Head to head
Gravity Maze vs Circuit Maze
Same maker, same rating, same challenge count. What differs is what the answer looks like, and whether it needs batteries.
By Sawyer V. · Published
The short answer
They are twins on paper — ThinkFun publishes 60 challenges and an 8+ rating for both. Gravity Maze checks the answer with a marble and needs no batteries; Circuit Maze checks it with real working LEDs and needs batteries. Choose on what the child wants to learn next: physics or electronics.
Block & Beaker earns a commission when you buy through our links, at no cost to you. It never changes a ranking, and we say so plainly when the right answer is the cheaper set, or nothing at all. Full disclosure · How we pick.
At a glance
The picks, ranked
Tap any row to jump to the full reasoning. Prices come live from Amazon where we have them and read “check price” where we don’t — never a number we cannot stand behind today.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Better with no batteries ThinkFun Gravity Maze 60 challenges where a marble physically arriving is the proof, with nothing to power. | Eight and up, for a child interested in how things fall | |
| 2 | Better as a route into electronics ThinkFun Circuit Maze 60 beam-and-token circuit puzzles with real LEDs, so the answer is a light coming on. | Eight and up, for a child who might want a circuit kit next | |
| 3 | Where Circuit Maze leads Snap Circuits Classic 305 published projects from 60+ parts, with no correct answer to run out of. | Eight and up, once puzzles become construction | |
| — | Same shelf, different subject ThinkFun Code Master 60 levels of map-based sequencing with no batteries and no electronics. | Eight and up, for programming logic |
4 picks, including 1 we tell you to skip. Ages shown are the manufacturer’s own rating, not ours.
Side by side
The arithmetic
Published specifications
| Challenges | Both: 60, beginner to expert |
|---|---|
| Stated age | Both: 8 and up |
| Players | Both: single player |
| Self-check | Gravity: a marble arrives | Circuit: a real LED lights |
| Batteries | Gravity: none | Circuit: required, not included |
| Leads toward | Gravity: marble runs, physics | Circuit: electronics kits |
The same format twice
ThinkFun built these on one template: 60 graded challenges, one player, a physical self-check, rated 8+. Anything you like about one, you will like about the other.
That also means the published limitation is shared. Sixty challenges is a real end, and a determined child will reach it in either box.
The subject is the real choice
Gravity Maze teaches trajectory. Predicting a path through a structure is the thinking behind every marble run and every GraviTrax track.
Circuit Maze teaches circuit continuity. The loop must be complete or the LED stays dark — the concept a child most needs before a construction electronics kit.
Choose the one that points where the child is already heading: Gravity Maze toward marble runs, or Circuit Maze toward a first circuit kit.
Buying both
Unusually, this is a reasonable pair to own. They share a format but not a subject, so the second one is a new problem rather than a repeat, and together they give 120 self-checking single-player challenges.
Say the unwelcome thing
Do not buy Circuit Maze without batteries
ThinkFun publishes batteries as required and not included. On a game whose feedback is a light, a flat cell turns the self-check into guesswork, which removes the whole point of the format.
Where to go next
The Gravity Maze review and the Circuit Maze review go deeper. Logic puzzles compared covers the wider category.
In full
Every pick, and what is wrong with it
Published specifications only, each linked back to the page it came from. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says so — we do not fill blanks in.
1. Better with no batteries
ThinkFun Gravity Maze
ThinkFun · 44001006 · maker rates it 8+
60 challenges where a marble physically arriving is the proof, with nothing to power.
- Challenges
- 60, beginner to expert
- Contents
- Game grid, 9 towers, 1 target piece, 3 marbles, 60 challenge cards
- Players
- 1
- Batteries
- None
ThinkFun publishes 60 challenges from beginner to expert, a game grid with 9 towers, 1 target piece and 3 marbles, single player, rated 8+, with no batteries.
No batteries is the practical advantage. The self-check never fails because a cell went flat, which on a puzzle whose entire feedback mechanism is the answer appearing is worth a lot.
The subject is trajectory — predicting where a marble goes through a structure — which leads naturally to marble runs and GraviTrax.
Replay signal
- Open-ended or one-shot
- Finite by design — 60 challenges, and a determined child will finish them
- Does anything run out
- Nothing physically runs out, but the challenge cards do end
- Room to grow
- The towers can be used freely once the cards are done, though nothing in the box prompts that
Why we say so: ThinkFun publishes 60 challenges and a fixed component list. Sixty is a real number with a real end, and single-player puzzle games are the category where that matters most — better to know before you buy it as the main present.
What’s wrong with it
Finite by design, and three marbles are easy to lose.
| Challenges | 60, beginner to expert |
|---|---|
| Contents | Game grid, 9 towers, 1 target piece, 3 marbles, 60 challenge cards |
| Players | 1 |
| Batteries | None |
| Stated age | Ages 8+ |
| Consumables | None |
Every figure above is from ThinkFun, Gravity Maze. Blanks are shown as “not published” rather than filled in.
2. Better as a route into electronics
ThinkFun Circuit Maze
ThinkFun · 1008 · maker rates it 8+
60 beam-and-token circuit puzzles with real LEDs, so the answer is a light coming on.
- Stated age
- “age 8 and up”
- Players
- 1
- Format
- Beam-and-token circuit puzzles with real working LEDs
- Batteries
- Required (not included)
ThinkFun publishes 60 challenges from beginner to expert, beam-and-token circuit puzzles with real working LEDs, single player, age 8 and up, with batteries required and not included.
