Features

• Explore the kingdom and discover 7 arcade-style games
• Explanations on everything from chess basics to master strategies
• Experience the Intelligym, a training ground for future chess pros
• Designed with highly-rated chess software
• Suitable for players of all levels

Amazon.com Review

Step into the stylish shoes of teen supersleuth Nancy Drew to crack thecase of the haunted mansion. As Nancy, you'll hang your hat in San Francisco,where you've been invited to help a family friend renovate a historic Victorianhome. Some strange things have been happening in the old house--could it bespirits from the past, or just shifty characters on the make? Use yourmagnifying glass to search the place from top to bottom for clues. You'll findtrap doors, personal papers, keys, tools--all sorts of spots and items toexplore or hang onto for later use. You never know when you might need a paintscraper or crowbar to help you out of a bind. To fill in some of the gaps, talkto characters in the game, and choose your responses to their questions based onwhat you want to know.

Play Message in a Haunted Mansion in one of two modes: new or youngerplayers can sign in as junior detectives for more simplified play, while oldpros can log in as senior detectives for serious sleuthing. Once you're in, youmay never want to leave--the graphic detail of the Victorian-mansion setting isstellar. The Chinese-influenced décor is authentically and exquisitelyreproduced, and many elements can be highlighted to better focus on the level ofdetail. (Those interested in Victorian interiors will be especially pleased.)Also realistic are often-overlooked touches that add a true-to-life ring, suchas photos of family and friends on the wall, and sunglasses kept in the kitchendrawer. The sound effects further add to the sense of realism and heighten theair of suspense. You'll hear doors and cabinets creak open and shut, hauntingcries, and loose chandeliers swaying overhead.

This third installment in the popular Nancy Drew interactive series (a follow-up to Stay Tuned for Danger and Secrets Can Kill) is successful not just for its design and production, but forits thoughtful features that keep players hooked, even as things start to feelhopeless. When you're in a bind, you can call home or old friends Bess andGeorge for help. And if you make a game-ending decision, simply pick up rightwhere you left off before the terminal mistake by utilizing the Second Chancefeature. There's even a self-updating journal in Nancy's suitcase that recordsclues as you find them, to help you keep track of all the facts you unearth.And, of course, you can save your game after each session--no backtrackingthrough clues you've already found, or conversations you've already had.

Our only complaint: the game takes some time to install, which can be hardto stomach if you've played the previous Nancy Drew games and are as excited toplay the third as we were. But once you're in the game and can see the wealth ofwhat awaits, you'll realize that it's worth a lengthy installation. A niceimprovement over previous games is the inclusion of a tutorial to explaingameplay to new users. (Ages 10 and older) --Leah Ball ... Read more

Reviews (495)

Fun But Could Be A Lot Better
I read Nancy Drew religiously in my early teenage years and although I outgrew the books about ten years ago, I was still anxious to try these games when I heard of them. I have now played three of them (SCK and FIN are the other two) and The Final Scene is the only one of them that I would recommend to anyone. This one was fun, but it just isn't worth buying. It has some cool puzzles and clues to solve, but it just didn't take long enough. I finished it in about half of the 20 hours that the package promises and I played on senior level. And I'm not a genious or anything. I even failed a couple of classes in high school. The characters in the story were kind of flat and dull, too. And the game is just way too limited. From the title, I was expecting a big mansion with lots of rooms and secret passages to explore. Upstairs, you can only go in to one bedroom besides Nancy's and then the attic. Downstairs, you could only go into the front entrance area, the parlor, library, and dining room. Then there was the basement. There just wasn't enough places to explore. Another complaint I have about this game, along with the others I've played, is that, for the most part, the characters stay in the same places doing the same things. They leave at certain times so you can search the areas they're in, but other than that they're always in the same places doing the same things unless it's absolutely necessary that they be somewhere else. It would just add so much realism, not to mention length, to the games if you could go more places and if you had to search for someone when you wanted to talk with them instead of being able to just go right to them. It's not like the game designers have to put the characters in fifteen or twenty different places. Just having the characters in two or three places throughout the game would be enough. There should also be more interaction with the characters. It would also make the games a lot better if George, Bess, or Ned were actually in it instead of just being on the phone. Or maybe have Nancy's father or Hannah in it and Nancy could go home and discuss the case with them. Sure, this would make the designers' jobs harder, but if you're going to do something, do it right. Because I really do not feel like paying 20+ dollars for a game like this if it's only going to take me a few hours to play it. Because these games are really not that good after you've played them once. Most of the game is just searching for clues and talking with suspects and once you know where everything is and what everyone's going to say, the game is just not that fun. I'll play them a second time just to see if I missed anything the first time, but after that they're pretty much useless.

You'll Love It!
My sister started to get into the Nancy Drew series, so for Christmas, my Mom bought my sister Nancy Drew: Message In A Haunted Mansion. My sister started it, but she really has no enthusium for computer games. So it sat by our computer for a couple of months until curiousness got me. I didn't expect much and figured I'd be bored because I'm 15 and this looked a little juvenile to me. I was completley wrong. Right from the beginning, I was hooked. I would be on my computer for hours trying to solve case. I was completley intrigued. I was playing the game so much that my family had to tear me away from the computer just so they could check their mail. I loved the story line, the fun chinese history that tied in with it, I loved all the mystery, problem and puzzle solving, and spending hours working on the mystery. I would definetly recommend this game to everyone (even my 9 year old brother played it and loved it)who wants to spend countless hours on the computer trying to solve a fun, mystery filled, and exciting case. It's a great game, you'll love it!

Also recommend: Nancy Drew: Treasure In A Royal Tower. It's even better then Message In A Haunted Mansion!

BUY THIS GAME!
My kids say, "We have played every Nancy Drew game. This is by far our favorite one. It was challenging but not frustrating. It even had spooky moments! Graphics were awesome, never ending sluthing, and excellent ending climax. Overall PERFECT game!"

WE BOTH RECOMEND IT

Message in a Haunted Mansion
In this third game in the series, Nancy is in California visiting a friend at her huge mansion that she is renovating into a bed-and-breakfast. While Nancy is there, strange things and accidents are happening at the mansion. You can explore the whole house, in fact, it's the only place you're at during the whole game. But that doesn't make it any less fun. I loved this game!

Message in a Haunted Mansion review by Christina
I thought this game was pretty good. I thought the stuff about the seance, ghosts, and "spirit of Valdez" was kind of goofy, becuase I don't believe in the occult or anything. But other than that it was a good game, although easy to solve. ... Read more

Features

• Cruise and explore the big city with the My Scene girls
• Plan for one of twelve events
• Take fun tell all quizzes to discover things about you and your friends
• Attend art shows, charity events and more
• For one or more players

Reviews (9)

My Scene computer game
This game is fun but after you play all twelve games then when you play again you do the same thing and buy the same stuff. Also, Chealsea and Barbie walk slower than the other people, but Madison is as fast as them. And when you see one of the other My Scene girls they just ask if Nolee called you or you ask them if they want to go somewhere and they say they can't, then they walk away and if your not Madison you can't follow them, they just walk off the part of the screen you can see and you can't catch up with them.
In the game, you have to buy the things you need for something your doing. To get money, you can decorate a store window, design clothes, or make music. I like the clothes and window games, but the music one is boring. And you can only play the games twice. You can also pick boyfriends for the My Scene girls. The boys are walking around. You can also talk to girls. To find out what clothes you should get, you need to read a magazine. You can also take quizzes and try on clothes after you've bought the clothes you need.

Slightly Disapointed
I look for a game since usually my volume wont work that will work and be simple if you have no volume like the sims. I cant end the game when I cant hear wher i haft to meet barbie or any of the crew. This game often freezes 2 and it's not just my computer Vivendi universety can do better.

The Reviews Here do not go to MY SCENE
I purchased My Scene because of the reviews listed under it. I purchased for a 5 year old. The reviews listed right now with this product are for other Barbie computer games. This game, My Scene, is probably lots of fun for any girl who can read pretty well and follow instructions. Very difficult for a 5 year old. My 11-year old niece enjoys it, but be careful reading the reviews (unless Amazon fixes the problem, as I did contact them.).

