Features

• Designed with extensive input from teachers and students
• Ability to control which graphics libraries are active for a project is ideal for theme-based teaching or special needs students
• Teachers can add instructions to project templates, which students can listen to with the bilingual text-to-speech function
• A 17% larger workspace, visible menu bar, tool tips, and help movies make Kid Pix Deluxe 4 for Schools easier to use
• For grades K through 8

Reviews (6)

Loads of great fun!!!!
I found this game at an online game site and HAD to have it as soon as it was available to purchase!
Lots of fun and I am admittedly addicted to playing this game whenever I get in front of my computer.
The animation with the dragon is cute and so amusing that he is an inspiration to make bigger, difficult words just to see him react.
This is one of the best word games that I have played. School age children and adults will all enjoy this educational and fun game.
I highly recommend everyone to purchase this addicting, enjoyable (and educational) game.

Bookworm is weird person!
I really like it. I play it online game at bigfish game site. I really love it. I am going to get one for me!. I really like cd-rom version because it great than download. MICHELLE

Great Fun, Addictive and Educational! High Marks All Around!
I am addicted to Bookworm and need to acquire more willpower, fast, to limit my daily gametime. I find myself spending hours playing, late evenings especially, and, (blush), sometimes at work. Trying to accumulate a high score - my personal best - like at the Olympics, is the most addictive part for me!! I used to play Scrabble on the PC and loved it, but Bookworm is by far the better game - I think. I have limited myself to no more than an hour per day, OK sometimes 2 hours - but that is time used to build vocabulary and other skills, rather than watch one of my favorite TV programs. See how easy it is to rationalize? Actually, Bookworm has helped to improve my Scrabble skills also. There's almost an entire dictionary of possibilities stored on the CD.

The concept of Bookworm is simple. One needs to make words by linking adjacent letter tiles. The more complex the word and more difficult the letter, (z, x, q, like Scrabble), the higher the score. Short, or low scoring words, cause fires to start with letters at the top of the PC screen, the library wall. If a word is not formed from the burning tile letters before they reach the bottom, then the game explodes - kaput! The higher your score, the more burning tiles appear. Thus the level of difficulty increases. Also, the longer one plays a particular game, thus using up a variety of tiles, itbecomes more difficult to find either vowels or consonants. Scoring then becomes even more difficult.

There is a leisurely paced Classic Game, and no beat the clock option. I personally prefer this one. It gives one time to really think and look for many-lettered words. Then there's the Action Game, where you have to beat both the clock and the burning tiles. Since one is more inclined to go for short words when the clock is ticking, there are more burning tiles here. It really gets the adrenaline going! There is also a Save Game option which is terrific. Once I begin to score in the high numbers, which can take a while, I get tired, and am able to save the game without losing points, and can come back to it another time. The players' high scores are saved in the Hall of Fame, so it is easy to compete against yourself or another player.

The book worm, Lex, (from lexicon), is a funny and bizarre creature who makes weird noises, supposedly to encourage the player to feed his endless appetite for words. When a particularly good word is formed, he belches! I enjoyed this feature for all of five minutes, and then turned down the sound. However, I think kids would love this vocabulary tapeworm. And Bookworm is perfect for children and adults alike. The game is from Activision. It is fun and educational and I highly recommend it. The CD version is more complex and has many more possibilities than the free download found on the Web. I tried the download before buying the game.
JANA

Always on the look-out for word games .
This game can keep me occupied for hours . I'm sure it improves memory , vocabulary , etc., but most of all , it is just plain fun . Although it is not really pertinent to this review , I am 65 + and have been a Scrabble fan for years . I now prefer 'Bookworm Deluxe'. P. J. Kale

BookWorm Deluxe - Excellent!!
I bought the online version before the CD came out...It is the very best word game I've ever played!! I'm also 50+ and I believe this game is great for all ages to improve memory, spelling and learning definitions of some words I've never heard of before. The worm is so funny when he starts to shake and sweat when the red, burning tiles get too close to the bottom. I HIGHLY recommend BookWorm Deluxe. It's everything it's advertised to be and MORE...it's also hard to stop playing!! You will love it!! ... Read more

