THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 20, 1994 TAG: 9412200057
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM BOYER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 172 lines
OF DOZENS of software titles we looked at, here's what we liked. There are no stinkers here, just different grades of good.
The age ranges are only approximate. Younger kids can often have lots of fun with software designed for older kids, so it sometimes works to buy software they'll grow into. Some titles, like Kid Pix, can be enjoyed equally by 2-year-olds and 52-year-olds.
Unless indicated otherwise, you need a mouse, sound card and a high-resolution VGA color monitor to make these work, and some require Windows. Many will run without a sound card, but it's not as much fun. All these titles are available for IBM-compatible PCs; many have MacIntosh versions as well. Some are CD-ROM only, but many are now available both in floppy disks and CD-ROM.
Prices change from month to month and from store to store, but generally, single software titles sell for $25 to $40, while more elaborate CD-ROM titles go for $50 and up.
Key: [4 stars] Outstanding. [3 stars] Extremely well- executed and smooth. Disappointment-proof. [2 stars] A solid recommendation for most situations. [1 star] OK, but limited. Check it out before you buy.
AGES 2-7: [4 stars] Millie's Math House, Edmark: Simply delightful games that teach pre-math skills. Kids do lots of counting, learn the difference between little, middle and big, recognize patterns and fit shapes together, guided by lots of cheerful critters in an atmosphere that's not overly ``teachy.'' [4 stars] Bailey's Book House, Edmark: From the same company as ``Millie,'' similarly designed to teach pre-reading skills with dancing dinosaurs, clowns and dogs leading the way. One of the nice features of this series is that parents can find excellent explanations of the software's teaching philo-sophy. [3 stars] Just Grandma and Me, Broderbund Living Books series. CD-ROM only. This features a Mercer Meyer story about a boy whose grandmother takes him to the beach and the adventures they have together. Kids can click on virtually every object on every page to make characters and inanimate objects come alive. Our kid testers liked making the starfish dance. [2 stars] Putt-Putt Joins the Parade, Electronic Arts: Ride along in a friendly talking car and pick up stuff for a parade. With good voice effects, you don't have to read to do the games and puzzles. [2 stars] Mixed-Up Mother Goose, Sierra: Travel around a little kingdom trying to reunite nursery-rhyme characters with their lost sheep, buckets, fiddles and other stuff. In gratitude, they sing their rhymes. [2 stars] Memory Lane, Stone and Associates: This company's games are more primitive than many but have won a lot of awards because they're well thought out. This game helps kids match pictures, find relationships and find the keys of a key-board. [1 star] Snapdragon, MECC: Billed as a child's ``first software,'' it features cheerful little games that let kids use the mouse to move objects around on screens. For example, you can help the friendly dragon harvest vegetables from his garden.
AGES 5-12 [4 stars] Kid Pix, Broderbund. This venerable drawing program has enthralled kids and grownups since it was invented. The sound effects are great, and we have artist friends who've bought it for its wacky drawing tools. There's a drippy ink pen, a line that dances crookedly as you draw, bunches of cheerful stamps. A series of buttons transform and distort your picture; one gives the illusion of colorful broken glass. Kid Pix is a masterpiece. [4 stars] Dangerous Creatures, Microsoft: There are several CD-ROMs about animals and zoos, and this is the neatest we've seen. It's really about wildlife but uses danger as the hook to get kids interested. The interface is smooth and easy enough for a 5-year-old, but the content works at all grade levels. You can match animals with their sounds, footprints and eyes. Another fun activity is to follow a guide who tells you about dumb things people do with animals. [3 stars] Dinosaurs, Microsoft: A hugely detailed CD-ROM reference on dinosaurs with an interface a kindergartner can run. [2 stars] Kid Works, Davidson and Associates: Neatly designed drawing and writing program lets kids write their own stories, then illustrate and print them. Its coolest feature is a text-to-speech generator. Kids can write words - or even gibberish - and click on an icon and have a little guy pronounce what they wrote. [3 stars] Arthur's Teacher Trouble, Broderbund Living Books: Wonderful, witty interactive tale by Marc Brown about a third-grader and a dreaded spelling contest. Teaches about letters, sounds and words. [2 stars] Reader Rabbit and Math Rabbit, The Learning Company: This venerable drill-and-practice program is available for several levels and recently came out on CD-ROM with enhanced graphics and sound support. They're pretty ``teachy,'' but our kid testers loved them. [3 stars] Reading Adventures in Oz, Davidson: Dorothy and friends wander through huge variety of adventures, teaching vocabulary and reasoning skills. [2 stars] The Treehouse, Broderbund: A suite of learning activities from putting sentences together to playing various musical instruments to backyard biology. [2 stars] Story Book Weaver, MECC. Kids make their own books choosing from hundreds of scenes, characters and sound effects. You can also complete stories that someone else has started with interesting plot lines. [2 stars] Scooter's Magic Castle, Electronic Arts. More like a video game than some, with a huge variety of stuff to do. Kids explore a castle whose rooms are full of fun activities. Plant seeds in a magic garden, mix colors to bring a Frankenstein monster to life, climb a musical wall. [2 stars] Phonics Plus, Stone and Associates: More graphically primitive than many, but nonetheless very effective word and letter games.
AGES 8 AND UP [4 stars] Ancient Lands, Microsoft. More than 1,000 illustrated articles about ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt, and surprisingly fun to use. Guides - such as a soldier - can take you through the material and give you an idea of ordinary people's life. [3 stars] The Oregon Trail and The Amazon Trail, MECC: Oregon Trail has been around nearly a decade as a travel simulation but has been continually upgraded to take advantage of better graphics and sound. Both ``trail'' programs let kids learn while they make choices - and pay the consequences. One ``Oregon'' trip ended abruptly when Dad tried to save money by avoiding the ferry and fording a swollen river. Glug, glug. [3 stars] SimCity, SimAnt, Maxis: Highly acclaimed simulation programs let you plan a city - or in the case of SimAnt, an ant colony - and watch it develop. Make the wrong choice and you end up with crime, pollution, insecticide. [3 stars] Creative Writer, Fine Artist, Microsoft: State-of-the-art drawing and writing programs for kids. The writer has a ``splot machine,'' which helps generate random ideas and overcome a young writer's block. ``Artist'' is a nice drawing program, but Kid Pix is better. [4 stars] Encarta, Microsoft: Maybe the best CD-ROM encyclopedia overall; not the easiest to use but extremely versatile. Microsoft has spiffed up the interface this year to give it a very crisp look. One highlight is the massive time line, which you can scroll, then click on to read about events, people and trends. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
[4 stars] Dangerous Creatures
[2 stars] Math Rabbit
[4 stars] Kid Pik
[1 star] Snap Dragon
Staff photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN /
Arthur's Teacher Trouble is a witty interactive tale that teaches
about letters, sounds and words.
Bailey's Book House teaches pre-reading skills with dancing
dinosaurs, clowns and dogs leading the way.
KEYWORDS: COMPUTER CHILDREN RATING SURVEY by CNB