Fun Forts Red/Blue

…Assembly Not Intuitive… Good gift for my 5 yr old grandson…BUT—-he may have destroyed/lost assy instructions. However assembly for any suggested design should have a very observable “Top/Bottom” orientation -I found one that worked with slight indentions, so balls could be easily rotated to correct angle for each purpose of straw insertion. A 5 yr old just wants to jam them in anywhere. I suggest the indent for touch and a color or hex hole displaying “up” orientation for intuitive assembly to reduce any frustration, except for those that want to “solve” the puzzle—me… the erector set idea is great, size is great, all is great except my large grievance. If assembly isn’t “straightforward” the continuous enjoyment doesn’t happen and the toy will get poor ratings/sales.

This has been a great gift for my boys! It's an awesome STEM toy. They are 6 and 4, and they love making forts. The parts are a little more difficult to assemble for my 4yo but my 6yo does really well with them. They require some strength at times when the poles are inserted into the balls. Not all of the holes are the same size, and some are impossibly small. However, there are so many pieces, and options for holes, that most the time the balls can be twisted to fit just right. I'm the type of parent that doesn't mind if my children are given a little hard work when they are playing. It helps them down the road with problem solving. The sturdiness is not an issue. According to some of the reviews, people claim that it can't hold up a blanket. I think these people are just incompetent when it comes to building a structure. I had no difficulty helping my 6yo build this large fort and many others, and it has held up a sheet perfectly every time.

It's good but it kinda took me like 4 hours to assemble. I know this is for younger kids but I just love forts. I love spending time in it with a sheet over it but sometimes the poles pop out of the balls from just a little nudge and it's annnoyying to fix. I recommend gifting this to an older kid because if I had a hard time, then a young child will have a harder time. And parents, if you are getting this for like a 5 or 6 year old or something like that, you should probably help them with assembly. Kinda worth it when done, you may have to snap a few pieces back together though.

Kids love these! Fun during the winter! Let’s them use their brains and imaginations!

I have mixed feelings on this purchase. While it's fun for my daughter to play with I'm a little disappointed in the product at this price. First, DON'T waste your money on the glowing version like me. Trust me what seems like a measly $5 isn't worth it unless you want green to begin with. The glow factor is laughably weak and dissipates really fast. You essentially need a high power flashlight directly against it to get it bright enough to see in a dimly lit room. In the dark it's _barely_ visible after being in a normally lit room. The glow feature is 100% useless. Second, the pictures in the listing are misleading with the kids shrunk to make the product appear larger than it really is. Read the measurements and you'll realize you're not building a fort with just one kit. Do the math and you'll realize the kids in the picture have 6" diameter doll sized heads. False advertising at it's best. This leads me to the price, which I almost want a second kit to build stuff that's actually cool for the kids but $35 is a LOT for some plastic sticks and balls that are pennies each to produce. This kit would still be profitable at $15, let alone $35. This is way too expensive for the several dollars they've spent in plastic. Plastic has gotten more expensive the last few years, but not _that_ expensive. Now I'll get to what's good about it. The difficulty to assemble people claim is probably weak mothers and grandmothers that lack the strength to shove the rods in the spheres. It takes a bit of force but you'll quickly realize this is necessary as they'll quickly loosen to a manageable amount of force needed. If they were easy to shove together at first they'd fall right out after they get used a little. This was a good idea by the manufacturer when my 2yr old can pull them apart easily after only a few hours of tinkering with build ideas. When it comes to the durability this is also what makes it not so sturdy. The pieces have a decent amount of flexibility to them. This is great to make the pieces themselves near indestructible, but that flex is going to make your kid's dream castle sag without structural integrity. Think of the flexibility of a pool noodle. I tried putting a fairly thick blanket on her new "castle" to have it topple immediately. Switching to a black satin sheet off my bed to block out the light so she has a hidey hole was a fine remedy. Will I buy a second set? That's a strong maybe because I want to build bigger and more intricate things for the kids, but I'll be doing it knowing I'm paying way too much for what I'm getting, which is $5 in plastic with a 700% markup. Don't think I'm negative overall on the product, I just want people to know what they're getting. It's smaller than it appears. It's flexible so curb your expectations in what you'll build, but it's great fun for those of us that grew up building forts out of mom's couch cushions and want to do the same for our little ones. It's hard to put a price on that.

Amending my first review, which was very low. I bought this for my 8 yr. old g’son for Christmas. He tried to put it together, and it fell apart, would not hold the camo tarp I made for it, so I returned it. The seller, (or perhaps the designer?) fully refunded my purchase, then offered to give me another, giving me the best assembly tips for a successful fort. Yesterday we were finally able to visit to put it together! We followed directions exactly, and it was sturdy enough to hold the tarp. Yes, it was a bit difficult at first, but he got the hang of it within a couple of minutes, and finished the project himself. I loved watching him problem solve on his own. We disassembled it so he could take it to his cousin’s house to set it up. They decided on a different design of their own, and spent the entire day in it. I’m thinking of ordering another set so they can expand. This was the best Amazon customer experience I’ve ever had, and I would definitely recommend this. Be patient, you’ll be glad you tried it. It can be set up inside or out (I wouldn’t leave it out in inclement weather) and your kids will be spending the rest of the summer in it.

Fun, but the pieces are a little flimsy. A little too technical for 4 year olds but probably not enough pieces for older kids to make bigger forts for bigger kids to fit in. Having said that we're thinking if buying another set to ecpandvthe possibilities. Kids (4yr olds) enjoy it but we have to do it for them!