Features

• Learn the business of owning and managing a real horse farm
• Care for horses and train them to be world-class champions
• Outfit riders by choosing from an array of clothes, accessories, and hairstyles
• Spend money wisely and make good decisions
• Fun and educational for horse lovers of any age

Product Description

Dogz and Catz live on your computer desktop. You raise them from little puppyz and kittenz as they grow, play, and learn together. When they grow up, many will start families of their own. Petz look to you for care, guidance, and training. For every Petz you adopt, you'll get to sign an Adoption Pledge promising to be a good Petz owner. Make sure your Dogz and Catz get plenty of healthy food, exercise, and playtime -- and lots of love from you! Tasty Treatz are one way to reward your Petz for go ... Read more

Features

• Variety of dog and cat breedz to choose from; updated graphics
• Dogz and catz look to you for care, guidance, and training
• Sign an adoption pledge promising to be a good Petz owner
• Weather effects and day-and-night cycles provide a more realistic setting
• Playscenes and mini-games create a whole new interactive experience

Reviews (7)

Boring!
I have not played this game, but from seeing my sister play it, it seems boring! All it is is that you have pets that just make noise.

BBBBBBOOOOOOORRRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!

Worth The Money
I just got this game a few weeks ago and I love it! Me, persanoly am 7 (if you have a 7 year old daughter read this!). I have a dashhund, Queen and a pug, King. Read these do's and dont's.

DO: feed your pet daily
DON'T: feed too much
DO: play with your pets
DON'T: hit your pet with the frisbee
DO: take your pet to the backyard often
DON'T: stay temporarely in one playscene long

It's perfect!
This game is a perfect game for anyone who loves pets (aka petz) When me and my sister got it for x-mas we installed it quick and easy. It was so fun making our own breeds. We made some really cute catz and some really cute dogz! You should buy this game if you don't have any pets or if you would just like to have lots of fun! Here's what I'll have to say to you, if you don't buy this game, you're missin' out on LOADS of fun!

- An 11 year old girl

GREAT! IT RULES!
I LOVE this game! I really enjoy creating my own breedz by breeding other petz! If you love animals, this game is for you!

Great Game But There is a Catch
I love this games. I remember a long time ago when they came out with the first one. This of course is way more fun. I agree with all the other reviews but I need to tell you something that nobody mentioned if you are thinking about getting this game. (by the way I am playing this game while I am typing right now)

WARNING: This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict some CD-RW, DVD-RW, and virtual drives. This game is intended to prevent copying.

GOOD NEWs WARNING: I have a computer with CD-RW and DVD-RW on it and it worked perfectectly. If you are not going to get this game because you have CD-RW or DVD-RW it MIGHT work on your computer anyway. You won't be able to return it once opened. So you will be taking a risk. I just wanted to let you know that there is hope for you still.

Get this game it is perfect for children. This game is like a G version of the Sims except with pets and less complicated. This game is also fun for teens and adults.

... Read more

Features

• Brain-building games teach problem-solving, reading, and logic
• 39 riddles; 2 fast-paced games; 7 unique ghosts to create
• 3 different ways out of the house, each filled with spooky surprises
• Fun learning includes a secret room to discover
• For kids ages 6 to 10

Product Description

Includes:

Dora the Explorer: Lost City Adventure

Join Dora, Boots and her trusty Map on a journey through exotic locations to the Lost City, a mysterious, hidden place where all lost objects go. Along the way, you’ll meet Pirate Pig, Mami Bugga Bugga and Seor Tucan and help them regain their lost objects, too. Be on the lookout for hidden stars throughout the game and collect them in your very special star pouch!

Features:

• Multiple locations to visit with cool math-related games to play!
• 2 ways to playAdventure and Freeplay Modes
• Printable math activity sheets
• 3 adjustable difficulty levels to challenge each child
• All this and learn a little Spanish, too!

• Multiple locations with exciting games to play!
• Discovery clickables bring Dora’s environment to life!
• On-screen Sticker Book
• 2 ways to playAdventure and Freeplay Modes
• 3 adjustable difficulty levels
• All this and learn a little Spanish, too!

