My husband is a fan of the kind of puzzles that drive me mad; the ones where you need a lot of patience. He loves those little wooden puzzles that you often get on Christmas markets and he will stick at it until it is completed - long after I have given up. He loves the Rubiks Cube I bought him for Christmas last year. I hate Rubiks Cubes, I am the type of person who will play it for a while and then I'll start peeling stickers off and reattaching them where I want them. I can't help it, that's the kind of person I am. So I have bought him all these things and I was looking for something for his birthday that is along the same vein, but different enough that it would be novel and that is when I stumbled across the Addictaball Maze on www.iwantoneofthose.com.


So What Is The Addictaball Maze?

The name of the thing is actually quite self explanatory really; it is a maze in a ball that is very addictive (even for people like me it turns out). It is basically a clear glass plastic ball that has a brightly coloured maze inside as well as a little silver ball. You have to get the ball from one end of the maze to the other without it falling off. Sounds simple enough but it is actually quite tricky because you have to turn the outer ball around to get the little ball along all the little paths and bridges. It does require patience - you have to guide the ball slowly so that it doesn't go flying off the end of the path. However I think it is much more 'doable' than a Rubiks Cube for example because you see how well you are doing as you are going along.
There are various different types of balls and they are all slightly different so you can buy the different ones and not work that you have bought exactly the same thing. I got my husband the Addcitaball 2, Small size. It has 100 little challenges (or stages) that are all connected together to make the whole maze. The larger one has 138 stages. They are different, although the essence of them is the same.


Who Is It suitable For?

It is recommended for people over the age of six years, which I would say is a pretty good recommendation on the whole. Children under that could probably be entertained by its dual purpose as a rattle, but if that's what they want, it'd be cheaper just to buy them a rattle! I think it is suitable for just about everybody else really. Even if you don't have the patience to sit and do it until the end, you could have a competition against somebody else to see who can get the furthest. I have actually found that I am better at it than I thought I would be, which gives me the desire to carry on and actually beat my husband at something!
It is a game that can provide hours of solitary fun but that, like I said, can also be played against someone else. The makers claims that it can increase your dexterity and concentration which I think is a pretty fair claim and it does this in a fun although sometimes frustrating way.


Is It Worth The Money?

I think the small one is better value than the larger one to be honest. It is available on IWOOT (as above) for £7.99 although I bought it on special offer for around £6. I think it is worth either price to be honest as it does have a long play life for those who enjoy puzzle type games. It is portable so would be ideal for taking on long trips, unlike the larger one which is more cumbersome (a friend at work has it, that's how I know).
The outer shell is made of quite durable plastic. Ours has been dropped on the floor a few times and has suffered no damage. We haven't yet thrown it against the wall in frustration, so I can't comment on whether or not it would withstand that kind of violence!


Recommended?

It is a gimmicky gift, there is no doubt about that, but I think it is a good one and one that is worth the money. It is widely available from both the high street and online and makes a great gift idea for anyone who likes a challenge and even for those who don't! It's particularly good as a stocking filler or a Secret Santa gift.