Reviews (1)

A must have
The games are so much fun.I am making better grades at school on my spelling test.The arcade games are my favorite.I enjoy reading the fun stories.I hope you have your parents go buy it for you. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

TERRIFIC
THIS GAME WAS COOL. I BOUGHT IT FOR MY DAUGHTER AND SHE IS UPSESSED!!! I PERSUADE YOU TO BUY, CUZ ITS DEFINATLY WORTH THE MONEY ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

This bundle includes two fun and educational software titles. A fascinating introduction to maps, atlases, and our world, My First Amazing World Explorer 2.0 incorporates two new educational games and more information into the award-winning original title. All the traditional features of a children's atlas are brought to life, while the magic of multimedia adds interactive adventures and learning activities that a book could never provide.

My First Amazing History Explorer introduces users to eight fascinating historical periods: ancient Egypt, classical Greece, the Roman Empire, Imperial China, medieval Europe, the Inca Empire, the Age of Industry, and a 1920s city. Help free Professor Timestein, who was been captured by the Time Fugitive, by filling in the missing pieces of the time-line trail. Travel in your time machine, and explore each period's animated maps. Answer comprehension questions along the way to collect stickers for your travel journal. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

World Explorer/History Explorer is Fantastic!
My 5 year old grandson and 50 year old husband both loved this! We purchased this to entertain my grandson during a 2 week visit and were more than pleasantly surprised. This is more than a game - it is a learning experience and will grow with you. The whole family enjoyed it!

History Explorer IS Amazing!
My five-year-old has been captivated by the History Explorer program for several months. The program offers the user transport to one of several different historical time periods in different regions of the world. Each period offers an appropriate and pleasant musical background while the user clicks on various icons in the setting to find out what each represents. My son has spent hours clicking to hear an explanation of knights jousting in the Medieval Europe, bodies being mummified in Ancient Egypt, or the Great Wall being built in Ancient China. Once he had a good grasp of each setting, he decided to try to "Find the Professor" by clicking around in each time period until he found the secret path. The game helped him move through the periods more quickly, giving him a sense of the passage of time, but it was certainly nice for him to opt NOT to play the game initially, allowing complete exploration of each time period.

The program is full of fun extras, like being able to choose what you want to look like in the travel photos and collecting stickers for your travel journal. The narration is expertly done by children and is offered for everything, making it a good program for pre-readers.

I am amazed at how interested my son is in history, and I give this program total credit for his fascination! I'm hoping that there will be another edition with seven or eight NEW historical time periods to explore. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Welcome Scooby and the gang--Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy--who have been called in to solve a puzzling problem in the Kudzula County Museum of Natural History.

A strange Glowing Bug Man has been seen roaming around the halls of the museum: things start to happen, property is wrecked, specimens get mixed up, and all sorts of other devilment occurs. Who is this man? Where has he come from? Is he the one creating havoc? The museum must stay closed while the pandemonium and ransacking continues. Help Scooby and the gang find out what's happening. Assist them in restoring the exhibits and spotting clues to solve the case. And never fear, help is always on hand from Nigel Nightwatch, head of the museum's security department.

This CD-ROM is aimed at children ages 5 to 10 and covers a large range of abilities. The broad age span is accommodated through three levels of difficulty, thus creating the appropriate challenges for a particular age or ability. The activities offered are full of fun and excitement and allow players to investigate by using logic, critical thinking, research, deductive reasoning, matching, and sorting--all necessary to encourage the development of thinking and problem-solving skills (and your children won't even realize they're learning!). Some of the activities can be printed out so enjoyment can continue even after the PC has been switched off.

Accompanying the package is a simple leaflet explaining installation, but it should be noted that the excellent user's guide, which is clear, concise, and comprehensive, can be accessed from the main menu. This should be read before beginning, and help may be needed for younger players. --Susan Naylor ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Great Game
We have three of the Scooby Doo Case File Games.
My four year old loves these games. He will play it for a long time. There is problem solving and mazes and other activities in each game.

My problem with this game (and the other Scooby Games) is that there is no variability. Once your child solves the game and plays it again, the puzzles are essentially the same. The clues might change and the villian might be different, but the puzzles are the same and the clues are in the same places.

