Educational 3D Earth Globe Puzzle Kit for Kids 8-14, Geography Learning Toy, 50-Piece DIY Jigsaw World Map Model - Birthday Gift for Boys and Girls!

Bought this for a 4 year old. It says 8+ on the box, but she still enjoys playing with it. I think the age is mainly indicating how old they should be if putting it together on their own. It me about an hour to put everything together. The assembly was pretty straightforward. However, the placement of the pieces on the various punch out boards, was a little messy. I wish they had put pieces that were required for a specific step, on the same board. Also, the carpets on the bottom and top floors have "Lorem Ipsum" text on them...not sure if that was a printing error or what, but it doesn't really take away from anything. Wiring up the lighting was probably the most confusing part. There's no indication that the bulbs need to be pushed into specific holes, and that their posts need to be bent at a 90 degree angle. Routing the wiring was also a bit annoying, but wasn't terrible. Once everything was assembled, the furniture fit well, and the whole house seemed pretty sturdy. I liked the way the battery and light control were hidden, however, the switch is awkwardly placed. It's flush with the tabletop so you either have to take the canopy off everytime you want to turn it on/off, or use your pinky fingernail to try and turn it on/off. I also think some pieces of furniture could have used some glue or some form of adhesive; the armoire and coat stand have already fallen apart. I'm sure the smaller chairs will be next. My daughter has some 2-3 inch dolls that fit inside without issue. The choice of lighting is a bit odd. I thought it was going to be white, steady on lights. Instead, they're flashing red and blue lights. I was half expecting to hear the deep thumping of house music coming from it; it's just a bizarre choice in lighting (see video). Not sure how it would affect a child with epilepsy; the flashing isn't that fast, but it wasn't expected. All in all, it was a worthwhile purchase. It's held up surprisingly well to my daughter's play, as well as the many times she's transported it to different parts of the house. I think that's the nicest thing about it: it's light and small enough for her to pick it up and take it wherever she goes (without it falling to pieces).

I just ended my "Stickers for adults" book and now I found my next mindless and relaxing hobby. The pieces are sturdy and once I finish the house it will look great. It is already looking pretty big and I am not planning on keeping it but it will be a cool gift for a niece and she will love it much more because her Auntie made it :) My two kids are very intrigued by it but my 4 year old broke a couple pieces. Everything comes in a flat sheet and you have to remove it delicately or else the paper on top peels off. I imagine this will take me a couple weekends to finish. Very detailed.

So... I've discovered I like putting together this sort of simple 3D puzzle thing. But I don't have kids, so I mostly restrain myself from buying them because then I don't have anything to do but toss them after they're put together, they don't really come apart and reassemble... but then I found out my cousin was coming to my parents'/family's Easter lunch with her two 4 year old daughters and I had an excuse! I bought the Melissa & Doug castle, pirate ship, and this house... because like I said, I really like putting these silly things together and I finally had an excuse. All three were foam "3d puzzle" structures with accessories, and I was fairly certain I'd appreciate the Melissa & Doug because I'm familiar with that brand, but I really thought I was taking a chance on this one, but wow! I'm glad I did! THE LIGHTS WORK AND THEY'RE AWESOME!!! Heh, as I said in the title. Even if the lights hadn't worked, the price was competitive and the house looked cute, and honestly, I figured the lights probably wouldn't work, or would be awkward with the wires and switch and I'd maybe just not put it in. But I tried it as it was presented and not only did the lights work, but they were cleverly and completely hidden, the switch in a picnic table on the top floor/roof garden thing, the wires in a bench and what looked like a drain down the side of the building to an electrical box--because there are two little bulbs and they're spaced so each floor gets one. I kind of might have liked if they'd been a more natural color, but the flashing red and blue absolutely delighted my cousin's kids, so there you go. The switch was easy to reach without messing up the architecture and there was tons of cute furniture, my favorite being a wardrobe with something like 6 little outfits that actually hang separately on the rod inside. (Even though I had no idea what all those little outfit/hanger things were when I was popping them out, until I finished putting the wardrobe together, lol.) I don't know how easy or frustrating this would be for a *child to put together or put together *with a child because that was the opposite of my goal, but my cousin's kids loved playing with this at Easter and happily took home all of them. (I swear, I checked with my cousin that she was cool taking them all before I put anything in front of her girls, I'm not a monster! ;) ) Oh, heads-up though, I recall having to provide my own batteries. I had some on hand, so it wasn't a big deal, but if you're getting this as a gift for someone or to put together, make sure you have two AA batteries ready!

My 10 year old and I had a great time putting this together! So much fun that we're actually looking at purchasing more sets to do! We also love how cleverly the battery pack/wires were hidden with the building design! The main things we were were disappointed with were: 1) there was no doll to use with the house 2) one of the lightbulb ports didn't work and 3) it would have been nice to have a solid white light option with the flashing colored lights.

This is the fourth time I've purchased this. It's so adorable, intricate, functional, and super inexpensive. I bought my first one 6 years ago and I've been gifting it to the littles in my life since!