Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends My First Rail Rollers Spiral Station

A Thomas & Friends take on an old classic, the marble run (or ball track) toy, offering the hypnotic, soothing repetitive motion of the classic rolling toy along with a few extra features designed to make it more engaging and interactive. The stylised engines, posing as marbles, can roll down the track or fall directly down the shaft and then onto the roundabout, where they are supervised by Sir Topham Hatt. After rolling into the clear shaft with its lift they can be drawn back up to the top in the lift, where they role down again. Crossing gates allow a child to control the route of the the balls and the rail signal signs spin around, incorporating more fun, eye-catching motion in the play.

While this toy seems like a relative cul-de-sac of imagination, user reviews report that younger and older children play happily with it for longer periods of time, enjoying the controlled chaos of the two balls that can fall at the same time, engaging in games of luck while racing the balls to the bottom, and trying to keep everything rolling through as fast as possible. Brightly coloured track sections, green grass beneath, and a nifty two-door Tidmouth Shed on top make for an attractive, engaging toy that gives the classic wooden marble run a run for its money.