This is not a problem for my kids though. They both enjoy the game and play it for many hours.

Enjoy.

Great fun but...
I would rate this a middle of the road four or at the very least a high three.

First the positive- the scooby gang are in a museum and a green glowing bug man has messed up the displays. They have to put the displays back together in order to earn clues. The clues point to a villian. Each of the 'games' or displays involves a different part of the brain- in one scooby has to jump on a conveyer belt to earn scooby snacks and collect bones, another is a puzzle, another is a matching game and so on. There are three different levels so you can have it fairly easy to fairly difficult. My five year old was able to play the easy with no help and the medium level with only a little bit of help.

The Negatives- The games are the same. The villians change but the games are the same- you are always doing a puzzle in the dinosaur room and it's always the same puzzle. The placement of the boxes in the puzzle might change but the idea is the same. I would have also liked to have seen the ability to change the levels of the puzzle as individual games, not the whole game.

However, it's a fun game.
I would also suggest the Freddy Fish games if your child likes to solve mysteries.

Enjoy.

Close, but not the best.
If any of you have expierienced past Scooby Doo games of this style, then you will understand this. In comparison, the voice acting in this is sub-par. The vocal animations are so generic that every word they speak looks just like the last. The load times between screens is a lot longer in this one than in past games. However, the puzzles are clever, and the background animations and layouts are very colorful and creative. Dropping you in many foreign locales. A good representation, and learning tool, of different cultures. My 5 year old enjoys this. But, myself, as a Scooby Doo fan, did not think that much of it. It was a bit shorter than previous games as well. Good game. Just not great. Hope the next volume shows more promise.

Great Scooby fun!
My 8 year old loves this new Scooby game. She will play it over and over. The facts on China are cool and the animation is just like the TV show.

I highly recommend this Scooby game. We like them all but this one is definitely a favorite!

Jessica & Hannah's Review
Jessica our 9 year old daugher said "this game is great, in one room you visit the cafeteria and you are challenged to blend different flavors of ice-cream until Shaggy gets the perfect cone. In each room you visit you need to find the clues to match the suspect until you find the glowing bugman". Hannah our 7 year old daughter said "this game is perfect, we both had fun with it and I think lots of people should have fun with it just like us" ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Zoinks! The Mystery, Inc. gang is hungry for a snack, but there's notmuch to be had in Los Burritos, a ghost town where they've stopped to look for food. This follow-up to Mysteryof the Fun Park Phantom pits Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, andGreatest-of-all-Danes Scooby against the Faceless Rider, a mysterious spirit (or is it?)haunting the town. Thankfully, they're all back with the same groovy clothes,lingo, and music--plus the goofy humor--that made their '70s TV show so much funto watch.

To get to the bottom of what's spooking Los Burritos, the group must explore thetown and talk to everyone who crosses their path, all the while looking out forclues to help them solve the mystery at hand. To uncover the right information,players must perform semi-educational activities like setting a clock to theproper time, putting a puzzle together, and recalling details from the gameitself. There are also fun challenges throughout (Scooby takes on the FacelessRider in a pie fight to the finish, and later plays a mean game of horseshoes)to earn Scooby Snacks. These prove important when you want Shaggy and Scooby toenter an especially scary area--you'll have to bribe them with Scooby Snacks toget them to cooperate. The fun activities and puzzles, paired with all the crimesolving, push kids to use problem-solving skills and deductive reasoning. Whoknew Scooby could make you smarter?

In addition to being just plain retro fun, the game offers some help in solvingeach mystery (we found several in our gameplay): click on the Mystery, Inc. vanto review the clues you've collected, check your Scooby Snack count, or askScrappy for help. And to keep the games challenging as kids grow (or perhaps foradults to enjoy), players can select from three "spookiness" levels thatincrease in difficulty. Also included are very thorough gameplay instructionsand a Groovy Goodies section that includes fun tie-ins to the video- andDVD-only release, Scooby-Doo and theAlien Invaders. (Ages 5 and up) --Leah Ball ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Scooby Doo, Through and Through!
Ignore the negative comments in any review of this game. More care went into creating it than into some of the original series episodes!
Scooby and the gang havea mystery to solve. There are Scooby snacks, train chases, clues and villians. What else can you ask for?
This game is a lot like a Putt Putt or Freddy Fish game. If you like those, or like Scooby Doo, you'll like this game. PS, you should be under 10 years old, but who's counting?

