Review: 40596 Magic Maze

@Ridgeheart said:
"'Breath of the Wild' has similar puzzles (OMG, ZELDA-SET!!!), which you need to navigate using the Switch' built-in gyroscope. Tilting your controllers also tilts the board."

Interesting. Having never played the Switch Zelda titles, I had no idea that minigame lived on past Twilight Princess.

As to the set, I'd love to give it a shot, but the threshold may be a bit steep for me right now. Unless it becomes practical to frontload some of my planned purchases, rather than spreading them out over the remainder of the year.

I didn’t realise this was a handheld game - from first pictures I thought it might be more like Screwball Scramble with individual controls, but that would maybe be too deluxe for a GWP. Happy to pass on this but good on them for doing something different.

@GenericLegoFan said:
"Wasn't there a mini golf course project that was rejected on lego ideas?
Anyways, I really do like this,so much room for expansion..."

To be fair, this is a slightly different concept. It’s more about tilting the environment rather than hitting the ball itself. I do think it’s one of those sets that exposes the limits of the toy, though;
While it’s not a direct analogue, you can get a Screwball Scramble set for less than £20 at the moment.

@Huw, based on the official picture, only the red box next to the black piece should have the spurs oriented sideways. All the rest are shown with the spurs aligned parallel to the row of red boxes. Can you confirm what the instructions show? I’m guessing they didn’t make it painfully obvious that the orientation is important, but sideways spurs should pose a greater challenge than linear spurs.

Also, the hidden maze looks super easy, since there aren’t any blind pockets. All you basically have to do is tilt it to the right, and then alternately forward and backward to get the ball to roll against the walls until it falls through the next opening. Once it’s out, it’s got enough terrain to traverse before falling off the board that it shouldn’t be hard to recover.

I kind of like it and I easily picture my whole family trying to acheive this. I might try getting it.

For those looking for a video review, duckbricks posted one an hour ago on YouTube.

This definitely scores as being both Fun and Playable, and not just Displayable. Something that Lego has not been able to produce since a while (unfortunately)! But I fear that the first $250 will still goes into those 'lovely' 'displayable' sets.

@GenericLegoFan said:
"Wasn't there a mini golf course project that was rejected on lego ideas?
Anyways, I really do like this,so much room for expansion..."

Are you referring to the fantastic one that is currently for sale on Bricklinks "MOC Pop-Up Store"? I'm waiting on the final parts to arrive so I can build it.

Looks pretty cool!

Is there somewhere to store the balls when not in use?

I had to look up Screwball Scramble online. Discovered it's the same game my family had when we were kids! We know the game as "Run Yourself Ragged".

@PurpleDave said:
" @Huw, based on the official picture, only the red box next to the black piece should have the spurs oriented sideways. All the rest are shown with the spurs aligned parallel to the row of red boxes. Can you confirm what the instructions show? I’m guessing they didn’t make it painfully obvious that the orientation is important, but sideways spurs should pose a greater challenge than linear spurs.

Also, the hidden maze looks super easy, since there aren’t any blind pockets. All you basically have to do is tilt it to the right, and then alternately forward and backward to get the ball to roll against the walls until it falls through the next opening. Once it’s out, it’s got enough terrain to traverse before falling off the board that it shouldn’t be hard to recover."

Even on the official images they don't match the set box, I think the direction doesn't matter as you have to hop between them.

@windjammer:
Apparently one can be pinched between the rubber liftarms mounted to the right of the shell that marks the end of the maze.

@ZZJHONS:
No, direction will matter to some degree (how much, I don’t know). The ball and box are the same width, but the ball will rest on to top inside points of the spurs and hang lower between them. Oriented linearly, that gap is wider, and the ball will sit lower, than if they’re oriented sideways. Therefore, you won’t need to tilt the maze quite as steeply to get the ball to advance, if the spurs are linear. At the same time, sideways spurs may actually help catch a runaway ball just a tiny bit better than linear spurs, due to the same geometry.

Is it strange that I anticipated something spooky/horror related to be a GWP for October?

I like the 'differentness' of it.