My Scene is super fun!
My 6 year old LOOOOVVEES playing this game. It's age appropriate for kids of all ages! I love playing it with her, so does her brother! I kind of wish the game was a little longer or if you played it more than once you had different options, like more variety, but it serves it's purpose. It was worth the buy and amazon had it at a great price!

A Very Impressive Game
I am 17 yrs. old and had put this game on my Christmas wishlist. I recieved the game on Christmas morning and have played it every day since. This game has some of the best graphics I have seen and is great for any young or old girl who is into fashion, music, and friends. You basically get to become one of the MyScene characters and help them get ready for many different events through fashion activities and money making jobs. I have been extremely satisfied with this game and recommend it to anyone between the ages of 8 and 100. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Go on an epic adventure of math and logic with the Zoombinis Logical Journey and Zoombinis Mountain Rescue educational software titles. Embark on a dangerous quest to a new Zoombini homeland and learn critical logic and mathematical thinking skills. Trek across treacherous terrain strewn with perilous mind-bending puzzles. Learn important life skills such as deductive reasoning, pattern recognition, hypothesis testing, and more, while leading the Zoombinis to freedom. These entertaining adventures are a journey into the math of the information age. Develop the cognitive mathematical thinking skills used in writing computer programs, organizing spreadsheet data, and searching for information on computer networks. ... Read more

Reviews (65)

Love, love, love this game...
I was introduced to this game while helping out in an elementary school computer class (yeah, I'm technically a grown-up). It's an engaging way to teach logic skills, and the puzzles are a lot of fun. I agree that there are a LOT of Zoombinis to save (the purpose of the game)and that once you've mastered the higher levels it's a bit tedious to keep playing the harder versions of the puzzles, especially if there are any you don't like to begin with.

On the other hand, this game is wonderful for a variety of age groups (some of the younger kids may need some help figuring out the logic behind the puzzles), for different ethnicities (the Zoombinis are blue), and genders (most of the characters are somewhat ambiguous on gender, and the Zoombinis are all equal). I've seen it played solo, and in groups, with equally enjoyable results. And there are a number of resources available for educators, parents, etc. to help your kids make meaning from the games they are playing.

All in all, this is a must for any elementary/middle school computer educator, and a highly recommended for parents who want their kids to use computers as a tool as well as a toy.

One of the best logic games, all in a fun package
I'm a 13-year-old boy, I loved Zoombinis ever since it came out about 7 years ago, and I still love it now. Zoombinis is a great education game, it teaches logic and mathematical skills essential to learn, and also lets children (and adults) have fun while doing it.

Zoombinis is set apart from so many other logic games by adding characters that are enjoyable and funny to a 2nd grader, while not being so annoying or childish that a 7th grader cannot enjoy or laugh at them as well.

Another way Zoombinis excels is in the way it adjusts to the user's ability. The game will start out easy and teach more simplistic concepts, and after the user is comfortable with that, it will move on to more complex problems.

A nice thing about this game is that it will encourage someone to learn and keep going. It can all happen because the game is both educational and fun, and the child will get a sort of self-satisfaction when they accomplish something. Whenever a puzzle is completed, the user gets a little bit closer to the goal of saving all the Zoombinis, and this gives them something to work for.

Zoombinis consists of 12 different puzzles for the user to go thru, and one of the factors that have made it so successful is how it makes the user actually think. Instead of letting you just guess the answers, Zoombinis has you think about why a certain answer does or doesn't work, then lets you come up with some sort of practical method to solve such problems, which can later be applied to more advanced levels of education (I am currently taking geometry, and I still use many of the methods I learned here to help me solve problems).

In all, Zoombinis is one of the most valuable and fun game (educational or not) that I have ever used. It is a great product, and I would certainly recommend it.

Nice Game, but just a little hard
I got this game with a multipack and it rocks!!! But just kind of a little hard but I like it.

My kids loved it!
Not only fun but a great logic builder! The best peice of software I've bought for my kids!

What a great surprise!
We love this game! When I was searching for new games for my girls, 8 & 11, I came across this game, but made the mistake of not ordering it. One day, my daughter came home from her computer class and raved about this game - I ordered the Logical Journey and Mountain Rescue...I am so glad that I did. My 8 year old and I enjoy playing Logical Journey together - its a little more basic and easier for her to understand. My older daughter prefers the Mountain Rescue - the graphics are a little more advanced and she enjoys the games more. I would recommend these games to anyone looking for fun, safe, and mentally challenging entertainment! ... Read more

Reviews (436)

"Haunted Carousel" an entertaning ride.
In "The Haunted Carousel," teenage sleuth Nancy Drew is on her eighth case: investigating amusement park "hauntings" in Captains Cove, NJ. One of the park's famed carousel horses has been stolen, and the carousel has been mysteriously starting and stopping on its own. Also, the park's roller coaster stopped suddenly, causing a rider to injure his neck. With the park shut down, Nancy must interview the employees and explore the park to find clues.

"Haunted Carousel" has some nice improvements over past games: the addition of the "to do" list, journal, and cell phone (no more endless running back and forth to Nancy's hotel to call). If Nancy gets stuck, she can call her friends Bess and George and the Hardy Boys. The game has two levels, Junior and Senior Detective, and there are plenty of built-in tips and hints, including a park operating manual with an overview of most puzzle components. "Haunted Carousel" seemed to be one of the easier ND games.

"Haunted Carousel" really draws the player into the park's atmosphere, complete with hotel room service, arcade games, a ride on the carousel (and chance to grab the brass ring), and more. The storyline flowed smoothly, the puzzles were organic (programming an arcade game, switching roller coaster tracks, repairing the carousel's band organ, reading invisible ink), the voice work was above average and the characters had distinct personalities. Music was pronounced, including carnival music for the carousel and ominous creepy tunes for the haunted house.

Nancy must watch her step as always, since someone wants to stop her from finding out the truth behind the hauntings. Along the way she helps someone come to terms with the past, sniffs out an insurance fraud, and digs up long-lost truths and secrets about the park and its employees. This is a lovely adventure with a unique atmosphere that will delight young sleuths.

Not worth the price compared to others in series
First of all, I would like to point out that the editorial review above is not for Secrets Can Kill. It is for one of the other games in the series, and is therefore a better review than Secrets Can Kill deserves. It may be confusing to see the editorial review for the Tower mystery right under the title for Secrets Can Kill.
I love the Nancy Drew series, and I am a college-educated woman in my thirties. I have played four out of the first five games in the series (I have not played Stay Tuned for Danger). The other games have wonderful graphics and storylines. Talking to the other characters is enjoyable, and the puzzles are challenging enough for an adult when played on the senior detective level. I played Secrets Can Kill on the Master level (there are three levels for this game instead of two), and I found that my nine-year-old son was not challenged by the puzzles. Most of the puzzles are easily solved word puzzles that have clues as to the items to gather or hints about the character's secrets. However, most of the puzzles have nothing to do with the game play itself. There is one slide puzzle that allows you to find an inventory item; otherwise, the puzzles are just there for hints. As mentioned in other reviews, this game has cartoon-like characters rather than the 3D-type characters in the other games, and it really does make the game less interesting. The dialogue is uninteresting and the characters become hostile and barely speak to Nancy through most of the game. Overall, the game requires only a few answered puzzles to solve the mystery, and the ending is disappointing, to say the least. I gave this two stars instead of one, which was my first inclination, because I feel that it might be interesting for a child to play, especially if the child has not had very much experience with adventure games for the computer; however, a child would probably still at least want to play on the senior detective level. I recommend the other Nancy Drew games that I have played to players of any age for a nice, relaxing mystery, and I especially recommend the Haunted Mansion game. I cannot, however, recommend Secrets Can Kill.

Very interesting --- Another good mystery
I thought it was very good, only it was a little too complicated. I liked the usually good graphics (for Nancy Drew games) but I didn't particularly like the way you couldn't easily get around. Really well done ghost dogs, very scary. The mystery was a creepy one, and the villain was certainly unexpected. That's all I'll say. Anymore would spoil it.