This game is great!
First, I'd like to say that all the people that have reviewed this game are adults. Next, this game isn't for adults!! It's for kids!!
My sister and I REALLY enjoyed playing this game, it's simply a matter of opinion, some kids will find it fun, others just need more challenge then this game can give. I'm 12, and I still like playing this game, though I am starting to look for more of a challenge. This is one of those games you play for a while, then forget about it for a few months, then go back to it and refresh your memory on how it play it.
I love this game!!!

Fun first time only
Our 3 children love computer games, (ages 6,7,&8) but this one they only wanted to play once. The game is too repetetive, and not very challenging.

Only for the REALLY YOUNG!!
I bought this for a family get together anticipating the kids would have a fun afternoon. They are all die hard Scooby fans!
We had problems from the start. We had to go to 3 websites to find the patch needed to run the game with Direct X 8. Although the graphics and animation were great, the kids solved the hardest level in just 30 minutes! The villian was the same and so were the clues. Even the video sequences were recycled on each level.The repetitive nature and the installation problems made us regret buying the game.

Scooby Doo Showdown in Ghost Town
My 5 year old loves this game. He needed a little help getting started, but once figured out the navigation, he was on his way. He has played it on his own numerous times, and is ready to try more Scooby games! ... Read more

Features

• Through colorful presentations and easy-to-folow examples, you'll understand a number of key mathematical concepts
• Math activities and real-world applications prepares you to tackle the most challenging math problems
• Interesting learning exercises that reward your effort with understanding and results
• Subjects covered include -Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonomtery, Pre-Calculus, Statistics, Business Math, and Calculus 1 & 2

Amazon.com Product Description

Achieve! Math & Science brings four award-winning educational titles in one to your child's desktop. Designed for younger learners, a series of challenging puzzles, brain-boosting problems, and irresistible games explore essential math and science skills. Tackle topics like addition, subtraction, money math, science basics, and more. Featured titles include: Mighty Math: Carnival Countdown, Mighty Math: Zoo Zillions, Sammy's Science House, and Thinkin' Things: FrippleTown. When math and science are made this much fun, little learners achieve at learning. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Wonderful resource for the serious homeschooler!!
We have been proud owners of this package for two years and have used it diligently to supplement skills and concepts introduced throughout the year for first and second grade. It has been a WONDERFUL supplemental resource. Unlike a lot other educational software packages that claim to cover a wide range of ages, this one means it when they say "First through Third grade". It is simple to use: After a concept (example: 2 digit addition) has been introduced to the student, you specifically set up games to reinforce those particular skills. After those skills have been mastered you then go back in (with a simple click of the mouse and check-mark skills you want to reinforce from a large pre-set list) It is honestly very simple to do. Explaining the process actually takes far more time that it does to actually do it. Although the games are very "friendly", with engaging characters and settings, the software is not meant to "entertain" as much as it is to teach. I would not at all be surprised to find this package in a lot of school computer rooms for kids to reinforce their skills on. If you are looking for a true educational software package that would be appropriate for (no younger than)first through third grade, this would be perfect for you and your child.

I would give it ZERO stars if I could!
I completely agree with what everyone else has said. This was a total waste of money. The other reviewer was right when he said the extra software included (for us it was Star Flyers) was the ONLY good thing!

How can they market programs that were designed for 3-5 year olds for Grades 1-3? Its ludicrous!

DO NOT waste your money! The whole thing is unprofessional. There are no guides and even the paper inside the CD looks like it was BADLY photocopied.

Again, if I could give it ZERO stars I would!

This is going back
I was looking for some software to help my fourth grader with math facts, computations, etc. (He's an Everyday Math victim.) The activites, even at the most advanced level, are much too easy for him. Pointing and clicking at different piles of cookies is not division. This is a complete waste.