Features

• Lost City Adventure
• Backpack Adventure
• Animal Adventure

Features

• Help Barbie get ready for fashion week in Paris
• Complete 10 exciting fashion assignments
• Advance through 3 different design studios
• Choose the styles, fabrics, and colors
• Select the stage, music, and special poses

Amazon.com Review

Anyone who enjoyed the hilarity of Pixar's Finding Nemo movie will be tempted to pick up one of the two games that star everyone's favorite clownfish. Both games feature original voice work by the outstanding Nemo cast, including the pitch-perfect Albert Brooks, Willem Dafoe, and Ellen DeGeneres. Each game also has a selection of cut-scenes from the movies, shown when tasks are well done. The difference between the two games is that Nemo's Underwater World of Fun was created (says the box) for children four and over, and is by far the simpler of the two Nemo titles.

In Nemo's Underwater World of Fun, players have six mini-games to choose from, along with a section where kids can make music by clicking on members of the Tank Gang (Bubbles, Jacques, and the rest). In a section that resembles an ocean-bound Frogger, Nemo must swim with the turtles, avoiding obstacles and collecting items. Other activities include a shark-run shell game and a very difficult Pong-like segment called "Feeding Frenzy," where Nemo has to bounce kelp balls off obstacles and walls to reach Bruce's mouth.

Both Nemo games have two big drawbacks. First, computer owners with less than state-of-the-art machines will experience stutter and delay when the movie segments appear (which will disappoint kids, so be sure to check the system requirements carefully). Also, each game only offers about one hour of original gameplay (kids who repeat sections will, obviously, play longer).

Of the two games, Nemo's Underwater World of Fun is the weaker,mainly because it doesn't follow the ups and downs of the plot that made the movie so enjoyable. The age requisite, too, seems arbitrary: neither game teaches any particular educational skills (other than pattern matching and hand-eye coordination). For anyone over five, the other game, called simply Finding Nemo is a better choice. But both are loaded with the movie's charms, including an appearance by our favorite character, the sea turtle named Crush. Does everybody have their exit buddy? Okay, dude, you're ready to play.--Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Reviews (30)

The other version? Poor Quality Control Problem....
This is yet another pc game that could have been so good...The problem? Like the other 3 disney pc games we have, we had to go on-line to reconfigure our computer!!! It seems to be the SOUND that creates problems.

We bought the version for older kids, after reading the reviews here. Guess what? The voices for Nemo and others cannot be understood. It's as if someone put an old record on the wrong speed...high speed....everyone talks like the chipmunks! What we heard of the music and graphics however looked real good.

We're running these programs on windows XP and unable to get the program to work right out of the package, which is a real drag to an intelligent 5 year old and his mom! Bottom line, you probably have to go on line and get help to make the program work. OR you may have luck calling them...

With the exception of MULAN (has a great majonng game for kids...but you have to go on-line and learn HOW TO MAKE THE program work and reconfigure/disable a sound card or something like that....)We've sworn off of Disney pc games, at least for now....they're not worth the trouble.

Misleading, disappointing, irritating waste of time!
The Nemo's Underwater World of Fun game disk enclosed in with the movie DVD, was a big disappointment. My young kids were very excited then very upset. Until I read user reviews here on AMAZON, I thought I had a malfunctioning game rather than a DEMO disk on which only 2 of the 6 activities were accessible, rendering the prizes unwinable and the main games unplayable. And one of the 2 accessible activities, the Tank Gang music maker, seems buggy! Neither the disk, its sleeve, nor the read-me file indicated that it was only a demo, so my exercise in futility began: I installed and reinstalled it. I called the Disney phone number only to find the voice menu options to be misdirected, and at Disney Interactive on-line found no help nor mention of the demo version. FINE DISNEY, so you don't want to give away a free game, but why waste your ad dollars on such a stunt? Guess what, I've not been enticed into buying the real game, just irritated into a resolution to spend NO money on Disney computer games! (It's not your fault THQ (the game designer) we still love you.) I'm Sooooo glad that wonderful PIXAR's contract with Disney is ending!!!