My favorite ND game so far!
Treasure in the Royal Tower is one of the best computer games I ever played. This is a great starter Nancy Drew game for starting off because it's not too hard nor too easy. If you want a really easy game try the Haunted Carousel.
The story goes that you, as Nancy Drew, are snowed in at a ski resort in Wisconsin with an interesting history. In this game you learn about the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette.
"So, what's the mystery?" you ask. I'm getting to that.
There is a tower shipped over from France and was put back together on Wickford Castle, the ski resort you are staying at. The library at Wickford has been vandalized, and it takes a lot more than barging through the front door to investigate. Later, you hear about Marie Antoinette having a crown worth millions and somehow you figure that the library and treasure are connected. Your job is to find out the story behind the treasure and library.
This game took me about four days to beat. It's quite challenging in parts, like the ski lift, but you can get through it. It's also a little frightening, like the banging noises, but not too frightening that you never want to play it again, like the Final Scene. All in all, Treasure in the Royal Tower is a great game and everyone should buy it.

Not the Best
I've played all of the Nancy Drew Games (except the Final Scene) and this one was pretty good. It was well-written, but I didn't think it was as interesting as some of the other games. I would reccomend the Haunted Carousel or Treasure in the Royal Tower instead. ... Read more

Features

• Multiplayer mode included – replay a course with other players
• Compete on 14 different and unique courses
• Ride through 6 different landscapes
• Integrated adventure mode allows you to play through the game while trying to solve a mystery
• Customize your horse with your favorite features

Reviews (6)

Four
I think this game is really great, the graphics are good, but the grooming! every time you go to a show, you get a new horse to look after them on top of your other horses. Also some horses are better than others, for example, the best ones are the palimino, the dark grey (these are the last two horses you get ) and Eclair. The challenges are really tricky and I still havent worked out the wheel one and ive had it for a year!

Fun Fun Fun
This is a really cool game even for me and I'm 16! Yea Its sad I know but I wanted a good horse game, I beat the Barbie Riding Game in less than an hour. So I was happy when I still haven't been Saddle Up and ive had it for almost a month!

The grooming can be really annoying after a while but its alot like real life. Picking there feet takes like 15 mintues the first time. The challanges are HARD! I still haven't figured out the wheel challange and its making me very mad!! But I still love it!

Great Game for Horse Fans Like Me!!!
I love this game. It is fun as well as challenging. The part I don't like about it ,though is the grooming.

It takes like an hour just to pick a hoof, and you keep getting more horses to groom throughout the game! You have to ride and care for each and every horse, even if they don't belong to you! In some competitions, you have to ride you're "friends'" horses instead of your own. (Your horses are a lot better at pacing themselves in the challenges.) I also don't like how you can only save the game in your room. But worst of all, is how much grooming is involved EVERY DAY!!! Hose down the horse, brush him, pick his HOOF (not hooves, thank goodness), shoe him, AND clean his stall and take him to the pasture! All of that is involved before you can go riding!

BUT, I loved the graphics. The only problem is if you wander off course, your horse falls into a white area. It is a great game, though. And the courses and competitions are a ton of fun! The challenges are REALLY CHALLENGING. It takes a while to figure them out, but its fun while doing it. This is an awesome game for horse fans like me. This game shows what its like to own a horse. I think it should be ages 11 and up!

Neigh!!!
This game is a really great game, and I play it as often as I can. It can be a bit confusing when first starting out, but I soon got the hang of it. It's really fun, and there are lots of things to do in this game. It's a great game if you don't want to be riding all the time. I'm horse-crazy and I'm very focused on the quality of the graphics, and although they aren't the greatest, they're definitley better than alot of horse games. And the best part is, there's no dressage!

WOW
i am 15 years old and i am crazy for horses! This game is GREAT and it really teachs you about horses and you get to do compitions and the software works perfectly fine for me.The jumping courses are fun, and controlling the horse is easy.But you need practice and soon you get it.I recommened this game to anyhorse lover and its great fun. the game is well designed and really really fun :) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

blast the math blaster
I would like to warn parents and educators of this product. In my opinion, not only was the software poorly designed and difficult to follow; the content was offensive. For example, when my daughter and I were going through the game together, there was a section where it is necessary to type in the answers to some math facts. It is not clearly presented how you are supposed to even enter the answers, so it took us awhile to figure it all out. The program then answered with a sinister laugh, "My grandma could answer those better, AND SHE'S OLD". There were several more extremely offensive statements. After turning off the game, my daughter announced that she wanted to blast the math blaster game. I agree.

Great tool for reinforcing math skills!
My daughter, age 8, has been using Math Blaster (8-9) in her third grade class since the beginning of the year, 2002-2003. She loves it! Her grades on math, which were her weakess subject, have exceeded my expectations. This product reinforces math techniques learned in class; which provide her a better understanding of the concepts. Word problems have been her worst area, but by the second nine weeks and now, just finishing the third nine weeks, her teacher is most impressed with her improvement. My daughter enjoys it so much, that she wants a copy of her own at home, which is why I am purchasing it today. This way, over the summer, she won't lose skills she's learned throughout the third grade. This program was highly recommended by her third grade teacher and is utilizied in all third and fourth grade levels at our school. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

From island adventures to arcade-style games, there are tons of activities waiting here for the dinosaur fan in your house.The latest version of this long-popular program has much improved graphics and animations. The creatures really do come back to life, and since it covers the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, that includes a lot of creatures!

The guide through the different games is Rolf, a young dino who's the only "cutesy" character in the whole program. To help him find his buddy Pterrance, build a maze with different puzzle pieces--it's a great spatial abilities builder. After that, kids can pick from matching games, platform-style skill games, fossil-assembling puzzles, or just plain exploring.

The 3-D videos are great--exciting and lively without being too scary for the little ones. And with so much information, you'll soon be learning the detailed differences between herbivores and oviraptors just to keep up with your kindergartner! --Jill Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (48)

A must have for ANY dinoboy/girl
My 4 year old son and 6 year old daughter have played this game over and over and over and over and... It is my sons favorite computer game.
He started playing this when he was 3, with a little parental help, but can now go at it alone.
A earthquake has causes all the eggs on dino island to get lost.
You need to help Rolf find all the eggs. Oh, there's a small problem, a T-Rex is on the loose too, and Rolf needs to hatch these dino eggs so the babies can help him defeat the T-Rex.
Travel around the island to the different periods, Triassic, Cretaceous, Jurassic, and help him complete puzzles and games to earn hatching crystals. Keep your eyes open for hidden eggs along the way. Answer questions to reveal the eggs.
When you find and hatch all the eggs, you can then beat the T-Rex!
Games include Connect-A-Cave (logic puzzle), Bone Builder (build a dinosaur out of bones), and Scrambled Eggs (matching), and more.
The game automatically levels up for each individual puzzle as the child progresses. You can also easily decrease or increase the level of play manually, allowing ages 3-8 to play.
Click on dinosaur and other items to learn important facts that help you learn and progress in the game.
The game is non-violent. The T-Rex pops up and growls every now and then, but that's the extent anything "scary." There is NO BLOOD SHED.
I can not go on enough about how great this game is. It is educational and fun! A definite must for your dinosaur fan! Of all the computer games we have, this one get the most use, and was clearly the best buy!

Our best software purchase to date!
I am constantly looking for quality software for a 3 year old and this is AMAZING! My son can play almost every game on level one and when his 6 year old cousin comes to vist he plays the games on level 3. We love to play the games, collect the crystals and hatch the eggs ... we take turns guessing what kind of baby dino we are going to hatch! There is even a cinima section where your child can just click on pics of Dinosaurs and hear info on them. As if all of this were not enough it revolves around a volcano that erupts lava ... we all know any true dino game should include a volcano!!! One more plus is that a 3 year old can play this with littel or no help from a parent ... I use it when making dinner. I am unable to do this with any of the big name pre-school software. I am so pleased with this purchase! Buy this ... you will love it!

