Marble mazes are designed to test your child’s critical thinking, visual perception and spatial reasoning skills. Unlike a straightforward marble run, where the object of the exercise is to construct a structure for marbles to tumble down, a marble maze is far more mentally stimulating.
A marble maze is a logic game. A child has to think very carefully about what path his marble will take. If he chooses the right path, the marble ends up in the right place and he wins the game. But, one wrong move and its game over!
Marble mazes are great for children and adults alike. In fact, you should be careful if you buy one of these toys for your children. There is a very real possibility that you will find marble maze toys highly addictive, which could cause problems when your child wants to play with his new toy and you’re not quite ready to give it up…
To help you make an informed choice before you buy, here is our list of the ten best marble maze toys:
Best Marble Maze Game
 | Gravity Marble Maze by Think Fun Lowest Price | Check price at |
 | Perplexus Original by Spin Master Games | Check price at |
 | MindWare-Q-Ba-Maze 2.0 | Check price at |
 | Fun Farm Maze by Hape | Check price at |
 | Brio Labyrinth Table Maze | Check price at |
 | Zoom by Hape | Check price at |
1. Gravity Marble Maze by Think Fun
The Gravity Maze is a marble maze and logic puzzle all in one. It is a single-player game that builds critical thinking skills and visual perception. The objective is to arrange the towers so that your marble reaches its target. Challenge cards offer guidance, but your child is also free to create his own marble tracks. The game is addictive and infuriating in equal measure. It’s perfect for kids aged 8 years and over.
2. Perplexus Original by Spin Master Games
Perplexus Original is a fiendishly challenging marble maze game. This marble maze is a 3D labyrinth contained within a sphere, so in order to move the marble to the finish line your child has to flip, spin and twist the Perplexus. If the ball drops off the path, you have to go back to the beginning and start all over again! There are lots of different paths within the maze, so your child can pick the one they would like to master. This maze is suitable for kids aged 3 and above.
3. MindWare-Q-Ba-Maze 2.0
The MindWare-Q-Ba-Maze is challenging, intriguing and guaranteed to keep kids entertained for hours. This engaging marble maze puzzle will help hone your child’s problem solving skills and exercise their mind. The set contains a selection of ramps and scaffolding plastic pieces, which together with a marble, are perfect for a parent looking to gift a toy that educates and entertains.
4. Fun Farm Maze by Hape
The Fun Farm Maze is perfect for younger children, as it is simpler than other marble maze toys. The objective of this toy is to guide the marble through a farmyard themed maze using a magnetic wand. The Fun Farm Maze is ideal for travel, as all of the pieces are completely contained.
5. Money Maze Bank by Dragonpad
The Money Maze Bank is a clever but inexpensive toy based on a traditional marble maze. It is basically a money box, but in order to retrieve your money, you have to solve the maze. Guiding the marble through the maze until it slides over the unlocking mechanism is rather challenging, but kids aged 5 years and above should be able to manage it… eventually.
6. Bella Sunshine Plastic Intellect 3d Maze Ball
The bright and colorful Bella Sunshine Plastic Intellect 3d Maze Ball is perfect for younger children aged 3 years and above. The toy is designed to help children learn the art of patience as they guide their marble through the twisty turns of the maze. The toy promotes hand-eye co-ordination, concentration and fine motor skills, and is perfect for independent play sessions.
7. Brio Labyrinth Table Maze
The Labyrinth table-top maze was first invented in 1946 and has remained a popular toy ever since. This labyrinth maze toy from Brio is made from wood in Sweden, and it works just the way you remember. Kids use two knobs to tilt the maze and guide the marble around the traps, but be careful as it isn’t as easy as it looks! The Brio Labyrinth is ideal for kids aged 6 years and above.
8. Perplexus Epic by Sin Master Games
The Perplexus Epic marble maze toy is deceptively easy to play, but surprisingly tough to solve. Older children (and their parents) will have a lot of fun trying to solve the maze, but prepared to be perplexed for a very long time, for it is fiendishly difficult to guide the marble through some areas of the maze. Be careful, however, for the Perplexus Epic can take over your life if you are not careful!
9. Zoo’m by Hape
The Zoo’m marble maze puzzle from Hape is perfect for friends to play with together. Two players use magnetic wands to guide their marbles through the maze. It’s an exciting race to see who reaches the finish line first! This marble maze toy is solidly constructed from wood and is completely enclosed, which means it can be used as a travel toy. It is ideal for children aged 2 years and above.
10. 3D Mini Intellect Maze Ball
The SainSmart Jr. Amaze BL-13 3D Mini Intellect Maze Ball is the ideal toy to develop spatial awareness, coordination, memory, and of course patience. The aim of the game is very simple: players have to use their skill to guide a marble around a maze contained within a plastic sphere. The sphere can be twisted and spun to push the marble along numbered pathways. It’s challenging, because the child not only has to negotiate tricky barriers, but he also has to work with gravity! This marble maze toy is recommended for children aged 5 years and above.
We have covered ten of the best marble maze toys for children of all ages, but if you think we missed out a super special toy your kids love, let us know in the comments section!
Feature image courtesy of Flickr, Nick Harris1.