My son likes it, I can't stand it
We bought this for our five-year-old, who loved the movie. Why is it that all Disney games turn into annoying (and cloying) lead-ins or promos for the movie? Why do we have to watch endless clips of it? The games seem kind of uneven (some way too hard, others too easy), and sometimes the software seems to get 'stuck' (we need to back out and repeat the objective to get it to work). I like THQ and their software in general, I've just noticed that anything Disney-related gets bogged down in their desire to "Plug the movie! Plug the products!" My son does like it when he plays it, but it's been used a LOT less than I had anticipated. Gets 3 stars for good graphic and audio quality, but I'd give the game itself a two.

terrible
I bought the finding nemo software for my daughter today and I sincerely regret it. It is one of the worst games I have ever purchased. The games dont work. You get nowhere. I would advise everyone considering this game to just save your money. My daughter was excited to get it until we installed it and tryed playing it only to find out it is a lemon.

Very cute
I just loved the movie, so naturally I bought the game. My sis and I have had these little, ummm...."problems" with games for kids 4+. We can't win them!! The older kid's games are easier. But that's what makes this game fun. I still can't win the "Surfin' With Crush" level though. "Nemo's Underwater World of Fun" actually has a story to it. Nemo wants to prove to his dad that he can move around just as well as any other fish. So Marlin sets up a "Super Swim Challenge" game, that will test Nemo's swimming skills. It goes from there in that you have to help Nemo win a certain number of "trophies" in each game in order to get up to level 5 in the Super Swim Challenge. After that, you can help Nemo prove to Marlin how good a swimmer he is. I love the games you can play. "Dory's Memory Match", "Surfin' With Crush", and "Tank Gang Sing-alongs" are just a few. Hope you have fun playing! I'm sure the kids will. ... Read more

Features

• Grade-based software teaches essential developmental skills
• Combines learning techniques and complementary learning aids
• Multi-subject CD with dozens of fun games and lessons
• Printable-activities CD with more than 100 projects
• Sing-along CD with original songs; 50+ flashcards and stickers

Features

• Explore a dark, mysterious house while building learning skills
• 3 different ways out of the house, each filled with spooky surprises
• 2 fast-paced games; 7 unique ghosts to create; a secret room to discover
• 39 riddles; special riddle tools; free I Spy book included
• Brain-building games for kids 6 to 10 years old

Features

• Intense superhero action/adventure gameplay
• Game based on the film¿s characters, settings, and events
• Collection of 10 fun-filled, highly replayable games and activities
• Live the film¿s action, adventure, and humor; play as film¿s characters
• Various difficulty levels keeps games fun for kids of all ages

Amazon.com Review

If order is important to your child, Thomas the Tank Engine's world is probably a favorite place. In Thomas and Friends: The Great Festival Adventure, kids enter the tidy world of Thomas and Friends and immediately set about polishing engines, loading boxcars with the right items, and making sure passengers get onto the train in timely, proper fashion. All the while, Sir Topham Hatt encourages kids with phrases such as "I know I can trust you to be really useful." High praise in this place where practicality is paramount.

This CD-ROM could win an award for cinematography--the "camera" tracks, zooms, and swoops through the activities. Thomas, Percy, and everyone's favorites, the Troublesome Trucks, move about the Island of Sodor preparing for the upcoming festival. The seven activities are either of the counting/sorting/pattern-recognition variety or ones that work on basic hand-eye coordination and mouse control. Kids can go to the engine shed to polish, oil, and wrench the engines into prime working condition; unload Bulstrode the Barge and fit the packages into the boxcar with the matching label; or help round up cows that escaped from a farmer's pen. Each task has only three levels of difficulty, and they can be completed quickly by a kid with some computer savvy or an older child. Between these chores are short vignettes involving Thomas and his friends, making this CD-ROM feel familiar to fans of the television show.

While the age range for this program is "2 and up," don't assume that it'll keep your 5-year-old busy for very long. But if you have a helpful 3-year-old who needs to learn how to mouse and count, Thomas and Friends can put your child on the right track. --Anne Erickson ... Read more

Reviews (9)

All aboard for fun with Thomas
In The Great Festival Adventure,Ride around the island of Sodor with Thomas, and his friends to get ready for the festival.There are seven games:One at the Shed,one at the Quarry,one at the Harbor,one in the Field,one at the Station,one at the Fair Ground,and one at the Band Stand at the Fair Ground. In the Shed, you'll help Thomas get cleaned up before he goes out to help his friends.