This is being returned to The Learning Company
I just purchased this today, and it is extremely disappointing. I was looking for a software package that would help my 2nd grader learn his math facts, and this certainly isn't it, as far as I can tell. There is zero documentation included, so there is no way to steer your child towards games that would help his or her weak areas. I couldn't find a game that drilled them on anything, just a lot of pointless point and click activities.

Product is not very good
I got this product for my 5 year old, and it is about right,
any 3-6th grade would not like it at all. The best thing in the game is the free cluefinders monkey adventure in my costco box.
Most of the games look like they were designed for windows 95.

I liked the clips from grammar rock, I remember these as a kid, but you could by the DVD of Schoolhouse rock and get better versions of those. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

With brain-teasing graphics and puzzling riddles to solve, this spooky addition to the I Spy series will keep elementary-agestudents occupied for hours at a time. A skeleton host rewards players with a secret message puzzle piece upon successful completion of each riddle. Those clever enough to collect all the pieces can solve the bigger fun house mystery.

With ten different rooms ranging from an inventor's laboratory to a library--and text that is written entirely in rhyme--the world created here is utterly absorbing. No matter how many times you explore a room, there's always new details and creepy clickables you hadn't seen before. Particularly well done is the attic, where you can explore in the dark with only a flashlight to light your way.In the study, you can even create your own riddles to send to your printer!

This software concentrates on critical-thinking skills,problem-solving abilities, and acute observational techniques that are centered around a mansion. This software takes a well-loved series to a whole new level--it's perfect for the die-hard fan or as the first member of what we're sure will become a large I Spy collection. --Jill Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (33)

A Family Favorite
My son is only three and a half, so my husband bought the game with the intention of saving it until our son was older. I got it out for him, and even though it is rated for ages 6-10, it is one of our son's favorites. Given that he can't read, I had to help him at first, but once I showed him where to click to get the riddles read to him, he could play independently (for hours on end). I keep two different user files -- one of a completed game so that he can make all seven ghosts (which requires completing the game); and one uncompleted, so when he completes puzzles the skeleton gives him new puzzle pieces. Other reviewers said that the game was not interesting once played through, but we have not found that to be the case. Our son was _more_ interested in the repetition once he'd got the hang of it. Also, of all the games we have, this is the most pleasant and interesting for the adult helping the child.

Great education and entertainment value
My son had loved the "I Spy Junior" game so I thought he might enjoy trying this challenge, recommended for ages 6-10. He's 5 but a very strong visual learner with great memory skills. The beauty of this game is it not only plays to his strengths but encourages building lesser skills with words on many levels. My favorite aspects: beautifully detailed graphics, a fun laboratory animation with 7 ghost experiments, and the concentration games which are a challenge at many levels. You get the sense that the creators enjoyed making this product. I find the best children's computer games (eg. Learning Company's Cat in the Hat series) reach parents as well making shared learning opportunities a joy!

My students enjoy it!
I am a pediatric occupational therapist who used this game as a fun way to develop eye-hand coordination, visual perception, thinking, and reading skills. They were so motivated! Unfortunately after you "win" the game that is all there is; not another more challenging level to explore.

Spooky Mansion...unrevisited!
Santa brought this game for my 6 yr. old for Christmas. She and I and her 3 1/2yr. old brother opened it the day after Christmas. It is very interesting with 10 rooms to explore and 26 riddles to decipher. After completing each riddle, you're given a piece to the final puzzle which in turn instructs you how to finally get out of the mansion. My daughter stuck with it for the first 13 riddles, and suprisingly my 3yr. old wanted to keep playing until the end. We received the "certificate of completion" that very day. When we signed back on to play a "new game", we were soooo disappointed - there isn't any new game. Same 26 riddles to solve. We'll have to wait a year or so, in the hopes that we'll forget where everything is. (Or just give it to all our neighbors, family, shool chums etc.). Obviously, the I Spy books have limitations, but the software could and should give many additional games/levels.

