Marble Maze Building Blocks - How They Work
To help you enjoy your Block-N-Roll marble maze building blocks even more, we have created a page to help you get started. When you open your building blocks package, you will see many different colored building blocks you can use to build unlimited number of marble mazes and structures. To see what each piece looks like click here to view what each building block looks like.
How the Building Blocks Work
You attach and detach Block-N-Roll™ pieces by sliding them together, note the grooves in the side of the block.
Start the construction of your maze from the bottom and work up. Support and raise your Block-N-Roll™ pieces with DUPLO® brand blocks, Mega Blok® or the new Taurus Building Blocks. Bring out your old construction blocks with Block-N-Roll™ to create incredible marble mazes. In addition to producing colorful and exciting maze systems, Block-N-Roll™ develops manipulative skills, promotes creativity, and strategic thinking.
Supporting Your Marble Maze
As you build your marble maze higher and higher, you will need to support the straights and ramps with Taurus Building Blocks like the one shown on the right hand.. These blocks help to support the other pieces so that they do not fall down.
Straights & Ramps
As you build your marble maze you will discover how gravity works and how you can use straights and ramps to add speed to your maze. The ramps, when connected, angle downward and allow the marble to gain speed, due to gravity. Try different locations or multiple ramps and see how the speed is different. While ramps add speed, straights allow you to control the path of the marble in a horizontal path, the speed of the ramp will allow the marble to accelerate and the marble will coast on the slides.
90 Degree Turns
At some point you will need to get your marble to turn, this is where the 90 degree turn building blocks come into play. The piece (seen at right) is square and the channel or groove makes the marble turn 90 degrees, by attaching two curves the marble will turn 180 degrees and roll in to opposite direction of where the marble came from. This little block will enable you to turn the path back around to go under another ramp or slide and looks really cool.
Tips & Tricks
By playing with Block-N-Roll building blocks you will learn how gravity make the marble roll and how the path you create can control the speed and direction of the marble. Don't be afraid to try new ideas and mazes, not everything you build will work but you will learn what does work and make even better marble mazes the next time. Don't get frustrated just try another design and remember to have fun!
Now that you know a little more about how Block-N-Roll™ works, be sure to check out our construction and building tips sections. There you'll find interesting ways to get the most fun and enjoyment out of your Block-N-Roll™ marble maze building block system.