Missng some of the old stuff.
I always enjoyed this game. I had the original, (MS-DOS Based Version. It had some great games in it, such as "Save the Dinosaurs!, in which you were given a time limit in which to save 15 Dinosaurs, from 3 different time periods, before a Giant comet hit the earth, making it impossible for dinosaurs ot stay alive. There was also an encyclopedia area, in which you could look up the various dinosaur facts. There was an puzzle where you had to guess which Dino you were looking at. And another one, where you had to work out the answer to the question, "Which reptile is this a part of?", where it showed you a Dinosaur, and some pictures of dinosaur parts. There were many more

A windows 95/98 based version of this game came out, that was exactly the same, exept that it needs Windows, and won't run on MS-DOS. This one that I have now, is more animated than the original, and does not have my favourite puzzles. I preferred the original version, because it gave facts in a more realistic way. Kids aged 4-8 may like the latest version, but the original, though much scarier for that age group, is still the best.

Is there a new game out, that has all the features mentioned above? It doesn't have to be from Knowledge Adventure.

Other than that, it's cool.

Fun, educational, probably ok on XP
This game was written for Windows 95 and slighly updated for Windows 98. I installed it under Windows 2000 (recent version of DirectX) with excellent results, so I'd expect it would be fine under XP.

Some of the images are dark and muddy, but overall it's a fun game with some reasonable educational content. We haven't run into any major bugs, and it doesn't demand much in the way of drive space or CPU/video performance.

It appears to be out of "print", in fact I think the entire Knowledge Adventure line is probably in limbo. A real shame, it's hard to find good software like this any more. Not only are there no equivalent "modern" competitors, if they existed they'd be very demanding of machine resources.

I've not tested the Mac version.

Kids love this game
My kids have had this software for a couple of years, and they keep going back to it. Of all the computer software I have bought (and there have been many!!) this game has the most lasting power. And the nice thing is that it keeps the interest of both my 8 year old AND my 6 year old. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

"Not too long ago, Zoombinis enjoyed the good life. Though they alllooked slightly different--different eyes, noses, hair, feet--such differencesmeant nothing to the Zoombinis. And so they lived happily on Zoombini Isle,making small, useful products, which were prized the world over." So begins anunsuspectingly addictive CD-ROM, featuring uncommonly fun reasoning games thatrequire serious problem solving and math-thinking work. Yet the perils that facethis cheerful society are not as fearsome as the amount of time you'llpotentially spend on this pursuit. Beware the chubby, chattering Zoombinis ifyou don't want to get hooked to your computer for at least 90 minutes asession!

Adored by educators and parents alike, Zoombinis Logical Journeychallenges children to employ such basic fundamentals of mathematical thinkingas organizing information, reasoning of evidence, finding and making patterns,and systematic testing of hypotheses. The journey follows four puzzle-filledtrails, each exploring related mathematical ideas. The fundamental data andvariables for all this work are the variations in the Zoombinis' features. Their"feet," for example, can be shoes, skates, whirligigs, or coiled springs (thesound effects for these items are particularly great), while their "eyes" may beheavily lidded, enhanced by eyeglasses, blocked by dark shades, or limited tojust a single eyeball. Sorting and arranging these variables in order to solvepuzzles requires concentrated effort from the players, and the game rewards themwell with inventive scenarios that evolve in fabulously curious ways as skillsare gained. This may not sound like much, but when Arno the Pizza-Eating TreeTroll, who has been yammering for the perfectly topped pizza his entirelifetime, suddenly demands a perfectly topped ice cream sundae, too, it is astaggering, giddy surprise.

The product is full of so many little joys, it's hard to demand improvements.Still, it'd be a great thing if version 2 would feature something other than themonotonous, ping-ping-ping soundtrack that's featured here. But that's minor. Inthe end, the creators' promise that this CD-ROM will "encourage kids to developa lifetime habit of associating fun with learning" is dead-on. (Ages 9 andolder) --Jean Lenihan ... Read more

Reviews (65)

Love, love, love this game...
I was introduced to this game while helping out in an elementary school computer class (yeah, I'm technically a grown-up). It's an engaging way to teach logic skills, and the puzzles are a lot of fun. I agree that there are a LOT of Zoombinis to save (the purpose of the game)and that once you've mastered the higher levels it's a bit tedious to keep playing the harder versions of the puzzles, especially if there are any you don't like to begin with.

On the other hand, this game is wonderful for a variety of age groups (some of the younger kids may need some help figuring out the logic behind the puzzles), for different ethnicities (the Zoombinis are blue), and genders (most of the characters are somewhat ambiguous on gender, and the Zoombinis are all equal). I've seen it played solo, and in groups, with equally enjoyable results. And there are a number of resources available for educators, parents, etc. to help your kids make meaning from the games they are playing.

All in all, this is a must for any elementary/middle school computer educator, and a highly recommended for parents who want their kids to use computers as a tool as well as a toy.

One of the best logic games, all in a fun package
I'm a 13-year-old boy, I loved Zoombinis ever since it came out about 7 years ago, and I still love it now. Zoombinis is a great education game, it teaches logic and mathematical skills essential to learn, and also lets children (and adults) have fun while doing it.

Zoombinis is set apart from so many other logic games by adding characters that are enjoyable and funny to a 2nd grader, while not being so annoying or childish that a 7th grader cannot enjoy or laugh at them as well.

Another way Zoombinis excels is in the way it adjusts to the user's ability. The game will start out easy and teach more simplistic concepts, and after the user is comfortable with that, it will move on to more complex problems.

A nice thing about this game is that it will encourage someone to learn and keep going. It can all happen because the game is both educational and fun, and the child will get a sort of self-satisfaction when they accomplish something. Whenever a puzzle is completed, the user gets a little bit closer to the goal of saving all the Zoombinis, and this gives them something to work for.

Zoombinis consists of 12 different puzzles for the user to go thru, and one of the factors that have made it so successful is how it makes the user actually think. Instead of letting you just guess the answers, Zoombinis has you think about why a certain answer does or doesn't work, then lets you come up with some sort of practical method to solve such problems, which can later be applied to more advanced levels of education (I am currently taking geometry, and I still use many of the methods I learned here to help me solve problems).

In all, Zoombinis is one of the most valuable and fun game (educational or not) that I have ever used. It is a great product, and I would certainly recommend it.

Nice Game, but just a little hard
I got this game with a multipack and it rocks!!! But just kind of a little hard but I like it.

My kids loved it!
Not only fun but a great logic builder! The best peice of software I've bought for my kids!

What a great surprise!
We love this game! When I was searching for new games for my girls, 8 & 11, I came across this game, but made the mistake of not ordering it. One day, my daughter came home from her computer class and raved about this game - I ordered the Logical Journey and Mountain Rescue...I am so glad that I did. My 8 year old and I enjoy playing Logical Journey together - its a little more basic and easier for her to understand. My older daughter prefers the Mountain Rescue - the graphics are a little more advanced and she enjoys the games more. I would recommend these games to anyone looking for fun, safe, and mentally challenging entertainment! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Don your tiara and pick up your wand, for only true, good princesses can enter the enchanted world of Barbie as Rapunzel.

Rapunzel and Prince Stefan have organised a masked ball, but they didn't invite the local wicked witch, Gothel. When Gothel finds out, she is furious and promptly casts an evil spell over the castle and its inhabitants. The prince is turned to stone, the jewels from his crown are scattered around, and the enchanted castle is immersed in darkness. When Rapunzel and her trusty purple--and very cute--dragon friend enter the doomed castle, they are challenged by the witch to find the jewels in order to rescue the prince and restore the castle to its former glory.

One of the most magical, creative packages on the market, this interactive adventure really is superlative. The graphics are fantastic and pixels do not stick between screens. The movement is fluid and controlled and the sound is excellent.

This package also develops basic PC skills, creativity, and imagination, and encourages colour recognition, shape matching, hand-to-eye coordination, and cause-and-effect recognition skills. The accompanying music completes the magical experience.