Very clever
Purchased for my grandson's 5th birthday. Incredibly clever, well designed, plays without a hitch on iMac. He played for over 2 hours the first time out of the box and is still loving it. The adults are fighting over a turn. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Fun program, nice songs
It is quite a stretch to call this 'pre-school'.My 4 year old quickly became bored with it, and the math sequence is interminable and goes on for what seems like forever.
My 2 1/2 year old took to the challenges more readily, learning mouse skills, colors and shapes, and some basic words.This doesn't attempt to teach reading or the alphabet.
The whole story about 'Pirats' (sic) - space faring rats - is rather fun, and my kids really enjoyed the songs

Reader Rabbit Kindergarten v1.1
I couldn't get this to run on my XP machine.The technical support on the web site was useless, and there is no human technical support available for this product.My 5-year-old (who loved RR Baby and Toddler) called it a piece of junk.

Good game for 3 year old
My 3 year old daughter loves this game. She is still woking on mouse skills, but seems to have no problems with this game. She plays it for hours!!

Good Program
I purchased this program to help my3 year old son sharpen and develop his basic preschool skills.I found this program to have a good theme and my son was very interested in the character's various actions, songs and dances used to accompany the instruction.Skill levels can be chosen to pace the progression dependeing on the need of the child.The program is very user friendly to an adults helping their children.Progrmas are easily exited out of and information can be saved to log the progress of the children users.I recommend this software to parents who want to help their preschoolers get a head start on Kindergarten education.

Skip this one
My son (now almost 4) is pretty academically bright and pretty good with a computer mouse. We bought this game for him just before he turned 3 last year. What a disappointment! Now, we are a big computer game family, and our son has played a few other titles which we have loved (Little People Discovery Airport, Ollo Saves the Fair, Putt-Putt, and a few others). We loved Reader Rabbit Toddler and Reader Rabbit Baby, which were designed very well. Unfortunately, Reader Rabbit Preschool did not stack up.

As usual, the game has a creative story behind it, and there is a goal that involves collecting things. These are wonderful motivators. However, the game skill levels seem either much to easy (matching bugs) or pretty advanced (counting out just the right number of bugs to fill a rocket, including addition and subtraction as the game increases in difficulty) for a "typical" preschooler. I should add that I used to teach preschool and kindergarten, so I have an idea of what is developmentally appropriate. This game ranges from boring to frustrating with very little in between. Some activities, such as the "painting" activity at the waterfall, require very very good mouse control, as the shapes tend to be very small, and the child must click in just the right areas.

I highly recommend skipping this game. Our son is now happily playing Reader Rabbit Kindergarten (the Summer Camp one)with very little trouble. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

In this game, kids apply lessons in language arts, math, history, science, art, and music to rescue 13 lost friends before they turn into monsters. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

My boy actually doesn't really like it.
I've usually been quite pleased with Jumpstart products, but my boy who is usually quite easy to get to go play educational games doesn't like this one. He says it keeps sending him back to the same thing over and over even if he gets a perfect score. I think he would have just liked a little more variety.

Great fun! She forgot she was learning!
I recently bought Jump Start 4th Grade for my daughter. She loved it! It quickly became her favorite computer program. She introduced two friends to the program and they went out and purchased it as well! She prefers this computer game over television, so it was well worth the money. You won't be disappointed! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good but not the best
I like the item it is eazy to use well programed and you will like it ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Kids travel to the strange and exciting Reading Lands with Reader Rabbit and his friend Sam the Lion. In Reader Rabbit Reading, kids ages 6 to 9 embark on an adventurous learning quest filled with engaging reading, thinking, and writing activities. Along the way, they'll increase their vocabulary, practice rhyming, learn about compound words and multiple syllables, expand their imagination, and much more. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Become a master builder and construct the Notre Dame piece by piece, inside and out. Puzz3-D Notre Dame Cathedral surrounds you with historical fact and fantasy as you erect this famous cathedral, from the most minute details of the rose windows to the more obvious external walls. Once finished, enter with your own personal key--your reward for a job well done--and discover the hidden secrets of Notre Dame.Four difficulty levels in this program provide progressively higher rewards for completion of the puzzle. The Easy level offers a 138-piece puzzle and a bronze key providing access to the first floor of the cathedral; the Super Challenging level presents 919 pieces and a platinum reward--the key to the most deeply hidden secrets of Notre Dame.At each level, after completing certain portions of the puzzle, you can view educational text and videos. Learn about many historical and architectural details of building the grand cathedral, such as constructing the flying buttresses, the challenge of incorporating so much glass into the design, and other trials of architect Maurice de Sully. Once you solve the 3-D puzzle, you take a similar tour of the inside of Notre Dame--with a twist. Within the historical explanation are not-so-hidden clues to a fictitious mystery involving the "spirits" of Notre Dame.The greatest enjoyment of the Puzz3-D Notre Dame Cathedral is the puzzle itself. Less successful is the attempt to creatively reveal the architectural and constructive history of the cathedral. The quality of the videos and sound clips is poor (even with a high-quality sound card, the ends of the last sentences in the sound bites are cut off, so that much of the historical information is lost). The reward of exploring the cathedral when you've completed the puzzle is inadequate, with inferior graphics and awkward directional controls. Stick to the puzzle challenge and you won't be disappointed. --Madeleine Miller ... Read more

