If the rope can be run through two or more pulleys, the force applied at one end of the rope to lift the object on the other end can be reduced.
What's interesting is that the mechanical advantage that each simple machine may offer for reducing the force needed to move an object comes at the expense of having to apply the force through a longer distance. So a short motion of a force produces a longer motion of the object.
A marble drop machine is toy that makes use of simple machines to move one or more marbles through it from top to bottom. The idea of this toy is to create a lot of motion of its parts and the marbles to watch. And that motion is produced with the marbles that literally fall through it. The force on the marble is its weight. Because it can roll and fall, it can be made to roll down a plane...
Long planes give a long roll for little loss in height. A marble dropping onto a lever arm can force another marble at the other end to move elsewhere. Ingenious use of many examples of simple machines along a marble's path can produce a lot of motion if they don't offer too much friction.
One can use his hand or a wheel and axle along with a pulley to return the marbles to the top. The work one supplies to bring each marble to the top either by hand or by turning a crank of a simple machine will be expended as it falls through the toy.
