You need two to three people to put this together, on the second and third levels especially. The bottom and very top go together easy. Just make sure you have the bars facing into the center for the dome and the bottom bar, making a circle. All the ends of the bars face the inner circle. The instructions are fairly ok but could be a little more in depth. I used channel locks and clamps when I worked with one person. The hardest part is getting the sometime 6 or more ( maybe once or so 7 pieces of bar together. Id put four or five together and tighten the bolt, put on a clamp, unscrew it and add one or more bars to mix and tighten till they are all on the the bolt. You dont want it real tight yet. You will need to move the bars over to line them up to the next bar. Once its put all together and all bolts tightened its nice and sturdy. Big enough for the older and middle kids. The babys will grow into it. Have patience and your kids will love.