Barbie as Rapunzel is accompanied by a clear, comprehensive instruction booklet that should probably be read by a parent before commencing. That said, instructions are given throughout the quest in a clear, slow voice and objects flash onscreen to reinforce the message. The help section can also be accessed at any time. The manufacturer recommends this package for children ages 5 and older, and though help may be required to begin with, a computer-literate 5- or 6-year-old will soon get the hang of things and be able to play alone. All in all, a superb package that kids, Barbie fans or not, will just love. --Susan Naylor, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Reviews (26)

very entertaining and worth the money
I bought this software for my 5-year old daughter for Christmas. She and her twin sister, along with their 4-year old sister, LOVE this game!!! They love everything about it, from the theme song at the beginning, to finding Prince Stefan in the maze at the end. I will admit, it's not super educational, but it does keep them entertained and it's nice to have a "fun" game once in awhile that doesn't require them to think too hard! It's also nice because they can leave the game midway, and return back to where they left off by clicking on their name. The names can also be deleted so that they can start a fresh game. They can restore the castle over and over again and have it be different every time. I think it was totally worth the money.

A fun game for younger Barbie fans
My three year old adores this game. The game only takes 2-3 hours to complete in one sitting, but my child has played it over and over, and still loves it. The box recommends this game for ages 5 and older, but my daughter can play this game by herself with ease, except for the maze (which is fairly easy, but she needs help working the arrow keys). This game is mostly a "paint" type game, where you decorate different rooms in a castle in order to save Prince Stephan and the castle. You paint and place different decorations about the castle, as well as "build" a planter and a mosaic tile. The game and the decorations are quite cute, and easy for young Barbie fans to do independently. I feel it does have some educational value as well, in that my daughter seems to have improved her mouse skills from playing this game, has grasped concepts like clicking a "done" button when she has completed a task, and seems to have become better at listening to directions. My one and only complaint is that I wish there had been just a couple more rooms in the castle to decorate. Still, for a fairly short game, it has lots of replay value in it, and the length is just right for a young attention span. I would recommend this game to people with young children who are Barbie fans, especially if their kids aren't quite ready for the more advanced thinking that games geared for older kids have. Don't get me wrong, I think older Barbie fans will like this game, too, if they want to play a game that mostly centered on decorating. I've had problems finding games that my daughter can play independently at her age, plus she's a huge Barbie fan, so this game was perfect for us.

Awesome computer game for a 5 year old
Just bought this for my daughter she loved it so much she played the game twice in a row.
She loved decorating the castle and saving the Prince.
Don't hesitate to buy this Barbie game she'll love it too

Rich and great for ADD girls
I bought this very rich program for my bright 4 year-old who has significant problems with patience and focus/attention. She likes the video very much. This video has been very helpful in rewarding her for working patiently and methodically. At the same time it is great for teaching shapes, use of color, and fine motor control.

Definitely enjoyed!
This was a gift for my 6 yr old daughter. She is a big Barbie fan as well as loves to use the computer. She is still enjoying this game. She completed it in a few hours which worried me at first, but she loves to do it over and over again. The music is enjoyable and the colors are vibrant. It seems to be very user friendly also....my daughter has not really needed my help to use it once she started it the first time. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Jumpstart Advanced toddler
We bought this as a Christmas present for our son that just turned 2. We were looking for an educational computer game for him and we already had Reader Rabbit Toddler (which he loves). When I first started Jumpstart Adv. Toddler I thought it was way too simple, then I discovered that most activities have 2 levels. Level 1 is pretty basic and doesn't require the kids to do a whole lot...my son was very bored with this. Level 2 is much better...in fact it is more advanced than Reader Rabbit. Most of the activities do not require toddlers to click on the mouse, but if you can click it goes faster. I was surprised by how fast my son figured out the activities. He can do most everything by himself, but he still needs me to help him navigate some. This package comes with 3 cd's - school time, song time and art time. THe song time cd has several fun songs that he just loves. Overall I really like this game and have found it to be very educational. As soon as my son has mastered clicking the mouse we will be getting the preschool version.

JumpStart Study Helpers Math Booster
Knowledge Adventure's Jump Start Study Helpers Math Booster... is another real winner for all children in grades 1st-5th - like is partner - Knowledge Adventure's Jump Start Study Helpers Spelling Bee - this program has cute, fast paced, great music and sound three styles of arcade-like games to teach your children their math facts - no more boring math flash cards - learn math on a fast paced pinball machine, or arrange math facts for the the "burpers" or "smack" space ships and and space rocks to get correct answers to math problems - fast and fun - even for an old Grandma, me - all games are controled using the arrow keys and space bar excep to the outer space game where you shoot with a mouse - like the Spelling Bee it has over 800 pre-programmed math problems - all basic subjects are covered - addition, subtraction, muliplication, division, decimals and percentages in SIX different leveals - will auto advance at your child's own speed - on screen instructions for everything - also, like its partner, Jump Start Study Helpers Spelling Bee - you can program your child's "real" weekly math problems in to this program so they can learn their "real" weekly school math lessons in a fun arcade style of learning - you will love it for the small price tag - your children will love it for all of the fun they will have - and you will love it even more when your child brings home a A+ grade on their report card in Math. The [low price] is "right" - please buy it - once again this old Grandma is happy to be able to send my first grader, and my second grader back to school this year with this GREAT study tool. Knowledge Adventure can be very proud of these two programs ther Jump Start Study Helpers Math Booster and their Jump Start Study Helpers Spelling Bee - buy them both and enjoy!
A very pleased Grandmother,
Jacqueline Lee Wilson

JumpStart Spanish a winner
My 5 year old loves her new JumpStart Spanish program. She has learned to count in spanish and her colors so far. Very fun games and rewards. She is really picking things up fast. We have not had any real computer problems, it has locked up once, but that has happened on other software as well. The sound works well. For the price I would recommend this as a beginning spanish program.

My daughter simply loves it!!!!
My 2 year old loves this set of CDs. I found that it reinforces all the things we are teaching her.... shapes, colors, numbers the ABC. The duck that sings is very sweet to their ear. I found it sooo great I am buying it for my daughter's school so the other kids can benefit as well.

Jump Start 4TH GRADE ADVANCED
I rented this software from the Library. It is a 3 disc program. My 3rd grader (almost 4th grader) loves the Ultimate Field Trips and Mystery Club volume 3. The fundamentals disc is a little too hard for her right now, so it is challenging. I played it because it looked fun and it was fun for me to play. I love the "mystery" tone of the software. I like these programs because there are fun games that do not get boring, and while your kids are playing the games, they are also learning a lot. I am going to purchase this software and the 3rd grade ADVANCED program so my child can review through the summer. ... Read more

Features

• Solve real-world math challenges to make uniquely entertaining stores successful again
• 15 math activities and 10 math missions; 3 complete grades of math
• Arcade with 7 games to play; earn money to open your own arcade
• 3 levels of play automatically adjust according to your child¿s progress
• Automated personal education tutor; progress report

Reviews (2)

Great software
I bought this for my 8-year-old to spend more time practicing math. My son likes math and he likes playing this software. He asks to play it rather than needing to be prodded, as he was with the Math & Science Excelerator I bought for the same purpose. Even the neighborhood kids come to play it with him. I would also recommend it for kids having trouble with math as it puts the concepts into visual perspective, rather than just repeating equations.

Fantastic math software
Our family loves this program! It has a lot of content, bright graphics, and even a simulation game when kids do enough activities, which means they can open up their own arcade, buy games for the arcade, and manage it. This software has tons of activities that are all quite good. In terms of education, there are so many math concepts that the program explores. Very kid friendly software. A+ all the way. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The most exciting Saddle Club adventure yet might also be the most difficult--and this time you won't have the rest of the Saddle Club to help you. A friend of the Regnerys's has invited Stevie, Lisa, and Carole for a holiday at Willowbrook Stables on Coventry Island. But only one girl and her horse can go, so you'll have to choose which member of the Saddle Club you want to be. And once on the island you'll have to solve a baffling mystery to save Willowbrook Stables from the evil property developer trying to take over.

The island is a complex and colorful world of sights and sounds. It is home to over 30 characters, most of whom have lived there all their lives. Even though the other Saddle Club members won't be with you, you can still keep in touch and tell them all about Willowbrook Stables and your adventures.

