When my Mum bought this toy for my son when he was around 1 year old I thought that it was rather silly, but it has proved to be a favourite with my son and also some of his little friends. The gumball toy is currently retailing on Amazon for £17.50 (July 2012).

The toy is basically a gumball machine made from durable plastic. Most of the machine is clear plastic, but the base is red and the top blue, the middle section has a yellow turning knob and also a blue push handle. The toy is designed for babies from 6-36 months. It also requires 3 "AA" alkaline batteries, which were not included in the box. There is a tray on the bottom of the bowl to catch the balls from straying away from baby and it includes a clicker 'coin' slot and 4 balls each with a unique surprise and action.

Basically the whole point of the game is to put the balls into the top of the machine and then use the handle to release them down the shoot. When the balls come down the shoot the machine plays music (which is very annoying) and it flashes lights. It is all very simple. Each ball is made of durable mainly clear plastic, with each ball having a different coloured top and bottom, inside each ball is a surprise, one contains a plastic sweet for example.

The toy is designed to improve coordination and also develop memory in that you need to remember where you have put the balls and how to get them out of the machine. The sound on the gumball has two settings, loud and even louder!

My son soon mastered how to play the game and even now he is aged two he will still fish the toy out of his cupboard and play with it from time to time.

Overall I would recommend this toy to others as it helps develop hand eye coordination, is well made and makes my son happy when he is playing with it, the only down side is the annoying music, and maybe the price, but if your child gets lots of play time out of is worth every penny.