Reviews (41)

If You Love Jigsaw Puzzles...
I have always loved jigsaw puzzles. But this is the first time I have ever put one together on a computer. Puzz 3D Orient Express has 4 difficulty levels, from easy to super-challenging. I started off on the third level which is the challenging level. That level is just as challenging as the 1000-peice puzzles you buy in the store. The only difference is this: once you put the puzzle together, the fun doesn't stop. The difficulty level you choose determines how much of the Orient Express you can explore. You get to meet all kinds of different people as well as learn about the history of the train. Plus, during the exploration phase, there are other games along the way as well as clues to a mystery guest who is supposed to board the train. I haven't finished the exploration portion yet, but I am already thinking about going back to rebuild the train at the super-challenging level. This way, I will have unlimited access to the entire train. This Puzzle is very addictive and fun.

Real Challenger of a Jigsaw
The Bavarian Castle puzzle, at the "beginner" level, was the most difficult jigsaw puzzle that I've ever attempted--but I had never constructed a 3D puzzle before. Once I got familiar with the program design and controls (pieces can be rotated in two and three dimensions, construction lines help snap completed sections into place, sorting trays can be labeled and made "recloseable"), the jigsaw became deliciously challenging. I could barely tear myself away from the computer, once I got going.

As of now, I've completed the castle at the bronze and silver stages, and have enough understanding and memory of how the pieces fit together to consider skipping to the platinum level on my next attempt, to get full access to the castle interiors and puzzles. Despite having considerable experience with challenger jigsaws (both real and virtual), I doubt that I could have put the Bavarian Castle puzzle together if I had begun at the highest level, which offers no construction helps like architectural guides. (The Victorian Mansion puzzle was much easier, by comparison.)

The video clips of King Ludwig annoyed me, because of the actor's condescending approach to his character. However, the sound clips of selections from Wagner's operas are very nice.

The puzzle ran beautifully on my Pentium-100 machine with 128megs of RAM. The only problem with using this slow machine was that the movie clips ran with the audio and video slightly out of sync. In fact, I was totally impressed with the program's design and freedom from bugs, at least on my equipment.

Highly recommended challenge, but frustrating
The idea here is to give the user a virtual jigsaw puzzle building experience. The puzzle, when completed, is a three-dimensional reconstruction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

In the beginning, the user chooses a difficulty level, which determines how many pieces the puzzle is broken into, as well as how the pieces are laid out on a semi-circular virtual table. Using the cursor and mouse, the user brings the pieces together, sorts them in areas of the table, and gradually constructs the cathedral. Visual clues are available, as well as views of the completed puzzle, from any angle.

The level of difficulty chosen has another effect, in the type of payoff at the end. When the puzzle is completed, the user gets a tour of the cathedral, including historical trivia, on virtual placques, and ghosts, surprises, and a guide. However, the higher the level of difficulty chosen, the more access the user gets in the completed cathedral. More difficulty = more rooms, more secrets, more trivia.

Oh, and by the way, the graphics are truly great here including clarity, color, and resolution, and the sound effects are pretty good, too.

Puzz 3D: The Orient Express
you have to like putting puzzles together or you won't like this game But if you do then its a great game but not for a 128.00 thats way to much for this game i didn't pay that much for my.

