What made it a computer was that it could count to 7 in binary. It was programmed with rubber bands and plastic straw bits.
It was Educational. It was not Fun At Parties.
Thank god my $4.99 (+ .63¢ shipping) investment was protected by a 30-day Free Trial. ("If you don't agree with us that this is the most exciting new development in modern research, then simply return it for a full refund.")
Of course, I kept it. And there was even a 2.0 upgrade. I was notified by the computer that I could upgrade (for $1.99) from Version 1.0's copper wire springs to 2.0's more sophisticated rubber bands.
I see in the copy that you can "check out Dad's bank balance" - but you couldn't really 'cause it only counted to seven.
"Designed in plastic, this mechanical analog of a binary computer... can be assembled in less than one hour."