my guests when they come over for dinner!