Jumpstart Adventures 4th Grade: Haunted Island (PC/MAC) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My favorite computer game as a kid! My brother got me a copy recently (I'm in college now!) and I still get it out to play when I need a break :)
Great blend of all 4th grade subjects, with the choice of leveling the hardness up or down. Games range from digging up treasure and keeping it away from pirates using geography knowledge, uncovering mummies via history, laying vampires to rest using multiplication and division, and a lot more. However, if your kids are scared of ghosts and witches (hence the "haunted island" name), you may want to check out a cheerier subject matter for a game.
Highly recommended!

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Product Description:
Your substitute teacher, Mrs Grunkle, is a witch ??? the ~Halloween type Yesterday, while you were home sick, she took your entire class and turned them into monsters by taking away the items they loved best. Then, she took the entire class to her home on ~Haunted Island and imprisoned their beastly forms in her attic. It's all up to you. Players have to save their classmates from Mrs. Grunkle's machinations by retrieving all the possessions she stole from the children and finding the 25 keys to her beastly house so you can get into the attic and set your friends free. JumpStart Adventures 4th Grade: Haunted Island takes players through an entire year's worth of studies for the fourth grade, including math, spelling, music, logic, geography and more. Also included is a large maze where players may appear if they get too many answers wrong. ~ Lisa Karen Savignano, All Game Guide

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Spelling Challenges and More Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am an adult gamer who likes vocabulary & spelling.They were my favorite subjects in school.I was excited to see they made a game out of it!!

There are variety of word games.Pick the one that's misspelled, the one that's correct, unscramble the words, & spell the word they flash at you quickly.Real neat.I really enjoyed it.The games are timed and you collect coins depending on how well you did.It keeps track of your points and you can try to beat others with the score or beat your own score.You enter your age and they'll give you your skill according to your age.If it's a 9 year old, they'll give 9 year old's reading level. If you enter an adult's age, the words get harder.You also unlock some new games once you beat certain games or level.

I've played with it for 40 minutes and I like it.I can't wait to go back and play some more.Everything is done with the stylus and there is no problems with it's usage. The only downside is that it does not use a QWERTY as a way to find the letters.It's in alphabet order.I am a typist and I know where the letters are in QWERTY way but since it's in alphabet order, I learned pretty quickly where the letters are and became faster in finding the letters I wanted eventually.I don't know how this game is long term but so far it's a great word game.

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Product Description:
Your Spelling Bee host, Mr. Niceguy, will introduce the game to you and award dollars and prizes. There are a plethora of word games to test your skills and improve your brain. Opportunities to aquire bonuses by going for broke and the words will increase in difficulty as your progress. Your ultimate aim is to be invited to the Super Challenge and hit the big jackpot!

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Crazy Machines 1.5 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This version actually contains two separate games: "Inventor's Training Camp" and "New From the Lab."Like the original Crazy Machines, each consists of a series of puzzles (e.g., "put this ball in that box") that you have to solve by devising Rube-Goldberg-like contraptions using various equipment at hand (e.g., belts, gears, motors, explosives, etc.).They are great fun--both for adults and children.

"Inventor's Training Camp" is exactly what it sounds like--a set of easy challenges to help beginners learn about various elements in the Crazy Machines lab.In addition to the elements from the first version, it add things like a frog that hops when you touch it, a mouse that runs when you hit its tail, a teapot, colored blocks, and a top hat.The interface has more primary colors in it than the original "Crazy Machines" and some of the icons are different.But basically it works like the original game.Overall, the "Training Camp" it is a great way to get oriented in how the game works.If you have not played the game before, this is the place to start.

"New From the Lab" has the same look and feel as the original "Crazy Machines," but it also adds several new elements (these new elements are different from the new elements in "Inventor's Training Camp").These include a timer switch (good for time bombs), a wheel with five paddles, an old-fashioned phonograph (that plays a funny "la la, la la, la la" tune when powered with a belt), a wrecking ball, and wheeled carts.The new devices really do add a lot to the game-play experience.

Both of these games have a "My Lab" mode where you can just tinker around with the elements.More interestingly, you also can create your own puzzles for other players to solve.Thus, you can indefinitely add on to the 100 or so puzzles that come with the game.You also can export your custom-made games to disk and play them on other computers.I can see how this could be very, very fun for friends to exchange their own custom-made puzzles.My son and I already have just started doing this for each other.

This is a wonderful, wonderful, family computer game--one that I wish were around when I was a boy.My five-year-old son and I have spent, literally, scores of hours playing various versions of the Crazy Machines franchise together.It really is a game where parents and children can play as equals.It does not promote violence (OK, there are lots of explosive devices, but nobody ever gets hurt--except the robot).And it is not typical children's software pabulum.I think it really does teach problem-solving skills, too.Countless times while playing, my son declares "Oh, I have an idea!" and then tests his idea out to see whether it will solve the problem.And, in the process, he is learning things about gravity, electricity, steam, fire, light, and mechanics.

As for recommended ages, 5 to 95 would be a good range.My 5-year-old son had some problems with the interface at first, but now is a pro and can--and does--work the puzzles by himself.Parents with small children should put in the time helping kids learn it, as it can be frustrating at first.Also, some of the puzzles require the ability to read instructions, which may be a challenge for beginning readers.

I have some complaints about the game, however.