Have patience!
I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and gradually increased the difficulty as I grew accustomed to manipulating the pieces and connecting the sides. Having recently visited Notre Dame, I had a ball putting together this puzzle and look forward to trying the others by Wrebbit. Working this puzzle requires a good computer and, as another on-line reviewer noted, frequent saves to prevent lost work. The software taxes the computer memory and sometimes causes crashes. I've updated my machine since playing Notre Dame, so, now that I've ordered Bavarian Castle from Amazon, I'm hoping the new puzzle will be better tolerated by my hardware.

Good luck to all who love a challenge! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Join your favorite learning pals for hours of exciting game play in this fun-filled, three-in-one learning software collection. Adventure Workshop 4th-6th Grade, 4th Edition features three award-winning educational titles for ages eight to 12. Your child will love playing, learning, and just spending time with his or her favorite characters, and you'll love watching your child laugh and learn through colorful and clever activities that build valuable skills in history, geography, algebraic thinking, logical reasoning, science, and language arts.

The software bundle contains Zoombinis Mountain Rescue (where kids will face nine perplexing puzzles with three levels of difficulty to rescue a small band of Zoombinis from a severe storm), Carmen Sandiego's ThinkQuick Challenge (in which kids will outwit Carmen and her cohorts in a series of fast-paced challenges that test knowledge in a variety of subjects), and The Yukon Trail (in which kids will relive the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897, learn the history and geography of Alaska, build problem-solving skills, and meet Jack London and other figures). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

wow
Learn and play with Reader Rabbit,Paddington Bear,and Millie and Bailey with this award-winning compilation.Make learning basic skills a fun adventure with colorful,creative activities that strengthen reading,math,art,music and more. Includes Reader Rabbit. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

You can make Barbie look like she's never looked before. Give Barbie and her friends new looks for different occasions. Make a different look every time you play. With Barbie Magic Hair Styler you can create the Barbie of your dreams. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Hours of Fun
Both my 7 year old and my 3 year old stay on the computer for hours at a time cutting Barbie's hair and putting make-up on her. Both of them really enjoy it. This is a must have for any Barbie lover. This is our first piece of Barbie software and we love it.

Hours of Fun
My 4 year old loves this game. She will sit and play changing Barbie's hair, makeup and jewlery for hours if I would let her. It is user friendly so I only had to show her how to get started once. Now she can do it all by herself. Love it.

Gr8 Game
This game is so fun i played it when i was little and still do!

How much I love this CD!!
I love this CD so much!!!I like to make Barbie's bangs so long that it covers her face!!

This is so much FUN for everybody, big and little!
This CD is so much fun! I played it at my friend's house and I was hooked! My friend had to PRY me off the computer! I am 11 going on 30 (in my mother's words) and it is SO much fun! I love this. Except I couldn't find it in stores, for some reason. However, the similer "Barbie Beauty Styler" isn't half as enjoyable as the Magic Hair Styler. Girls of all ages that are interested in beauty and themselves will LOVE this. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Based on the School Zone workbook series, this program incorporates critical math skills with interactive exercises and fun games. A solid curriculum, audio guidance, and clear examples help your child master addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, story problems, place value, and other skills. The program randomizes problems with each use, providing a different experience with each session. Engaging games provide an important break. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Saving San Francisco from a powerful shrink-ray is the order of the day for Owen, Joni, Santiago, and Leslie in Cluefinders: The Incredible Toystore Adventure, an educational role-playing game for third- and fourth-grade students. When two of the Cluefinders themselves are shrunk, they are beset by mice, spiders, and other suddenly giant monsters as they try to assemble the parts necessary to build a machine that will reverse the process. Meanwhile, the other members of the team must work out who built the malevolent device...and why?

The Incredible Toystore Adventure has a better mix of story and educational content than most games of its type, offering smart, resourceful characters and a mystery engaging enough to make the study component worthwhile. And make no mistake--this game drives young players hard. Wide-ranging drills in math, language arts, science, and other academic subjects are presented in a cheerful and interesting fashion. Drills come with four levels of difficulty and, if players want to build the anti-shrinking device, cannot be skipped.

