I was sent three amazing 3D maze puzzles to play with and review. They are called Perplexus and they are from PlaSmart Inc. I received the Perplexus Original, Perplexus Rookie and Perplexus Epic. All I can say to these is Wow, and then shake my hands in the air in frustration because I haven’t completed even one of these yet, but I keep trying.

What exactly is a 3D maze puzzle?

The Perplexus (@perplexusuk) is a clear ball with a maze contained within and one silver ball bearing. It is up to you to move this ball bearing through a series of obstacles to get to the end of the maze. Each obstacle is tricky in its own way. Maybe you have to hold the Perplexus so that the ball bearing leans against one side of a track because there is no other side. You will find yourself twisting and turning, holding your breath and carefully coaxing this little silver ball along the maze. This is a truly engaging toy that causes you to think in 3 dimensions. You have to think ahead to make sure that you don’t drop the ball bearing from the track.

Drop the ball from the track you will. It is going to happen over and over as you play but it is so fun to keep trying, figuring out the puzzles and advance further. It is such an engaging toy. I enjoyed each one of these toys and made a video of them all which you can see below.

The Perplexus Original was the last one that I got to play with. I love the colors on this one, it is so bright and fun. I’ve tried many times to get far with this toy but I keep running into an impasse. It doesn’t help that when I play I occasional get Eva pulling on my arm at the most critical points. This Perplexus has 100 puzzles or barriers. You can start at the beginning and play through barriers 1 to 26 or then start at 26 and go from 26 to 59 and also start at 59 and go to 100. Having three starting points is good because you can practice each section so that eventually you can do the whole maze in one shot.

The Perplexus Rookie is slightly smaller than the Perplexus Original. There are 70 puzzles/barriers in this one and even though there are 30 less barriers there is still a lot of fun to be had.

Then there is the Perplexus Epic. This one is huge. It is larger and more complex than the Perplexus Original and Rookie. There are 125 puzzles/barriers with this version and it is so much tougher than the other two. I’ve gotten fairly far on this one because I’ve played it the longest. Maybe I should have started with completing the Rookie and then make my way up the levels to the Perplexus Original and then try to attack the Epic.

For less than the price of a video game you get hours of fun and engagement of both hands and brain. Even though the games are frustrating you will find yourself giving up only to pick up the Perplexus over and over because this time you’re going to defeat it.

I wish that the Perplexus was around when I was a kid. I can imagine the hours I would have spent trying to complete each puzzle. I enjoyed testing these toys very very much. They are so unique and fun. I also performed a few drop tests on them as well. I dropped them from four feet up onto the floor to see how tough they were. They stood up to my unofficial drop tests.

Eva is a little too young to use any of these toys but she did enjoy them and when she is older they will be great for her to play with and attempt to master. I can see her spending time working through each of those puzzles and learning some great problem solving skills.

Disclosure: I was sent one of each of these Perplexus toys and had so much fun playing with them. The opinions are 100% mine.