Talk to me about Gravitrax

[littlecabbage]

Considering it for an 8 year old for Christmas. Is it the addictive, challenging, good for STEM development toy that it is claimed to be, or is it a 5-minute wonder?

If good, which add-ons would you recommend?

Thanks.

Watching, also thinking about this for DS(7)!

It's ok, but not quite what I was expecting. It's basically similar to a marble run really. Snap circuits gets played with a lot more.

We were considering this for ds8 as I’ve seen it recommended a lot on MN. On YouTube videos etc it looks good but those tend to have multiple sets put together. A friends ds got the starter set for a recent birthday and having seen it I was underwhelmed. As was her dc! I think it’s overrated tbh unless you buy all the add-ons which a) pushes up the price and b) means lots more setting up required.

We went with Boomtrix instead though I’m afraid I can’t give any feedback as it’s for Christmas.

Clicked on expecting to read about smoked salmon.

PissPotPourri Sorry to disappoint!

Yes, the starter kit has good reviews on Amazon but the add-ons not so much. I know the 8 year old’s best friend is getting a starter kit, so I fear repercussions if we don’t get it and it turns out to be popular!

The snap circuits have excellent reviews though....

My 4 year old ds got it for his birthday. He loves it! Not quite sure what set it is but there are loads of different tracks to make. My 9 & 7 year olds enjoy playing it as well. Must admit I like it too, something satisfying about it!

It's advantage over other stackable marble runs (like cuboro) is that the pieces are held in place so it's not as easy to knock out of alignment. My two (7 & 10 with learning difficulties) play with it for about a week before it gets abandoned and packed away. Other children who visit are always fascinated by it.

But I have to say DS probably plays very differently to most other children, is not great at building complicated stuff alone and mostly plays with toys relating to his current obsession.

It’s weird, every site I look at, the starter set seems to have brilliant reviews, but the add-ons have hardly any. I’m still leaning towards getting it based on these responses so far.