Current actually flows, which is why the self-check is honest. Every puzzle turns on the rule that a circuit must form a complete loop — the single idea that matters most in a first electronics kit.
Replay signal
- Open-ended or one-shot
- Finite challenge deck, but the pieces make a real circuit — free building afterward is possible
- Does anything run out
- Nothing runs out
- Room to grow
- Pairs naturally with a Snap Circuits set as the step from puzzle to real components
Why we say so: ThinkFun publishes the 8+ rating, the 60 challenges and the single-player circuit-puzzle format with working LEDs. The pairing with Snap Circuits is our routing advice and is stated as advice, not as a manufacturer claim.
What’s wrong with it
Batteries required and not included.
| Stated age | “age 8 and up” |
|---|---|
| Players | 1 |
| Format | Beam-and-token circuit puzzles with real working LEDs |
| Batteries | Required (not included) |
| Challenges | 60, beginner to expert |
Every figure above is from ThinkFun, Circuit Maze. Blanks are shown as “not published” rather than filled in.
3. Where Circuit Maze leads
Snap Circuits Classic
Elenco · SC-300 · maker rates it 8+
305 published projects from 60+ parts, with no correct answer to run out of.
- Projects
- “Build over 300 exciting projects” — manual covers projects 1-305
- Parts
- “Contains over 60 Snap-Together parts”
- Projects per part
- 5.1 — the highest ratio in the line
- Stated age
- “Ages 8+” and “Not for Children under 3 yrs.”
Elenco publishes over 300 projects with the manual covering projects 1-305, over 60 snap-together parts, and a 5.1 projects-per-part ratio, rated 8+.
Circuit Maze has 60 answers; Snap Circuits has none. That is the natural order to meet them in.
Replay signal
- Open-ended or one-shot
- The sweet spot of the line — enough parts to invent with, cheap enough not to be an event
- Does anything run out
- Nothing runs out
- Room to grow
- 305 published projects is years of Sunday afternoons at one a week
Why we say so: Elenco publishes 305 numbered projects against 60+ parts. Five projects per part is the highest ratio anywhere in the Snap Circuits line, which is the arithmetic reason this is the set to buy rather than the cheap one or the big one.
What’s wrong with it
Four AA batteries, and a far bigger commitment.
| Projects | “Build over 300 exciting projects” — manual covers projects 1-305 |
|---|---|
| Parts | “Contains over 60 Snap-Together parts” |
| Projects per part | 5.1 — the highest ratio in the line |
| Stated age | “Ages 8+” and “Not for Children under 3 yrs.” |
| Batteries | “Requires 4 ‘AA’ batteries (not included)” |
| Relationship to SC-100 | Manual includes all SC-100 projects plus 200 new ones |
Every figure above is from Elenco, Snap Circuits Classic. Blanks are shown as “not published” rather than filled in.
Skip this one
ThinkFun Code Master
ThinkFun · 1950 · maker rates it 8+
60 levels of map-based sequencing with no batteries and no electronics.
- Levels
- 60, beginner to expert
- Players
- 1
- Format
- Map-based programming logic — sequence the avatar's moves to collect power crystals
- Batteries
- None
ThinkFun publishes 60 levels, map-based programming logic, single player, no batteries, rated 8 and up.
It is sold beside both mazes and it is the only one of the three with no physical payoff. For a child choosing between these two, that is precisely what they would miss.
Replay signal
- Open-ended or one-shot
- Finite — 60 levels, and they are worked through in order
- Does anything run out
- Nothing runs out, but the level book does end
- Room to grow
- The later levels introduce conditionals and loops, so the concept ladder is real rather than cosmetic
Why we say so: ThinkFun publishes 60 levels from beginner to expert and a map-and-sequence format. The concepts the later levels introduce — branching and repetition — are the same two ideas that make a real program, which is why this works as preparation for a screen rather than as a substitute for one.
What’s wrong with it
Nothing physically happens when a level is solved.
| Levels | 60, beginner to expert |
|---|---|
| Players | 1 |
| Format | Map-based programming logic — sequence the avatar's moves to collect power crystals |
| Batteries | None |
| Stated age | Ages 8 and up |
Every figure above is from ThinkFun, Code Master. Blanks are shown as “not published” rather than filled in.
We are not putting a buy button on this one. It is easy enough to find if you want it anyway — but we would rather send you to something that gets played with twice.
Questions people actually ask
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Gravity Maze and Circuit Maze?
The self-check and the batteries. ThinkFun publishes 60 challenges, single player and an 8+ rating for both. Gravity Maze checks the answer with a marble reaching a target and needs no batteries; Circuit Maze checks it with real working LEDs and needs batteries, not included.
Which is better, Gravity Maze or Circuit Maze?
Neither on the published specs — they share a format. Choose on subject: Gravity Maze leads toward marble runs and physics, Circuit Maze toward electronics kits. For a household that dislikes batteries, Gravity Maze.
Is it worth buying both Gravity Maze and Circuit Maze?
Unusually, yes. They share a format but not a subject, so the second is a new problem rather than a repeat, and together they give 120 self-checking single-player challenges.
Does Circuit Maze need batteries?
Yes. ThinkFun publishes batteries as required and not included. Gravity Maze needs none. The battery guide.
Sources
Where these figures came from
Every specification on this page traces to one of these. If a manufacturer publishes nothing on a point, the page says so rather than filling the gap.
Read next
Where to go from here
Back to Math & Logic, or read how we pick.