@Spritetoggle said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"'Breath of the Wild' has similar puzzles (OMG, ZELDA-SET!!!), which you need to navigate using the Switch' built-in gyroscope. Tilting your controllers also tilts the board."

Interesting. Having never played the Switch Zelda titles, I had no idea that minigame lived on past Twilight Princess.

As to the set, I'd love to give it a shot, but the threshold may be a bit steep for me right now. Unless it becomes practical to frontload some of my planned purchases, rather than spreading them out over the remainder of the year."

Marble Madness

This is such a fun and creative GWP! I love the little display sets like Houses of the World but this is much more unique, IMO. Can't wait to get it.

In your review, Huw, you say this set is unique. It's not really unique though, as the Ideas set 21305 Maze works on a similar principle. So, this set is really the Ideas set's baby brother.

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship: a game you can actually play. I’d love to see the review updated to include a photo of a frustrated Huw ??

Love it - great to have something different, decent part count for a GWP, very nice variety of pieces, and to me it just looks fun, before you even start playing it.

That interior maze is going to both excite people that want a challenge and annoy those that find it difficult already.

That looks like a lot of fun with a few interesting parts usage mixed in. Kinda hope it's not $250 to get this, putting in on par with the House of the World GWPs.

I'll be brief: fun, interesting and fresh set. Terrible availability.

I really want this. I was holding out my large order for some double VIP points or something, but maybe these larger GWPs are replacing that? Anyway it looks awesome.

It's cute and I like it. a nice colorful parts pack with a play feature that I don't think Lego's done before. If they were trying to pass it off as high art like 31210 though...

How difficult would it be to operate with one hand, do you think? I still want it, even if it would be too much of a challenge. And heck, might even be some good therapy for my left hand.

@BrickBoriqueno said:
"Surely "Frustratingly difficult to master" belongs in the positive category? "
We got ourselves a masochist here...

@ Rocketboy1313: You mean something like 40562 from last year?

@Sabreman64:
Similar look, very different play style. The Marble Maze sits flat and has controls to tip the playing surface. There’s a limit to how quickly you can adjust the angle in reaction to what the marble is doing. You also have the ability to really fine-tune the angle to the point that the marble just crawls along the maze. This is held in the hands. Control is based on you. You determine the angle, and the speed at which the angles change. You can react in the blink of an eye. You can _overreact_ in that same eyeblink, and fine-tuning the angle is very difficult for most people. You may even be able to cheat this maze, by tilting it at such a steep angle that it jumps the spurs and you catch it in the shell, rather than being funneled into the hidden portion of the maze.

@Vortonhead:
The hidden maze is only going to be frustrating if you’ve never seen a single photo of it uncovered, if you don’t remember what you saw in that image, or if you aren’t aware that someone built the hidden maze different than how the instructions tell you. In practice, that’s the easiest part of the maze. And that’s considering the zig-zag portion in the center, starting with the see-saw, is a lot easier than it looks (failing probably won’t end up with the ball rolling off the play surface, and has a fair chance of actually advancing your ball past at least part of another obstacle).

This would be a nice 20 euro set, alas...

Hey @huw can you add photo of the box to the review?

I'm pretty sure your summary "con" point of "Frustratingly difficult to master" is one of the reasons to get this set. I think this looks like a lot of fun and I appreciate all the colors. Sadly, I won't be shelling out the spending threshold to get it.

Wow, this looks awesome. I typically only ever go for Star Wars GWP, if I get others they just become parts. But this set I absolutely love. Much simpler than the Ideas Maze, but still does the trick. I kind of wish I had waited to get PAC-MAN, but it was a birthday present so what can you do.

"Frustratingly difficult to master" get good???

Canada on of the best choices for a holiday ;-).

Back to the topic: This should be a 20$ set in the stores and available to buy ... It is a great idea and I would try it, but not for 220 or 250 $ ...

Amazingly the UK spend threshold is only £130 - Happy days.

Built it and success on 2nd go. The secret is to make sure the red boxes have their top pins parallel to direction of travel as per instructions.