Quadrilla Marble set?

[Jai]

I am considering purchasing one of these within the next year. I THINK I will purchase the Twist and Rail set. If you own any of the sets, could you please share your recommendations/thoughts? Is the Twist and Rail a good set to start? What is/where can I find the best price? Is there a time of year when prices are lowest on the sets?

[ahisma]

We have it. Love it!

[redhookmom]

How old are your kids? I love the Quadrilla, but one little bump and it needs to adjusted. Another little bump and maybe lots more adjustment. Definitely not something little ones do on their own.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

after 6 or 7 years I have finally admitted the Quadrilla are for me. I love the feel of the parts, I love the sound the marbles make going down, I love the way it looks. But it's not for kids. One bump and it all falls down. And they can't do much of the building on their own if you want to make the sets in the instructions.

I just got my kids a plastic set that sticks together for Christmas and they love it. Quadrilla was a huge waste of money, except as a toy for me.

[Jai]

DS will be 3 in February. It sounds like I should wait for the Quadrilla. Any recommendations for a plastic, child-friendly marble run?

[trentsmom]

DS1 got his first Quadrilla set when he was a month past 3. He learned very quickly to be careful around it to not knock it over. We had it set up on the floor so that he could put the marbles in it and used metal lids under the bottom blocks to collect the marbles. We could leave the marble run up for weeks without them getting knocked over. (But we have a sun room that we use as a play room, so it wasn't in the way.) Once he got older and bigger, we started doing the set-up on top of the train table.

I'm hoping that DS2 will be as careful as his big brother so that we can get the marble runs out again soon.

As far as sets, we started with the Twist and Rail and have added on from there. If you go to the Quadrilla website, you can see lots of additional set ups that aren't in the book.

[kristac]

As far as plastic recommendations- we have Discovery Kids Marbleworks. Another fun looking set is TRU's Imaginarium.

[Jai]

Thank you all. I will decide between the DT Marbleworks (which has good reviews) and Quadrilla Twist and Rail. I love the Quadrilla, and DS does too; it is on display at a local toy store. He loves blocks and puzzles so that may be the best choice for us. I plan to watch the prices over the next few months. If it becomes more reasonable, I will buy it.

[fivi2]

We have plastic quercetti ones and like them fine for the cost. They are probably a little too advanced for a 3 yo, though.

[ahisma]

I would not do the twist and rail set for a 3 yo. My DS got it at 5, I wouldn't do it before that.

He got the basic set at 3yo, it was perfect for that age: http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-QD80.../dp/B003TI4R9A

For the bigger set, I do agree that bumping it is a problem. We set it up on the coffee table and it's reasonably stable - can survive a week or so with DS2 (3yo) around, but he knows not to really mess with it and how to put the marbles in carefully. I think our set up - on a wood table on a wood floor - may be a real factor in our success with not having too many crashes. The one at the toy store is probably glued together. Good choice for a toy store, takes the fun out of it at home.