Circuit Maze has some very good elements that can effectively develop a student's knowledge of series, parallel and more complex circuits, but students could easily lose interest with the pieces that do not always fit well together and do not offer excitement beyond a colored light. The game includes a 5x5 circuit board, a power source (batteries not included), and 16 "tokens" that are metal strips that connect the circuit along different pathways. The instruction book provides concise explanations of polarity, series, parallel, open and closed circuits. The instructions really are not appropriate for most elementary students to read independently, and adults should plan to work through them with a child to ensure understanding before a child plays independently. There are 60 challenge cards with three levels of difficulty. Each card has a visual diagram that shows a partial circuit set-up and the additional tokens that need to be added to complete the circuit. The student must set up a closed circuit with proper polarity so that one or more bulbs light up. If the bulb does not light students must go back and check the set-up and the polarities, which can be hard to see on the tokens, to understand why the circuit is still open. The required thinking and analysis is similar to real world analysis of circuits. Unfortunately, the pieces do not always fit firmly in the grid, so students must check the circuit stability, similar to real-life but perhaps too realistic for a game that is expected to be enjoyable. While students might appreciate the challenge of figuring out the appropriate circuits, they might be disappointed in an electronic game that they would expect to have more exciting features than a light bulb. Overall, a game that has great potential to teach students about circuits for those that can handle when the game does not always work as expected but not the ideal choice for students looking for a fun electronic game. *Note at the time of this review the manufacturer was resolving issues around pieces fitting properly.

• Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
• Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
• Presents educational concepts accurately
• Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
• Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
• Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
• Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)

• Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
• Visually appealing to children in the target age range
• Adults would enjoy playing with a child
• For electronic games, gives positive or encouraging feedback
• Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
• Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option

• Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
• Student should be able to use independently after first use
• Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
• Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
• Does not require excessive set-up time after first time use
• Can be fun as a single player game
• Multi-player game which fosters collaboration or cooperation
• Well-made for the cost
• For electronic games, can play without sound
• For electronic games, allows user to save work
• For electronic games, voice/sounds are appealing and pronounces words properly
• Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
• Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
• Overall - Easy to use

• Abstract Reasoning
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Fine Motor Skills
• Requires challenging finger movements, motor precision or physical manipulation
• Assembly is difficult or product may break or fall apart easily
• Flexible Thinking
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Organization
• Problems or examples are not interesting for the target age range
• Directions may be confusing for students using independently
• Self-regulation
• Assembly is difficult or product may break or fall apart easily
• Visual Discrimination
• Requires scanning in multiple places for words, objects or numbers
• Words used during activity can be too small or difficult to read
• Directions are visually difficult to read

Circuit Maze is one of ThinkFun's most popular stem toys for boys and girls, and was a Toy of the Year Award Finalist as well as a PAL Award Winner. It's a logic game that teaches the basic principles of circuitry, comes with 60 challenges of increasing difficulty, from beginner to expert, and is one of the best gifts you can buy for kids who like smart games and a challenge. Circuit Maze is made with high quality components, and comes with a very clear and easy to understand instruction manual - you'll be able to play within minutes of opening the box. Like all of ThinkFun's games, Circuit Maze is built to develop critical thinking skills. Playing through the increasingly difficult challenges will improve logical reasoning, spatial reasoning and planning skills while learning the fundamentals of circuitry, all through fun gameplay.