Perplexus Beast
The original Perplexus maze ball: 100 obstacles, one steady pair of hands
- Set-up
- Under a minute
- Reading
- None
The quick verdict
Full verdict ↓Great for A first Perplexus for a child of 8 or more who likes puzzles and doesn't give up after a few drops
Think twice if You want a game the family can play together: only one person can hold it, so the others watch or wait
How we rate it
Learning curve. Nothing to learn, but hard to finish. Spin Master puts it one level below the 125-obstacle Epic, and a European retailer calls it an advanced level, so expect many short sessions before you reach 100.
Luck & skill. No luck at all: steady hands, patience and learning each section by feel decide how far you get.
Interaction. A solo puzzle. Others can only watch, take turns or compare best scores.
Set-up. Nothing to set up: open the box and start at the START marker.
Reading. Only the numbers along the track.
Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.
Is Perplexus Beast right for you?
Great if
- A first Perplexus for a child of 8 or more who likes puzzles and doesn't give up after a few drops
- Quiet, screen-free time on train journeys, long drives or school holidays
- A birthday or Diwali gift that teenagers and adults enjoy too
- Anyone who finds the 125-obstacle Epic too much as a first maze
Skip it if
- You want a game the family can play together: only one person can hold it, so the others watch or wait
- The child is under 8 or gets upset quickly; the gentler Perplexus Rebel is a better start
- You want the hardest of the three standard mazes: that is Perplexus Epic, with 125 obstacles
How Perplexus Beast plays
Perplexus Beast is a puzzle toy rather than a board game. A plastic track winds through the inside of a clear sphere, and a small ball rests at the spot marked START. There is nothing to put together: take it out of the box and begin.
- Time to teach: about 1 minute.
- Reading and language: There is nothing to read: the track carries numbers, and the only rule is to roll the ball from START along the numbers. It works the same in any language at home.
Spin Master Games | Perplexus | The 3D Maze Game · Spin Master Games · Official
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A turn, step by step
- 1Start
The ball waits at the START marker inside the sphere; there is nothing to set up.
- 2Turn
Twist and tilt the sphere so the ball rolls along the numbered track past each obstacle. A drop sends you back to START.
- 3Finish
Get the ball past all 100 obstacles to the end of the track to beat the Beast; until then, chase your best number.
The full explanation: how a game of Perplexus Beast goes
Hold the sphere in both hands and flip, twist and turn it right round, so that gravity rolls the ball along the track. The track is numbered from 1 to 100, and each number marks an obstacle; Spin Master names a few of them, such as the laughing man, the tight rope and the super spiral.
When the ball falls off, you bring it back to START and try again. The number you reached is your score, so you can play in short bursts and aim to beat your best from the day before.
You beat the maze when the ball gets past obstacle 100 to the end of the track. Small, slow movements work better than quick ones, and every time you replay a section your hands learn it a little better.
Compared with Perplexus Epic, the Beast has 25 fewer obstacles and Spin Master puts it one level lower, between Rebel and Epic. Brothers, sisters and cousins can still make a contest of it by taking turns to see who gets furthest.
What's in the box
- 1Perplexus Beast sphere
clear plastic sphere with the numbered 100-obstacle track and the ball sealed inside - 1Instruction sheet
Box: 0.54 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
From the Amazon.in listing facts (1 Perplexus Beast, 1 instruction sheet); Funskool's page lists no other parts. No batteries are needed. Whether the Indian box includes a display stand was not confirmed.
Where to buy
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.
What reviewers and players say
Little has been written about Perplexus Beast on its own, and no forum thread about it could be read, so this rests on Spin Master's description and one long-time reviewer. RCInsight, a YouTube channel that reviews every Perplexus, revisited the Beast more than five years after his first review and still calls it an excellent Perplexus. Spin Master pitches it as easy to play and hard to master, and its range puts it between the gentle Rebel and the tougher Epic. As with every Perplexus, a dropped ball means starting again from the beginning, which is what keeps it hard.
What people love
- It is the original Perplexus track, which a long-time reviewer still rates as excellent
- Easy to pick up: no rules to learn, no reading and no loose pieces
- A clear step towards Epic, with 100 obstacles instead of 125
- Named obstacles like the tight rope and the super spiral give you clear targets to beat
Common complaints
- A drop sends you right back to START, which can test a younger child's patience
- Only one person can play at a time
Based on 4 reviews and discussions
- Video Perplexus Beast/Original Re-reviewed (RCInsight, March 2021) · YouTube - RCInsight
- Reference Perplexus Beast product page (Funskool, read October 2026) · Funskool
- Reference Perplexus · Wikipedia
- Reference Superplexus history (Michael McGinnis) · superplexus.com
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
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Perplexus Beast
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Perplexus Rebel
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Perplexus Epic
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Brainvita
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why consider it | This game The original Perplexus maze ball: 100 obstacles, one steady pair of hands | A different fit The gentler first maze: 70 obstacles instead of 100 | A different fit The next step up: the same kind of sphere with 125 obstacles and a harder track | A different fit Another one-player puzzle, solved by careful thinking rather than steady hands |
| Players | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Best with | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Play time | 5–60 min | 5–30 min | 5–60 min | 5–20 min |
| Age | 8+ | 8+ | 8+ | 6+ |
| Rules | Easy | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Available | Available | Available | Available |
| On this page | Explore Perplexus Rebel | Explore Perplexus Epic | Explore Brainvita |
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Questions people ask about Perplexus Beast
How is Perplexus Beast different from Perplexus Epic?
Beast has 100 obstacles and Epic has 125, and Spin Master places Beast one level below Epic. Beast is the original Perplexus track, sold as Perplexus Original until 2019. Both are one-player spheres played the same way, so start with Beast if Epic sounds too hard.
What age is Perplexus Beast for?
Spin Master's description says 8 and up, and Funskool's page says 9 and up. It needs patience rather than reading, so a determined 8-year-old can manage it. For a younger child, or one who gives up quickly, Perplexus Rebel is the gentler start.
Is Perplexus Beast smaller than Perplexus Epic?
Spin Master and Funskool don't publish the sphere sizes. Retailer listings give the boxed Beast as roughly 540 g and the boxed Epic as about 590 g, so expect much the same size in your hands. What changes is the track: 100 obstacles instead of 125.
Can two people play Perplexus Beast?
Only one person can hold and play it at a time. Families and friends make a game of it by taking turns and comparing the highest number each person reaches.
Does Perplexus Beast need batteries?
No. The ball rolls by gravity as you turn the sphere, and the box holds just the sphere and an instruction sheet.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Michael McGinnis, KID Group
- Publisher
- Spin Master
- In India
- Funskool (India) Ltd, which sells Spin Master's Perplexus range in India; Funskool's page names Micro Plastics Private Limited, Harohalli, Karnataka, as manufacturer and packer
- Players
- 1
- Barcode
- 778988268575
- Language
- No reading – There is nothing to read: the track carries numbers, and the only rule is to roll the ball from START along the numbers. It works the same in any language at home.
- Box size and weight
- 0.54 kg
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.
- Funskool - Perplexus Beast (product code 6053142)
- Toycra - Spin Master Perplexus Beast 3D Gravity Maze Game (Spin Master's description, SKU 6053142, barcode)
- Galaxus - Spin Master Perplexus Beast (German edition: age, weight, release date)
- Perplexus - Wikipedia
- Superplexus history (Michael McGinnis)
- RCInsight - Perplexus Beast/Original Re-reviewed (YouTube, March 2021)