Other horse-crazy kids on the island will help you in your quest to save the stables. The skills that Lisa, Carole, and Stevie learned at Pine Hollow will come in handy in your investigations, as horses are just as important on Coventry Island as they are in Willow Creek. Ride all over in search of golden horseshoe clues and collect important information from interesting characters. You can get additional clues and track your progress in your personal game diary.

If you solve all the clues, you'll uncover secrets that have remained hidden on Coventry Island for decades. You will have to be careful, though, as others are trying to solve the mystery, too--people who will stop at nothing to do so. If someone beats you, Willowbrook Stables will be lost forever. END ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Great Game
I LOVE this game! It's really neat how there are so many different people and places you can see and visit. The only problem is that my game malfunctions a lot. Sometimes it will freeze, or a door that is supposed to open just won't. Usually if I quit and re-load it will fix itself. However, I'm stuck. If you've played this game, PLEASE, PLEASE help me. I've opened the cavern in the mine, found the horseshoe, and Penman has just stolen it. The game clues still say "Make your way out of the mine," but I'm already out. I don't know if my game is malfunctioning or what! If you know what to do next, please tell me! Other than that, this game is GREAT!

I need Help with this game please.
I am stuck on the part where is says ,"A shining light above the sea, shows the place you want to be, The path to this wreck is hidden well, so find the tree and break its spell, Leaves of green to the floor, hide the path to a secret door," see ive played this game so many times up to that part, and i can never get past it. then the guy at the lighthouse says to take the road back to town, and look on the left side, but your diary says to turn left at the T intersection away from the lighthouse, please someone help me out with this, i am in desprate need to finish this game, my dad ordered it last year on the computer, and i have been trying to figure it out since then, and i stil dont understand it. This is me e-mail, if you could please help me. [email address]

The Saddle Club's the Best!!!
I love The Saddle Club. When I first saw the movie I thought the Saddle Club was the Greatest. My mom bought me one of the books, but unfortunately I lost it.
When I first got the Saddle Club game it work good at all I couldn't choose my horse, but my dad got a new memory card and I reinstalled the game and reudjusted the graphics and now it works almost perfectly.
Thanks to some of the reviews I read for this game, I was able to solve the first horseshoe. I'm still having trouble with the second gold horseshoe though.
The Pony Club has lots of fun events and I win lots of them, except for the cross country.
If you love the Saddle Club and/or horses then this is the game for you.

4-Star Rating Fits This Game
Willowbrook Stables is a fun game. You get to pick characters from Lisa, Carole, or Stevie. Which ever character you choose, you get to pick what their horse looks like. Say you picked Stevie. Her horse's name is Belle. Originally in the game, Belle is black, but you can choose from dapple grey, white, bucksin, liver chesnut, etc. There are some good shortcuts in this game. You can press T once, for a really quick 'tack up.' When you're on your horse, you can click on your diary, go to the map, and click on the location you choose to go. Or you could simply ride there without a shortcut, which sometimes takes forever. I give this game 4 stars because it's graphics are okay, it's fun, and either horse-lovers or non horse-lovers will appreciate the game. I took off 1 star, because some parts in the game are confusing. But don't worry. I figured them out, so I bet you will too! :)

This game is NOT THAT HARD!
I'm 12 years old I beat this game 2 years ago. IT IS NOT HARD! After you get a few things finished the rest of the game is simple. The gold object in the castle is behind the little house thingy. The shining lights above the sea means go talk to Cynthia! My bigest clue is READ YOUR DIARY!!!!!!

I think the game is great. I thoght it was anoying that you alway had to groom and feed your horse. But you don't alwas HAVE to clean the stall i beat the game without hardly cleaning the stall.

I think it was rather anoying that it took so long to load. And when you made the graphics look better, the horse move choppy.

A fun little bug is that when you push the left Alt. button and the 0 on the number pad you can go backwards through any solid object. Even water!

I would give this game 1000000 stars if I could but I can't.

So if you love horses and the saddle club, spend the money and buy this game. (You'll eventually beat it!) ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Nancy Drew has always been a great heroine, but she seemed kind of, well... stuffy. No more: Nancy gets down to the dirty work of crime solving in the excellent and engaging Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger. As you might imagine, we see a lot of software, but Danger captivated us, holding us long enough to postpone other reviews while we searched for more clues!

In the game, Nancy's job is to investigate death threats coming to Rick Arlen, a hunky TV soap star. The plot is straightforward enough, and here's what the software really does well: ambiance. The first-person perspective puts you in the center of the crime scenes, and the inventive game design lets you pick up objects for investigation and keep notes on things you've found.

Occasionally, you come across another person, and it can often be surprising. In the style of Choose Your Own Adventure books, you're given various questions to ask, and what you choose alters the outcome of what you learn. The people seem a little stiff in conversation (and, to be honest, in the graphics), but in a strange way, it helps increase the creepiness factor--an uptight verbal response makes sense, considering they're being interviewed about a serious crime.

There's a real rush that comes from finding key elements and extracting just the right piece of information from an unwitting witness. Nancy Drew, first created as a female version of the Hardy Boys in 1929, has weathered fashion and tastes well through the work of HerInteractive. For girls too old for "kids' stuff" but who still want a game that's all theirs, Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger can help fulfill a teen or preteen's need for adventure. --Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Reviews (473)

The Hardest One Yet!
This mystery is the hardest Nancy Drew game I've encountered so far! It's only the 2nd one of all 5! The graphics are much better than the 1st but still doesn't compare against the others. The mystery had had me stumped! I had to go to the official site for help from people, who already finished it, a billion times! Still, a hard challenge is good right?
The story-Nancy Drew is called up again for yet another dangerous mystery by a famous soap opera star, Mattie Benson. Nancy gets to go around New York City! She stays in Mattie's apartment for the use of the phone, mail, and other clues. As she travels around from Mattie's apartment to the studio and other places, she bumps into new people such as Mattie, the friendly but very worried soap opera star, Rick, the extremely big headed soap opera heart throb, Lillian, the super mean director, Millie, the old nutty prop room lady, and Dwayne, the acting agent. As Nancy slowly tries to crack the case, she bumps into more trouble than she thought...

Nancy Drew- STFD, by HerInteractive
This game is one of my favorites. I've played this one at least 5 times and I still love it. This game was the third one I bought of the series. I now own all five of the games. This game had much better graphics than "Secrets Can Kill", in which the characters were more cartoon-like, and stopped mid-sentence and froze. This one had a much better plot and I enjoyed playing it much more than the first one. In this game, you would get to travel to three different locations in the city and explore, sneak and snoop, which made it all the more fun. I'm extremely happy that I purchased this game, and i hope that whoever decides to purchase Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned For Danger, has as much fun as I had!

Stay Tuned For Danger
This game was so much fun! In Nancy's second mystery, she is in New York visiting a family friend who is also a star on the famous TV show Light of Our Love. Her co-star is receiving threatening letters and you, as Nancy Drew, must figure out who the culprit is. I thought this game was so neat. I love the original music that this game has, as well as each other game in the series. It's catchy, neat, and sometimes creepy! I hope you like this game as much as I did.

:::STAY TUNED FOR FUN:::::
i just love this game!!! its graphics are good, the plot is good, everythings good! the story goes:

nancy drew is visiting a friend of her aunts, mattie jensen, in new york, and in the beggining it seems calm and peaceful, yet a bit creepy at times, but exiting as you meet the stars and see how a tv studio looks! but soon, fun turns to terrible danger! a lot of exiting stuff happens, and if you thought this game would be easy, well, you've got that wrong! all and all, a great game for anyone over eight(though i got one when i was like six or seven)! A+++++++

full of danger
This game is not the best in the series (my favorites are Danger on desepiton island and message in a haunted mansion) but it comes close. Its hard but fun and you cant stop in the middle. One of my favorite parts was the bomb part. I also like how there are so many people to talk to and so many places to explore. The prop room has lots of neat stuff. Buy this game!! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Plunge into a volcanic island adventure, and prepare for an explosion of fun and mystery. Join those savvy super-sleuths, the ClueFinders, to solve a mystery and escape an uncharted island before its volcano blows them off the map. Kids will need all their smarts, spunk, and spirit to work their way out of this title's hot spots. From bold adventures that take kids across the island, under the sea, and into the volcano, every activity brings kids closer to solving this island mystery, while mastering essential fifth grade skills.

