Cyclex.

I bought this for my daughter's 10th birthday as I used to love mine 30 years ago, and it's still great. As it's all in one, there isn't any cogs or pieces to loose so fits neatly away, and it makes lovely pictures too. My daughter was thrilled with the patterns it produced and found it easy to use. Some people have commented that it is stiff, but I think it's all about technique / practise - also use a roller ball or biro rather than felt tips. As an age guide, my ten year old could do it no problems, seven year old found it a little difficult to do but just needed a little practise, and my pre-schooler four year old found it too fiddly.

I ordered this after reading mixed reviews of the other Spirographs on the market. It is well made and I like the fact that the pattern inserts are fixed, as my grand daughter is not good at remembering to pack things away. There are lots of pattern options and she was delighted with it. It comes with a few basic pens but bought a pack of glittery gel pens in a local shop and this was a good decision. Easy to use after a little practice.

This makes an interesting addition or alternative to the traditional Spirograph: the patterns it creates are very different and it is easier to use. I haven't stopped playing with it since it came through the post (I'm a mature woman!). I recommend the addition of coloured fineliner pens and perhaps some cheap felt tips which have lighter colours than those provided; with these you can create amazing layered designs. The wheels within the frames do occasionally stick, but I've found this can be rectified by reversing direction. The reason for the loss of one star is that the designers missed a trick in not putting some markings on the frames which would allow the user to centre another wheel over the design. For example, I found that while creating a pattern, the template I was using didn't have the shape I wanted to include, so I've tried to place one of the others over the design, tried to line it up correctly only to find, after I've drawn with the second template, that the pattern is off-centre. I have got better at guessing, but still ruin some intricate designs. I'm sure there's a simple way the manufacturer could solve this problem. Otherwise, I would thoroughly recommend this for children, who would find it easier than a traditional Spirograph, and for creative adults. UPDATE: I've worked out how the manufacturers could enable the user to use different templates for the same design while still keeping the design centred. As all but the centre template are the same size, just put three or four small holes around the frame of each circular template. The user then marks their paper through these holes (with a pencil); when using a different template the holes in the frame of that template have to show the pencil marks. Spiral Draw has a similar centering method.

Fantastic, different every time they play with them. As hard or as easy as they want them to be

I had a Spirograph as a child and loved it. I was recently working in a school with some year 5 children and this was in there "wet play" box of toys/games. It was always used by both girls and boys. The unit has four sealed spiros in it. Place your pen in your chosen shape and gently rotate with your pen/pencil to produce an amazing pattern. As the spiros are fixed there are no lose bits to get lost and loads of variations. I bought these for my two nieces for Christmas age 7 and 9years and they loved it. Makes beautiful patterns and great for fine motor skills. Fantastic gift for children and adults.

Quite difficult to hold still and use. Our 5 year old grand daughter not impressed.

My 7yr old loves this. Can do lots of designs. Although a little stiff to begin with, it loosens over time. Good buy.

This has proved popular with our 4 and 6 year old grandchildren. They do need a bit of help holding it down so it doesn't move whilst they are using it. The pens provided are too thick and the paper provided is ridiculously thin, meaning holes easily appear when drawing