In the Quarry,there has been a rockslide and you have to fly Harrold over the rocks,pick them up put them in the right trucks for James to tow away.

At the Station,Annie and Clarabelle need your help to figure out which passengers go and which stay.

At the Harbor,Well the Harbor game is pretty much the same as the Quarry game.

At the Fair Ground,help Harrold put together stalls and rides.

At the Field, help Terrence chase cows into their pen.

And at the Band Stand,listen to music and make music with the musicians.

Tip:Skip around after you complete the game.

I loved theis game.It was alot of fun.If you like Thomas get this game now!

Wonderful graphics, great audio
I bought this software when my son was around 18mnths old. He is a total Thomas fan so he is always asking to play it. He loves to sit and watch Thomas and his friends travel around the island of sodor. He is currently 2yrs old and wants to play it every day. It really is a great piece to have my only complaint would be that he is now starting to get bored with the activities. It doesn't allow children who can not use the mouse to interact with it's games , which is important to keep them content. It also doesn't give you much else to do once you've mastered the five step program. It's the pictures, sound and graphics that keeps them coming back not the content and tools to learning. I would still recommend it don't be too disappointed. It would be nice if they came out with a game that the children could actually drive the train and interact with it choosing what destination to go to as well as being able to stop, start, pull forward and back up the train. something to think about.

good graphics, poor entertainment value
While there are some stunning sequences of Thomas & Friends zooming around the island, the interactive sections of this offering do not really cut it.

To begin with, they are mouse intensive, so a toddler who has not yet mastered the mouse will be left watching an adult manipulate the elements involved. Secondly, they are not all that inventive, and some of them downright illogical - when you are presented with a platform full of passengers to load on a train, why should you only be getting the number suggested by the game on board? My son keeps asking me "what about the others" - they just magically disappear off the platform.

Other activities in the game seem a little contrived - clicking on band members and trains simply to hear them make a sound grows old pretty fast, especially when it's done only by moving a mouse. If there had been a "hit a key, see who plays" feature, it would have been a little more enjoyable. Likewise the intitial section where you prepare the engines in the engine shed - putting a drop of oil on a yellow dot, then tightening an imaginary bolt on a yellow dot, then putting coal on a yellow dot - all a little tame.

For real entertainment value I would recommend Reader Rabbit's toddler, which is 100 percent "keyboardable" and offers challenges that can keep a toddler interested for quite some time.

A final word of warning: the game claims to be able to run on a 133Mhz or better PC with 2Mb of video Ram. there is no way that would happen, at least not to the enjoyment of anyone with the patience and attention span of a two year old. The game is slow and clunky, even on a 233Mhz it drags and the sound struggles.

Beautiful graphics but limited
This software was put together beautifully. The graphics are top notch as is the audio. My 3 year old enjoyed this software for the 8-10 times he played it. It would have been nice to have different levels that the kids could progress to instead of the same game and the same 3 trains in the car wash and other games over and over again. This software is fun and it is part of our library so that we can pull it out every few weeks. I would have preferred something that held his interest for a longer period of time. A nice touch is the ability to print out pictures of the trains either in color or black and white for your kids to color. This part continues to be a hit. Despite my reservations regarding different levels, I still recommend this software.

Outstanding graphics & sound, a bit light in gameplay
Thomas, his friends, and the island of Sodor look absolutely fantastic in this game's high quality 3-D graphics. The stereo sound effects are also top-notch. (In fact, graphics and sound are probably much better than they really needed to be for a preschool-age game!) On the downside, the game itself is a bit lacking in terms of things to do, especially for older preschoolers. The activities range from the super-easy (i.e. click on the sponge and then wipe the dirt off Thomas) to the mildly challenging (i.e. put the large rock in the large freight car, the medium-sized rock in the medium-sized car, etc). There aren't a lot of activities, and they don't change with repeated playings. It's probably a great game for kids brand new to the computer and/or for Thomas fans, but more experienced computer-kids will lose interest after a couple of rounds. ... 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