Explore 16 interactive games and exercises designed for kids, ages 9 to 11 and older. Build more than 85 key fifth grade skills in math, language, science, social studies, geography, and problem solving. Four levels of difficulty and a variety of tricky challenges keep ClueFinders 5th Grade Adventures 2002: Secret of the Living Volcano fun and fresh. Detailed help features guide kids throughout, and built-in progress reports help parents navigate their child's learning fun.

In addition, an all-new for 2002 bonus CD-ROM doubles the mystery and clue-finding fun. In ClueFinders: Mystery Mansion Arcade, our adventurers are lured into a spooky mansion by an ingenious mastermind and his four villainous henchmen. Kids help the ClueFinders escape by choosing the best ClueFinder for each arcade-style hazard. Speed through the Ultimate Deep-Dish Pizza Skate Park, stay cool through the High-Voltage Circuit Zone, and much more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

awsome!
This game is so cool!
It has tons of fun games, and there are 3 miniture levels,
including spelling, math,fractions, putting together words, geography
and others! I had so much fun playing this!!!
Throughout the whole game, a yellow laptop fallows you and the other cluefinders around. When you click on it, it acsesses many things, like how to change the level of difficulty on a game, and it has info about the fellow clue finders. I love this game, I play everyday! ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Jumpstart Advanced toddler
We bought this as a Christmas present for our son that just turned 2. We were looking for an educational computer game for him and we already had Reader Rabbit Toddler (which he loves). When I first started Jumpstart Adv. Toddler I thought it was way too simple, then I discovered that most activities have 2 levels. Level 1 is pretty basic and doesn't require the kids to do a whole lot...my son was very bored with this. Level 2 is much better...in fact it is more advanced than Reader Rabbit. Most of the activities do not require toddlers to click on the mouse, but if you can click it goes faster. I was surprised by how fast my son figured out the activities. He can do most everything by himself, but he still needs me to help him navigate some. This package comes with 3 cd's - school time, song time and art time. THe song time cd has several fun songs that he just loves. Overall I really like this game and have found it to be very educational. As soon as my son has mastered clicking the mouse we will be getting the preschool version.

JumpStart Study Helpers Math Booster
Knowledge Adventure's Jump Start Study Helpers Math Booster... is another real winner for all children in grades 1st-5th - like is partner - Knowledge Adventure's Jump Start Study Helpers Spelling Bee - this program has cute, fast paced, great music and sound three styles of arcade-like games to teach your children their math facts - no more boring math flash cards - learn math on a fast paced pinball machine, or arrange math facts for the the "burpers" or "smack" space ships and and space rocks to get correct answers to math problems - fast and fun - even for an old Grandma, me - all games are controled using the arrow keys and space bar excep to the outer space game where you shoot with a mouse - like the Spelling Bee it has over 800 pre-programmed math problems - all basic subjects are covered - addition, subtraction, muliplication, division, decimals and percentages in SIX different leveals - will auto advance at your child's own speed - on screen instructions for everything - also, like its partner, Jump Start Study Helpers Spelling Bee - you can program your child's "real" weekly math problems in to this program so they can learn their "real" weekly school math lessons in a fun arcade style of learning - you will love it for the small price tag - your children will love it for all of the fun they will have - and you will love it even more when your child brings home a A+ grade on their report card in Math. The [low price] is "right" - please buy it - once again this old Grandma is happy to be able to send my first grader, and my second grader back to school this year with this GREAT study tool. Knowledge Adventure can be very proud of these two programs ther Jump Start Study Helpers Math Booster and their Jump Start Study Helpers Spelling Bee - buy them both and enjoy!
A very pleased Grandmother,
Jacqueline Lee Wilson

JumpStart Spanish a winner
My 5 year old loves her new JumpStart Spanish program. She has learned to count in spanish and her colors so far. Very fun games and rewards. She is really picking things up fast. We have not had any real computer problems, it has locked up once, but that has happened on other software as well. The sound works well. For the price I would recommend this as a beginning spanish program.

My daughter simply loves it!!!!
My 2 year old loves this set of CDs. I found that it reinforces all the things we are teaching her.... shapes, colors, numbers the ABC. The duck that sings is very sweet to their ear. I found it sooo great I am buying it for my daughter's school so the other kids can benefit as well.

Jump Start 4TH GRADE ADVANCED
I rented this software from the Library. It is a 3 disc program. My 3rd grader (almost 4th grader) loves the Ultimate Field Trips and Mystery Club volume 3. The fundamentals disc is a little too hard for her right now, so it is challenging. I played it because it looked fun and it was fun for me to play. I love the "mystery" tone of the software. I like these programs because there are fun games that do not get boring, and while your kids are playing the games, they are also learning a lot. I am going to purchase this software and the 3rd grade ADVANCED program so my child can review through the summer. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

In the Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron game, kids play as the fast and fearless horse, Spirit; his love, Rain; and other characters from the animated children's movie. Kids search for Rain and the Homeland herd across five sweeping levels. Battle evil horse rustlers, and try to jump over challenging obstacles. Along the way, kids can collect special items or race with other horses to reveal the secrets of Spirit and his friends. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Pretty good game
My 7 year old daughter loves the movie and was thrilled to see the game in the store. Setup of the game was easy and although she was new to adventure games of this type (pick up items, complete tasks, solve puzzles) she picked up on it very quickly. Graphics and sound are very well done, although the music can get annoying but it can be shut off. As mentioned before, Spirit needs to take care of Rain and in a short time, my daughter who felt sorry for Rain at the beginning was now saying "Oh geez, Rain needs more water, Rain needs more food...", but fortunately, this only lasts for the first quarter of the game. Once Rain is healed and feeling better she doesn't require any more help for the rest of the game. The goal of the game is to rescue fellow horses in the herd and the game can be completed in about 6-8 hours of play time. Sadly, there is nothing more to the game, no other adventures or variations if the game is replayed. Overall the game is well designed and fun to play, but could use a little more.

Fun game!
This game is interesting, fun, and sometimes challenging. I beat it in about a week, but it was still a great game. You have to think to figure things out. It gets anoying when Rain is thirsty or hungry when you're in the middle of doing something, but it's worth it. I recommend this game to anyone looking for a good game you'd like to play over and over again.

Not for the younger child
My 4 yr old daughter loves Spirit and anything to do with horses. We bought this game early 2003 and was very frustrated how hard it is to play for a young child. This game is for the 8+ range defenitly. I had to play it while my daughter watched and I finished the game and now she can roam around Spirit's homeland free. If you are looking for a game for the avid younger (toddler) horse lover, I suggest Barbie Horse Adventures. My daughter would rather play that than the Spirit game. It is a good game to play and it is quite fun....however, for a much older child.

Great Game For us 10-Year-Olds!!!!!!!!!!!
it is,but when I am ABOUT to free a horse,like Fuego,Rain wants something,like a sugar cube,when im about to grab things for that minigame,its kinda confusin'

Great movie--great game!
Thoroughly enjoyable! My daughter loved the movie and has owned the software for over a year and still plays it. Never a dull moment with this. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

My 8 yr old loves I spy!
For those who say this is boring, maybe your kids should just stick to video games. My son is loving the books and the computer games. He conquers them pretty quickly and we have to buy more but hey, it's getting his mind working looking for hidden items. We went for an open house at his school a few months ago and the teacher picked up an I Spy book and said that it was the main thing all the kids fought over in class. We love all the books, computer games and the gameboy game that is out. Good investment for little thinkers out there!

