Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster is a bit like a wolverine in that it’s cute and furry on the outside, but has some real teeth once you get involved with it. Although the game is designed to teach children how to play chess, the underlying engine is Fritz, which is a mighty powerful AI that is highly respected in chess circles. Grandmasters like Vladimir Kramnik use Fritz to train for big matches. But children won’t be thrown against the full weight of Fritz until they are able to handle it. In fact, most children won’t even realize … Continue reading Fritz checkmates other chess tutors→
Hoyle Kid’s Games is a wonderful compilation of 15 of the most popular children’s games of all time. Included are Checkers, Go Fish, Tic Tac Toe, Snakes and Ladders, Hangman, Old Maid, War, and Chinese Checkers. There are also generic versions of Battleship, Tetris and Concentration. The contents screen has the appearance of a child’s room. Each game is represented by an appropriate symbol. War, for example, is represented by a toy tank on the bookshelf, and Bumper Cars is represented by a little car on the floor. Most of the games are beautifully rendered in full color graphics. Checkers, … Continue reading Hoyle Kids Games Tops Family Fun→
The Secret World of Santa Claus is big Christmas fun for little ones. It’s nothing miraculous, but it’s worth having if you have children 3 to 8 years old that you’re trying to keep entertained during those long December nights before or just after Christmas. This CD-ROM will conveniently run on just about any PC or Mac under seven years old. That’s pretty amazing in these days of high-speed Megahertz and RAM hogging games, but The Secret World of Santa Claus isn’t really a game. It’s an interactive entertainment CD-ROM for kids. The opening screen is a table of contents … Continue reading The Secret World of Santa Claus→
Sethi and the Crown of Egypt is one of those rare gems that lets parents and children play together and have fun, while both the child and the parent are entertained. And if you want to teach your child about life in ancient Egypt, you would be hard pressed to find a better method. The player takes on the role of Sethi, an Egyptian farmer child who leads a simple life. He has a remarkable lemur pet named Pepi, who is his constant companion throughout the game. Pepi often provides comic relief. And since he can talk, he also gives … Continue reading Sethi Rules Educational Games→
Game Review- Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion
In the mood for an interactive mystery adventure? HER Interactive then can fill your order with Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion. This is the third game in a series of 3D Nancy Drew interactive mystery games that HER Interactive has produced. There is a new one about to come out, but in the meantime I figured I would take a look at this title. Message in a Haunted Mansion is recommended for players ten and up. In this adventure, Nancy finds herself in an old Victorian mansion in San Francisco helping a friend with the renovations of the … Continue reading Nancy Drew Sleuths Out a Winner→
Disney makes movies children love, but unfortunately they don’t seem to spend the same kind of time and attention in their game division, which results in uneven game packages based on movies. Most children will want the games because of whatever movie characters are displayed on the box, but often the game is discarded shortly thereafter because it just isn’t good enough to hold their attention. The Emperor’s New Groove: Groove Center is just such a game. It has one good game, one really weak game, one mediocre game, and a ridiculous so-called creativity center. The game opens with Evil … Continue reading Emperor's New Groove is Not So Groovy→
All you adults out there, it’s time to get your sweaty paws off the Game Boy Color and let the kids have a go. Parents and children will recognise Arthur and his friends from the TV cartoon. This simple 2D game, Arthur’s Absolutely Fun Day, is aimed at 4 to 7-year-olds, but I gave it a test run in the name of gaming. Arthur’s teacher, Mr. Ratburn, has given him a free pass to the WonderWorld Amusement Park. All he has to do is collect sixteen stars to put on the pass and he can go in. That’s hardly free, … Continue reading Arthur's Absolutely Fun Day!→
Game Review- Beauty and the Beast Magical Ballroom
Beauty and the Beast Magical Ballroom is part of the Disney Princesses series of games geared toward girls 5 and up. Disney is trying to fill the huge gap that exists in the games-for-girls market. The Magical Ballroom is a decent offering, but I doubt seriously that a girl over 9 will enjoy it. The game opens with a movie sequence telling of all the changes in the castle since the movie. The child signs in by typing her name on a scroll, which is saved for return visits. Then Belle greets the child and explains the four rooms for … Continue reading Magical Ballroom, More Mundane than Magical→
In the family titles realm, playing a game with your children often involves letting the child click around the screen while the adult supervises, offers advice, helps at sticky situations and generally acts as advisor. Jack Attack 2 takes a different approach. It offers a platform where the child and parent can actually play together. This achievement can not be understated. The child and parent, or any caring adult for that matter, are working together to achieve a goal in Jack Attack 2. Both are sitting at the keyboard – or both have game controllers in the case of a … Continue reading Jack Attack 2 is for Kids and You→
Return to the Sea is part of the Disney Princess series of games aimed at girls ages 5 and up. And this is a good game. It isn’t as sexist or simple as some of Disney’s other titles aimed at girls. There is a choice of five games or activities to play in Return to the Sea. Melody, the daughter of the ever-popular Ariel from The Little Mermaid, is the central figure in all the games. Melody’s Daring Dive has Melody diving for gems in the ocean. Girls have a choice of three different ocean scenes and game play has … Continue reading The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea Has Girl→
