Melissa & Doug 97005 Classic Railway Wooden Train Set The Original 82 Pieces

My 3 year old son received this as a Christmas present. Overall it's very cute and the prices themselves seem well made. All the track pieces fit together well everything is as advertised. My only two complaints with this set is 1. The cardboard mat that comes with it is pretty flimsy. It's more like glorified construction paper and is pretty hard to use on the floor. A non carpeted surface or table is about the only way it's usable. It also tears fairly easily. My son is pretty gentle for a 3 year old so somethings a little more durable should be provided. My second complaint is the train pieces themselves- when they coming off the bride as pictured on the box they always fall off the track. Not a huge deal but is slightly discouraging to a small child trying to play with something. More of annoyance and aggravation than anything. Overall it's a cute set and he enjoys playing with it, but I kind of wished he'd gotten the bigger, deluxe set.

My biggest problem is thst the lives are only painted on one side. Kids have difficulty playing at the same time because you can only see what the buildings and animals are are from one side of the table