Can't find 12th ladybug!
I really like this game but I am annoyed that I can't find the last ladybug in the find me game. I can find no game hint support sites either. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it a bug (ha ha) in the program? I have spent weeks looking but always find the ones I've already found. Can anyone out there help me? I am not a child, but my daughter can't find it either. Apparantly the game will not finish until all bugs are found because I have found all the treasures. Does this game not have more than one complete game to play? I thought it had 3 like treasure hunt.
Thanks,

Will Keep You Thinking....
My 6 year old daughter loves this game. It is not easy and keeps her thinking. I some times find some of the items hard to find but with persistance you will find them. It is never boring. The whole family enjoys this software.

Elementary Kids Love It!
I am a computer lab teacher in an elementary school. Last year, I used this software for quite a few weeks when my Kindergarten through Grade 3 students came in for activity period. Students in grades 4-6 would beg to get a chance to use the software when their assignment for the day was completed.

It was a stretch for Kindergarten to find some of the items, because they did not recognize some of the items in the riddles, but I made sure to point these out in lessons and then circulated to help them more.

It was exciting to watch as students became absorbed in this activity, and most of them grew in their visual and verbal awareness. Children in grades 1-3 could either click to hear the descriptions or read for themselves.

Yes, it is on the shelf this year, but will taken out to be used in two years. This year I bought I Spy Spooky Mansion for use, and next year hope to get the Î Spy Treasure software if I can find the funding.

I Spy School Days-big bore
My six year old great nephew completed all of the activities within two hours. He was moderately interested in the beginning and bored by the time he finished. I watched as he played, and thought they were boring, too. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Create a winter wonderland for Barbie lovers with Barbie Sparkling Ice Show, a creative extravaganza that enhances basic PC skills while entertaining young girls for hours.

Join Barbie and friends Christine and Teresa and visit five exciting venues: International City Park, Misty Mountain, Island Paradise, Rose Garden, and the fifth, mystery location, which is accessed only when the other four levels have been completed.

Put on impressive performances (each venue offers more challenge than the previous one): learn how to jump, do tricks, and speed skate. A level is completed when you have mastered a practice session and then put on a show. After the first level has been completed, the exhibition area will open, and once the other locations have all been visited, extra features--including decorations, music, costumes, and more--begin to appear for use in the exhibition show.

Installation is guided, and is quick and easy. Accompanying the CD-ROM is a multilingual user's manual in black and white that is comprehensive and very easy to follow. The program is designed for children ages 5 and older, but help will be needed to complete all tasks at the early end of the age range. --Susan Naylor, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Not just for little kids!
"Barbie Sparkling Ice Show" is a fabolous game and can really inspire creativity and imagination, and that's coming from someone whose 13 years old! This game allows you to pick routines, music, costumes, and fun stuff like decorations and ice color and put it all together to make fabolous routines for Barbie, Christie, and Teresa on the five stops of the Sparkling Ice Tour. But once you finish the tour, the fun doesn't end there- you can continue on skaiting cool exhibition shows using all of the details of previous shows.

To work the game, you start off by preparing for the first stop of the tour and practice a routine that you pick out of a few selections with the skater you have chosen. You can pick from three levels: easy, intermediate, or hard, and each one provides more challenges than the next. If you skate the routine well and do a good job, you will be able to do all the "good stuff"- choosing your music, costume, decorations, etc. for the tour. The game continues on like this for different tour stops such as Rose Garden and Island Paradise, with your goal to make it to the secret surprise location where you can even create your own routine.

I found this game to be a lot of fun and not at all boring. Granted, it may be a little bit too easy to get through all the tour stops, but the fun doesn't stop since you can create a user name and start all over again or continue doing skating exhibitions. It is a fabolous game for all figure-skating and Barbie fans, not to mention that it is so much fun! Anyone ages 5 and up will enjoy this wonderful game.

Pretty Disappointing
In the words of my 6 year old niece: "This is Really Boring (sigh)".

Does being able to choose the color of the ice and Barbie's outfit compensate for what is a fairly limited program with mediocre (at best) graphics? In the eyes of that young Barbie devotee, obviously not.

To make matters worse, the game's producers apparently decided to create a "multilingual" product by relying on icons without any text for most operations. This approach often makes it quite hard to determine what each does without the manual.

Can't you just discover the actions of different buttons you wonder? Well, the game designers often chose to not provide any feedback that something was happening that may take a while. No hourglass, no clock, no spinning skater cursor. So for those operations that take more than a few seconds (e.g. loading a new scene) the player ends up thinking their click did nothing and they try clicking something else with unpredictable results. Frustrating.

A final word about the graphics. Sure you can dress her and her friends in five different outfits, but shouldn't we expect something a little more than 640x480 resolution these days?

It didn't crash, but you should save your money. If you could skate Barbie into a wall it MIGHT have been worth it. After 45 minutes with this program, that is what BOTH of us wanted to do.

Bad skating technique
I didn't buy this game, becuase I can tell by the pictures that Barbie has very bad skating technique (see below). This game is not for kids who want to have fun while seeing a good skating program.

Pictures on Amazon
1) Box picture -- I can't tell whether or not Barbie is stroking or doing a bad spiral? Either her leg is too high if she is stroking, or her body and leg are not in the right position if she is doing a spiral.
2) Layback -- Although it's hard to see, it looks like Barbie might be spinning on her toe pick.
3) Split jump -- Barbie does not have enough skating muscle for the jump. She is also not kicking her boots up.
Pictures on vugames (makers of the game)
1) Stroking -- Barbie's body is crooked. She doesn't have her weight over her stroking leg, and her body is leaning to the side. I've never seen anyone stroke like this.

Great Game
My daughter, almost 7, loves this game. She got it a few weeks ago and still plays with it every day. We did have to upgrade our system, but the game hasn't crashed since and hasn't been slow. Despite what others have said this game has lots of levels and takes lots of practice to master the freestyle levels. (The skaters will do lots of different tricks once the user learns how to do them.) This game has even seemed to help my daughter's actual skating - she just went yesterday for the first time since receiving the game and had lots more confidence and moved more smoothly than she did the other times she went.

A complete waste
My daughter received this cd for Christmas. It is very slow loading lots of wait time for things to happen. When she finally chose the skater and where she should skate (only one choice worked), my daughter kept asking what she could do now. Most of the time we were watching Barbie skate beautifully. Not very interactive. I consider this a waste of space on my computer, a waste of time for us to use. I would recommend saving your money and get something worthwhile. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Teachers agree: learning is easy when you're having fun. That's the spark behind Phonics and Reading Excelerator Grades 1-4, a four-CD-ROM set of premium software titles combining amusement and education in one motivationally interactive package.

Stuffed with more than 30 key topics and thousands of definitions, vocabulary terms, and activities, this educational suite for children delivers endless hours of exciting learning adventure, while promising the acquisition and retention of fundamental phonics, writing, and reading skills. Whether they're enjoying the storytelling fun of TumbleBooks or honing their spelling and sound recognition skills with the Super Star gang, children will grow with confidence as they immerse themselves in these challenging activities, which adjust to their heightening proficiencies.

Bundled software includes: Phonics Vowel & Consonant Games (focusing on consonant sounds, short and long vowels, phonic rules, blends, beginning reading, and more key concepts), Intermediate Phonics Games (covering everything from sound recognition and spelling to homonyms and synonyms), Step into Reading & Creative Writing (which helps kids understand and develop essential creative thinking skills and strong writing abilities), and TumbleBooks Library (featuring six full-color picture books with motion graphics and complete narration). ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A good value for the money
My daughter enjoyed this program. She learned a lot of different words. The animations are clever and she enjoyed completing the spaceship to get Quixel home.
This is a good program to build a foreign language vocabulary.

Beware!
I thought this would be good for my students until I tried it out myself. First I tried the Italian. When I discovered that they translated "potato chips" as "microchips", I was surprised. In telling time, they expressed the correct feminine plural but displayed the incorrect masculine singular "il due" for 2:00. Now for the French...I learned that "potato chips" were "eclats" as in "paint chips". Wrong chips both times folks - and good luck in a restaurant! I stopped there. It's a shame they never got a native speaker to check it before releasing this as an educational item. They did get native speakers to read aloud the vocab lists however. That's the one-star part. ... Read more