Ravensburger GraviTrax POWER Starter-Set Launch Marble Run & Construction Toy

This is a very expensive and overrated product. The tracks and the pieces are all made of cheap plastic and are extremely flimsy. The set comes with some examples that kids can follow - but they aren't great instructions (not as intuitive as lego pictorials for example, which my son has been doing since age 3). Unlike marble run, which allows for creativity and endless variations/building, this has limited appeal and requires a lot more finicky work, for little reward. Moreover, unlike marble run, where the physics lessons are abundant, and ever present, it's hard for kids to authentically explore concepts like gravity because this set is so flimsy. I would not recommend this.

One of the basic designs for the starter kit calls for more pieces than the kit contained. Contains 9 small linking pieces but one design calls to use 10.

I got it for my so for Christmas. He was so excited, buy unfortunately it was defective; the piece that release the marbles is defective. It was a disappointment.

This set compliments the starter set. Our grandkids, 8 and 4 years old played with it together and kept requesting it again and again on the days we were together. They enjoy building with it very much. It's expensive, so wait for sales. Especially to build the set to have lots of different piece options.

My 9 year old son has been playing with this for endless hours. It's challenging and keeps him stimulated. He's been building and rebuilding different tracks and has been happily entertained for hours. Definitely recommend for kids who love problem solving, moving parts, and who think outside the box.

Both of my boys 12 & 8 have spent many hours building creations! They have asked me to buy more sets to make bigger set ups!

I got this set for my nephews, 8 and almost 6. The 8 year old loved it as he's very hands on and interested in figuring out how to make things work. The 5 year old didn't really have the patience for it. I would say the starting age range is accurate, but I'm sure there are kids younger than 8 who would enjoy it. As other people mentioned the instructions were a bit lacking but I think tinkering and trial and error building was part of the fun. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you can get it on sale. I'm looking forward to adding extra sets. As an early reviewer, I received this game in exchange for my honest opinion.

Well made and engaging. A great way to educate about the basics of physical science, engineering and problem solving. Getting started seems daunting, but it's easy one you grasp the basic concepts.

This was the first time that my kids (8 and 6) have tried Gravitrax. I agree with the earlier review about the instructions being very confusing. I tried looking for additional guidance online but did not find much. The controls worked for me, but I could not figure out what the purpose of the electronic tunnel piece was. The pieces themselves were very sturdy and my kids were learning about gravity and physics, which was great! I think this game will keep them occupied for hours, and I am considering buying some of the other packs. I did receive a free copy of this game in exchange for an unbiased review.

I was given this product to review, and I was excited to see how my sons 5 and 7 would do with this. After intiatially losing one of the marbles is record time, My kids had a great time with it. The even found the missing peice when the found out it was magnetic. We spent a bit of time following the guide, my kids soon got to curious and needed to explore. Dad or Brother "what if we tried this peice, or turned that one." The remote and sensor for the launcher was a great hit. My kids have spent a few hours playing with this. The even explained how all of it worked to mom when she got home.

This set was fun but, I'm not sure it has staying power in my house. I feel like we won't get it out often. It's just kind of a fun thing to have set up so people can go play with it periodically. Kind of like you do with a puzzle. My kids really enjoy it but it feels like a one trick pony. I would say the price is too high. If you can get it on sale, and you have a little engineer in your house, go for it. Creating your own marble run is a fun idea. Like some of the other reviews, I would agree the insturctions were frustrating. Another thing, I have never played with gravitrax before so I didn't know what the point was... I think the instructons should have SOME words. In short, cool idea, fun to do but not our favorite thing. As an early reviewer I received a copy in exchange for my opinion

My 6 and 9 year old children were both interested in this toy, but my 6 year old spent the most time playing with this. He was proud of being able to set up what he decided were "advanced" designs based on his own ideas. After introducing the set and playing with it some in the afternoon, he chose it again after dinner to make more different designs. The 9 year old said it was cool so we will see if she plays with it some too. We started off trying to follow the instruction booklet, but quickly became confused because there were no words, only pictures. The Ikea-style instructions got us a bit frustrated, so we decided just to start building with this set. We started with a simple design and then kept adding to it through trial and errors. We've now figured out most of the different parts and what they do. My 6 year old was able to figure out how the pieces click together and how to arrange them in different ways. Using this set was a natural way to start talking about concepts like gravity and momentum. We were a bit confused by the controller and the instructions that go with it. The controller has red, green, and blue buttons. In the instruction booklet, there are icons showing how you can click the different colors different times (like red once, blue twice, green three times), but only the red button triggers an action in this set, as far as we can tell. There was no explanation of what these different buttons were supposed to do. In a few other cases, the picture instsructions were confusing. I'm assuming that future expansion sets for Gravitrax Launch will have features that use these other buttons. Thankfully, the toy itself is so well designed that I think you can figure out everything just by trying things out. This is our first Gravitrax set and I've already checked out other expansion items for existing sets (I'm assuming those are interchangeable, by the looks of it). The plastic pieces seem durable and they fit together well, so the play is not frustrating and it is not too difficult for a younger kid to figure out how they go together (which is sometimes the case for other marble run toys). We soon named the different pieces for reference (for instance, the most common white plastic track piece with curved lines we deemed the "macaroni" piece and could tell each other to "macaroni it together" if we needed to connect parts of the track.) It would be helpful for the instructions to include pictures of expansion sets to purchase at the end and to reinforce the idea that the differenet Gravitrax collections work together (if I'm right that they do!) After playing with this some, we were already imagining other things we'd like to try and will be adding to our collection for even more play options. As an early reviewer I received a copy of this game in exchange for my opinion.

I received a copy of this set in exchange for my honest review. I love gravitrax. These are marble tracks for adults and older kids. These are well made and help with developing problem solving skills. this particular set adds in a remote start and and a piece that will auto launch the next marble when the first marble gets to it. Those additions add a new level of enjoyment to construction. Are they necessary? No. Are they fun? yes? does it make this set worth the price they want for it? Not really.

Aw an early review, I received a copy of this game for my review. My two daughters love this marble track. My 6 year old still needs some help with it. The only other comment is the instructions on how to the use then"extra" pieces were a little hard to understand