Cubetto Deluxe

Our library has this. My six year old daughter attended a Mad Scientist Party at the library with 5 different stations. Snap Circuits, Robotic Hand, Baking soda volcano, Rain water run off and this. The Cubetto was her favorite activity. Its so visual and tactile.

I've been using Cubetto (Cubetto deluxe with the four maps) with my 4 year old daughter for the last 6 months and overall, I can't really recommend this product generally.My biggest issue with product is that the main activities are simply not that engaging to a toddler. With repeated usage my daughter has gone from barely being able to complete the first set of instructions, to being able to navigate Cubetto through more complex directions and programs. There is clear evidence of progression in understanding which is nice. The issue though is that she doesn't generally find it very engaging in comparison to other intellectual/educational activities of similar complexity and I think the problem is activity design.Each task is an individual direction that is self contained without any overarching global point. Make Cubetto go to this square, then make it got to this one over here, now make it go here by going through this square. After a while this gets very repetitive and just that engaging to my daughter. There are some very basic factoids associated with each direction, but nothing that changes the equation much. You can freestyle and try to make Cubetto go places on your own but this isn't that exciting. Cubetto can go forward, rotate 90 degrees and there is a function tile as well but that is about it. There are other tiles you can purchase separately that offer much functionality but I don't see these making a big difference and they are expensive. The different maps add superficial/cosmetic variation.Generally I get this out for us to do together and after 3-4 directions she looses interest. She doesn't ask to get this out on her own.Build quality - everything about the build of the product is top notch. From the control board to the wood box around Cubetto its-self, the wood grain, plastic molding and program pieces are very nice. The fabric maps are bright and colorful and seem to be of really nice quality. Perhaps the quality is too nice? A cheaper build might allow this product to be priced much lower?At this price point, I was hoping for more. Yes my daughter has learned some basic coding logic but this could be taught in a much less expensive manner. I think there is a future for this type of product (non-screen related coding education) but there needs to be more to the big picture than just make x go here, then go here, etc. Perhaps more of a storytelling aspect..not really sure? I wanted to like Cubetto but unfortunately I can't recommend. That being said I'll try it again with my 2 year old when she is old enough to try it.