Miniature train sets are cool in their way, but they’re also mostly a hobby for adults. Decorating them and watching an engine going round and round just aren’t enough to keep a young child’s interest.

This toy goes in a completely different direction.

Perfect for Kids

While you can slot the colorful plastic track segments together to make a kind of simplistic train set, its real use becomes apparent when you arrange them in a three-dimensional shape. The engine, which you or your child can start by pressing the large orange button on the smokestack, clings to the track even when it’s upside down, shifting the center of gravity as it moves and making the whole thing move along the floor in weird, erratic patterns.

The sight of this surrealistic train driving along its track and rolling around on the floor won’t impress many adults, but it’s totally the business when you’re five years old. Additionally, lights and electronic sounds help to attract the attention of both. You can choose between two speed settings, and the train (which can get annoyingly loud) shuts off automatically after a minute or so.

As with any novelty-type toy, you shouldn’t expect NASA-level durability. One common problem is that you have to press fairly hard to connect the track pieces properly, otherwise they’ll fall apart or cause the train to jam.

The flexible plastic they’re made of is tough enough to withstand the rolling motion and perhaps even an impromptu ride down the stairs, but you have to expect them as well as the engine to wear out sooner rather than later. Hopefully, by this time the novelty will already have worn off and your kids will be ready to move on to the next cool thing.