Ranking the bead track options of the Anatex Enterprise’s Classic Bead Maze

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• Yellow: A fine tutorial track for bead maze novices. If you have no idea where to start, this functions as a passable introduction and training option. There’s not much elevation to be found here, though you do get one brief vertical drop and a 180-degree direction change midway through the track, but this is undercut by the track not ending with this drop, forcing the player to trudge the bead along to its final destination. This track isn’t completely devoid of thrills, but they’re meager at best.
  • C Tier
• Orange: Less-refined maze fans may be excused for considering this their personal favorite. It does boast the most vertically pronounced track, both track routes end with satisfying vertical drops (including the single largest drop of all options provided) and the bead options, which we rarely discuss, are all the satisfying heavy spherical variety. But, despite all these superlatives, the fatal flaw of the orange track lies in the middle; the TWO vertical hairpin turns diving into the center of the maze field are buckets of cold water that ruin an otherwise terrific experience. Beads are hijacked from their high-flying dreams and drop coldly into this prison where fun goes to die. We all know this to be true as beads will inevitably stack up here, like so many dirty dishes in a lazy person’s kitchen sink, until all other options have been spent and you unwillingly are forced into the drudgery of pushing them through the pair of hairpins to their destinations. But, once again, the final drops do provide the user with genuine satisfaction; perhaps an early lesson in cold adult maturity for toddlers that life will be filled with grand ups and downs but they may not be had without hard-earned repetitive effort. These good times are served with a side of morality. You can’t ask for much more.
  • A Tier
• Red & Blue : These tracks are neither complex or satisfying enough to warrant separate ranking descriptions. They exist merely to fill space, offering all the fun and delight of a sliding puzzle piece CAPTCHA. With short track heights, it’s not uncommon for these tracks to be left untouched entirely during gaming sessions. I will give the red track slightly more credit for both it’s height and the choice to be routed through the Orange track’s hairpin vertical; a morsel of drama in an otherwise bland, uninspired endeavor.
  • C Tier and D Tier (respectfully)
• Green: When people remember their childhood bead maze experiences, this is what comes to mind. Undoubtedly sacrifices had to be made at the expense of other tracks for this one to shine as it does. Swooping playfully among the highest heights of the field, beads can often complete their full track circuit without the need to retract and re-extend one’s hand, this is the experience that designers envisioned, with each track rider capable of completing its journey to either end from the apex with a single flick of the finger. The green track is the pinnacle, a grand achievement in track design, both in form and function.
  • S Tier

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