 By Ellen Beeman They’re wild, they’re wacky and they’re very educational. The latest games from Broderbund/TLC (now divisions of Riverdeep) demonstrate that learning can be engaging, fun, and sometimes delightfully weird! |
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 Zoombinis: Island Odyssey |
StarFlyers
This game for kids ages 8 and up is a great, hands-on approach to math, science, and logic. You’ll learn to use gear ratios to catapult your Zoombinis team up a cliff, unlock doors by decoding secret patterns, and learn astronomy and math. And genetic engineering…”It’s not just for mad scientists anymore!” You can create new Zerbles that are specifically designed to survive and thrive on the island, using logic and Mendelian genetic squares.
Yes, it’s weird, but it’s genuinely educational, and very fun. And what other game not just introduces the idea of Venn diagrams but makes it fun?
(A Venn diagram visually represents relationships based on the intersection or exclusion of objects within circles and ovals. Try explaining that in a way that an 8 year old will like!.)
Starflyers: Alien Space Chase
“Starflyers” takes gamers ages 5 to 8 in a completely different direction, into outer space. In the games “Starflyers — Alien Space Chase” and “Starflyers — the Royal Jewel Rescue”, Katie Cadet (AKA Katherine Cadell in the real world) and Super Spinner AJ (her best friend Ajay) are intergalactic heroes, fighting against the evil Vexar (also known as Victor Wexlar, their neighborhood bully).
In “Alien Space Chase”, you’ll encounter aliens and arcade action in eight different games, and solve puzzles like crossing a chasm or linking pipes. The goal is to rescue the alien ambassadors and collect valuable galaxy seeds.
Starflyers: Royal Jewel Rescue
In the “Royal Jewel Rescue”, a mishap with Mom’s jewelry and a bowl of popcorn becomes an epic quest to find Princess Popcorn’s missing jewels so she can be crowned queen. In eight new activities, your child will use logic to dig through chocolate tunnels, and map your way out of the submarine obstacle course on Planet Aqua Cube. Both games intertwine an exciting storyline with arcade games that are imaginative and challenging, focusing on critical thinking and problem solving skills.
The Learning Company’s “PowerPuff Girls— Mojo Jojo’s Clone Zone” takes kids to the City of Townsville, where the three kindergarten-aged superheroines (created from sugar, spice and everything nice, plus a dollop of the mysterious Chemical X) take on their most fiendish opponent, the hyper-intelligent monkey Mojo Jojo.
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A game geared for kids ages 6 to 10, this game brings the fun of this popular Cartoon Network show to your Mac.
The evil Mojo Jojo has made clones of himself, and it’ll take math, reading, logic and critical skills to help the Powerpuff Girls get the clones’ memory chips and stop this threat to Townsville. You’ll clean up the messy letters left by the Gangreen Gang, play high altitude hopscotch to catch a Mojo Jojo clone, and solve a navigation puzzle to reach Mojo’s lair. Win at a vocabulary game of matching the beginning, ending or middle of word sounds and you’ll have a chance to defeat the Mojo Jojo himself. And then, once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls.
“Liberty’s Kids” brings the American Revolution to life for gamers ages 8 to 12. This game is set in the exciting events of 1776, and you’re a junior reporter working under the guidance of Ben Franklin and Moses, an emancipated African-American. Your challenge is to interview historical figures (which often requires finding a special item they need before they’ll agree to the interview.) Then you’ll create your newspaper article based on their quotes. Pick the best quotes, and Moses will award you a higher score. The game covers seven major Revolutionary War events including the Boston Tea Party, Washington’s Crossing the Delaware, the Battle of Yorktown, and the Declaration of Independence.
Liberty Kids
When you think about “learn to read” software, many people think of The Learning Company’s “Reader Rabbit” series. This long-lived and very successful series has a new addition, “Reader Rabbit Learn to Read with Phonics — First and Second Grade.” This game combines a charming story with solid early reading activities like consonant blending, vowel types and combinations and compound words. In a very classy touch, the company includes a CD of sing-along songs from the game so your child can continue the Reader Rabbit experience away from the computer.
Reader Rabbit: Learn to Read with Phonics 1st & 2nd Grade
“The educational goal was to create a fun, enjoyable game for children which enables them to develop their reading and comprehension skills through a systematic approach that combines explicit instruction, skill-building activities, and interactive storybooks,” says Marc Goodman, producer of this latest “Reader Rabbit” title. “I worked with a truly exceptional design team to integrate the key educational components of Reader Rabbit Learn to Read with Phonics 1st & 2nd Grade within a storyline that was both funny and poignant and that itself emphasized the joys of reading.”
Whether they feature superhero preschoolers, Zoombinis, Ben Franklin or alien mermaids, all of the latest games from Broderbund/TLC share one goal: to create a fun, exciting and very educational experience for children.
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