This game also comes with a bonus CD containing an entirely separate game: Mystery of the Missing Amulet. This game carries the detectives across the galaxy on a quest to save a dying planet. Where The Incredible Toystore Adventure has a generalized focus on many areas of academic development, this second game is more narrowly focused, offering a tough workout for a child's language skills.

All in all, Cluefinders: The Incredible Toystore Adventure is a pleasant surprise--an educational game that can meet the high expectations of both parents and young players. (Ages 7 to 10) --Alyx Dellamonica ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Seems to be a good game..
I bought this game as a part of a three pack for Cluefinders. AFterwards I read a review where a person had trouble installing this on an XP system. That was one reason why I bought this game as the box states "Now Featuring XP compatibility.". With a bit of trepidation, I installed it in my computer, and then let my 8 year old have at it. I must say installation on the XP system went fine and after only about 3 hours of play we haven't noticed any strange glitches. This is definitely more of a learning game as opposed to a more fun style of game like Pajama Sam or Spy Fox. I saw that my child had to fill in the blanks of sentences, using words provided, and then arrange those sentences into a sensible paragraph. That provided a bit of frustration, and even the proper arrangement wasn't obvious to me. Still, by randomly moving the sentences around, you can eventually get the answer they are looking for. Same with the math questions. You will get an equation to solve and about 25 different answers are on the screen, and you click on the right one. I have no doubt my child just clicks till she gets the right one if she doesn't know how to do the equation. For less then ten dollars I got 3 Cluefinders games, and with only trying this one game, I am satisfied with the purchase. It seems perfect for this age group of 7-12 years where Reader Rabbit and cutesy games are too easy for them, and they want to feel like they are solving a mystery but also practicing school skills.

Disappointed again
I bought this software specifically because it said it would run on Windows XP. I had tried other Cluefinders on an older computer and was very happy with it. But since buying the XP, it's been a nightmare to get them to work. Despite it's claim that it's compatible with XP, (my system more than meets the system requirements), there were still technical errors. I tried the Program Compatibility Wizard and changing resolutions to no avail. Trying to contact their email support system has been unsuccessful so far - something about no being able to access it at this time. All in all, frustrating and discouraging. Cluefinders is off my list of educational games for now.

works right, and my daughter likes it
This is the first "edutainment" software that I've been able to install without a hitch on our Windows 2000 system. We don't give normal accounts "Administrator" or "Power User" privileges, and it worked fine. Kudos to The Learning Company for finally updating their game engines to work cleanly (and securely) on operating systems newer than Windows 3.1!

It also properly adjusts and restores screen resolution, and with far more than VGA resolution.

My daughter enjoys it, and has played each disk several times.

I'll agree with the other review that the map section required some help at first. But she's been able to stretch her mind to understand all aspects of it, which is great.

A 9 yr. old
This game is totally cheap (price wise) because you get one regular game and one bounus game... It is very educational and also is fun. This is a really, really great game!!!

Education vs. Fun
As I sat down with my niece to "play" this game I was struck by how interesting it was that software manufacturers could actually use games that are fun to help teach kids (and I dare say adults) and add to the education that children are receiving. This game was fun for us both because it helped my niece to recognize patterns, follow sentence structure, taught general mathematics in the elevator and showed that in the end you can have fun while learning.

I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who has a child in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th grade. However, you will need to sit down with them to help them figure out what exactly they need to do. The only reason I gave this product a 4 star rating instead of a 5 is that in one part of the game, the player is required to map out routes on a computer screen and it was very difficult for my niece to grasp. I believe that they set out to teach the player something they hadn't covered in school and it went above my niece's knowledge level.

Otherwise, this game is a very good educational tool and yes, we "both" had fun playing it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Entertaining, but not educational
Unfortunately, my daughter loves this game and will not choose other software games over this one. What really irritates me is the whole "Software for Girls" marketing statement. My daughter loves Barbie, but she is also a very intelligent 5 year old who excels at other appropriately challenging games. What kind of message is Barbie trying to send girls!??!!! To me, it is insulting. You can make it both fun and educational as other character software titles have, such as Blues Clues and the Disney series. You would be much better off choosing a different character that your child loves, such as Dora. Hopefully, the latest titles from Barbie are more challenging. ... Read more