Features

• Grade-based software that covers essential kindergarten skills
• Combines an exciting world of fun and lively games with lovable characters
• Teaches math, literacy, thinking, and creative skills
• 3 difficulty levels to choose from; play as either the boy or girl character
• For kids ages 4 to 6

Features

• Intense superhero action/adventure gameplay
• Help save the world; game based on the movie's storyline
• Powers include super strength, speed, elasticity, and invisibility
• Live the film's action, adventure, and humor over 18 levels
• for one player

Reviews (2)

Suprisingly Fun
I found this game at Target and the graphics looked good and the overall plot amusing so i bought it. The mini games are well worth the money-some actually took me a fair amount of time to complete. This is an ideal game for girls from ages 6-11. Bt i'm an older teen and i still enjoyed it! The only complaint i have with this game is that it took me very little time to complete the game( but you can always go back and change some of the aspects of your wedding or start over).

Planning a wedding was never so much fun!
This is a fun and engaging program with an amazing amount of activities and mini-games that are all wedding related.Most of the stuff you have to do for a real wedding is here, but of course, a lot more fun.I'll try to explain.

You begin by choosing a bride, brides maids, and a venue for the wedding, then you play this hilarious elimination game to choose a groom, and then choose his grooms men.If you want to skip this part you can have your mother choose all this for you. You then find yourself in the mall, where you can design your dress, choose your shoes, your jewelry, design your ring, design the brides maid dresses, choose formalwear for the men, get your hair done, choose your make-up, choose your music, design your cake and your bouquet, and even make a poem to read at the ceremony.You win more choices for these activities by playing six mini-games in the mall. Most of these are quite fun, my favorite being the dice game, which is a shower game where you exchange gifts.Each game has three levels, giving you more design choices each time you win. Once all these things are done, you can decorate the scene of the wedding and get married.On every screen throughout the entire game is a camera for taking photos for the wedding album which you also get to design and decorate.

The interface is fairly straight-forward and easy to use, no instructions needed. Although the graphics are 2D, they are nicely done with lots pretty colors.The repetive narration can get annoying but it is minimal and the music is awesome.There are tons of things to do and the replay value is high.Another nice feature is that you can completely install this to your hard drive and run it without the cd.

Overall, this is a fun and creative activity program that would be a big hit with girls ages 6-12.But hey, I'm a grown-up and I love it.

... Read more

Amazon.com Review

If you've ever cooked under the heat of a 50-watt light bulb and struggled to cut the resulting tiny "cake" into six servings, you might be skeptical about Hasbro Interactive's ability to deliver a CD-ROM that could match the culinary experience of an actual Easy Bake Oven. Yet what this virtual bakery lacks in edible results, it remedies with a surprising, imaginative approach.

The most unique aspect of this playset is the strap-on kitchen. Once the white counter with pink and green appliances is installed over the keyboard, rookie cooks can crack eggs, whir the blender, and roll dough to initiate action onscreen. There's nothing to plug in here; it's all mechanical. You can't use your keyboard for anything but "cooking" while the kitchen is in place, but setup and takedown is only a matter of seconds. If you don't want a plastic kitchen sitting on your expensive keyboard, it's possible to "cook" using the mouse, but that method isn't nearly as fun.

Kitchen in place and disc installed, chefs visit the recipe box, and with help from a baking pal, whip up everything from banana bread to layer cakes. A game area includes a baking contest and a hide-and-seek that pits players against demonically giggling gingerbread men.

This virtual kitchen is at its best when the cook strays from the recipe. Overcook a cake and smoke curls up from the onscreen door, then your baking pal reassures you as a charred lump emerges from the oven. In one kitchen, anything goes; keep tipping the egg into the bowl and eventually a dinosaur egg goes in, then one with a purple yolk, then in goes Humpty Dumpty. Extra points go to the designers for creating a diverse cast of baking buddies. Boys who feel like baking might prefer to roll dough with Billy Batter instead of Sally Sprinkles.

Still prefer the textures and smells of real baking? Your kids can print recipes for what they've made onscreen. The 12 recipes range from decadent brownies to more Spartan fare, such as soft pretzels. Once they've practiced in the virtual kitchen, they can mess up your real kitchen cooking real goodies. --Anne Erickson ... Read more