First, it is habit-forming.I am a 36-year-old lawyer.I have a five-year-old son.I don't know who is more addicted to the game.Each of us spend, literally, hours a week on it.We look forward to Saturday mornings when we have a long block of time in which to play it (while my wife is taking daughter to dance lessons).

Second, it does not appear to come with an instruction manual or on-line help system.The game can be a bit bewildering at first.This might deter some users from pressing forward, which would be a shame.Even seasoned users can find the lack of instructions to be frustrating.Only recently have I happened upon shortcut keys ("x" for zooming in and out, "s" for starting/stopping the experiment, "v" for adding/removing shadows, "t" for testing the experiment in "My Lab.")This is particularly frustrating in the My Lab area when trying to devise your own puzzle.It takes a while to learn how to establish the objectives for your experiment (hint: adding a flag to an object creates a goal for the experiment, as does dragging collision-target arrows for movable objects to a blue "target zone" box).If there were an instruction manual--even a short one--it really would add to the enjoyment of the game.(On the other hand, enterprising users can just view the absence of a manual as yet another puzzle to solve . . . )

Third, it crashes with much more frequency than it should.I am running it on two Windows XP computers that have more than adequate horsepower: one is a Pentium IV and one is a Core2Duo.Both have oodles of RAM and capable graphics cards.Yet it crashes about once every hour or two of play.Not a huge deal, but annoying when it happens.

Fourth, I find the professor (who chimes in with comments at random times) to be annoying.Happily, you can shut him up by disabling the professor option in the settings screen.

Overall, however, I highly recommended Crazy Machines 1.5.For existing Crazy Machine addicts, buy this.It will help to pass the time until Crazy Machines 2 comes out (supposedly at the end of 2007).The additional elements are worth the price.For new users, I would recommend buying both 1.0 and 1.5.Heaps of fun.If you are not entirely convinced, buy 1.5 and start in the "Training Camp."You will be an addict soon.

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Product Description:
Create Your Own Zany Rube Goldberg Devices! Go crazy with over 200 brand new gizmo-twistin' levels! Enjoy all-new elements, music, backgrounds and more. Start off in the Inventor's Training Camp to sharpen your skills.Get ready for explosive action and building fun using 100 awesome & wacky parts -- including bottle rockets, cannons, bombs, and robots.The Ultimate Brain-Teazing Puzzle Game! Continuing the fun, but not including puzzles from Crazy Machines: The Wacky Contraptions Game.

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My Virtual Tutor: Reading Kindergarten to 1st Grade Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)My three boys 5,7,7 really loved this game. My seven year old boys have the 2nd grade game and my 5 year old plays the the Kindergarten 1st gradegame. We are so thrilled that they all are enjoying these games. We are truly amazed that a learning game has kept them so interested. My Vrtual Tutor has far exceed our expectations. We can't get over how much time they are spending playing and learning "Juust Amazing" Great investment.

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Product Description:
By combining the kid-friendly Nintendo DS with a proven reading curriculum developed and tested at the University of Colorado, My Virtual Tutor: Reading makes learning reading skills fun, affordable and portable! Through interactive books, school age and grade relevant phonics instruction and fun quiz modes, your child will learn the comprehension, phonics, fluency and vocabulary necessary to become an expert reader, all while having fun with their Nintendo DS.

Gameplay

My Virtual Tutor: Reading greets your child first with a fun story in Read to Me mode, where the story is read by the tutor, accompanied by fun sounds and animations. Once the story is read, your child then accesses the story in Explore mode, which features comprehension questions which assess your child's understanding of what they read. After Explore mode, I Can Read mode is unlocked, where your child can read the story, play fun word-based minigames and even record and listen to him/herself reading aloud! These minigames offer more practice to expand reading comprehension and vocabulary. After playing I Can Read, your child can unleash their inner artist in paint mode while the story is read to them by the tutor. Once your child completes all four modes in the first book, an additional book is unlocked in their library to read and explore. These books were specially created at the University of Colorado to both engage readers and supply practice to gain fluent reading and comprehension.

At any point your child can also play phonics minigames building the skills necessary to become an independent reader. The phonics games focus building words that start, contain, and end with certain letters and sounds. These games progress along with your child by evaluating performance on the current concept then moving on once that concept has been mastered. In addition to phonics practice, our challenge mode will test your child's skills with survival-style gameplay.

After your child has explored a story and tested their phonics skills, he or she is ready for quiz mode! Quiz mode tests the skills and concepts your child has learned up until that point in the game. By answering story comprehension questions, word matching, and coloring (just for fun!) your child can unlock 20 great prizes! [Prize Pictures]
Parents can access Parent Mode at any time to track your child's progress and identify areas of mastery and areas needing more focus for deeper learning.

Key Features

Enhanced Learning – Reading as a fun activity
My Virtual Tutor: Reading has fun as a top priority. By experiencing early reading through wonderful, hand-drawn animations and characters, along with fun mini-games, your child will not only learn to read; they'll learn that reading is fun!

Successful
The game is based on the National Education Association standards for teaching literacy, and derived from a system developed by researchers at the University of Colorado. Delivered on the Nintendo DS, learning to read is made fun and portable.

Easy to Play
Nintendo DS uses the touchscreen exclusively; no need for long, wordy menus to begin and play! Your child can interact with the words and pictures in the game, and they can even paint a picture of the story while the virtual tutor reads. With the portability of a Nintendo DS, your child can learn to read anywhere, anytime!

Adaptive learning
My Virtual Tutor: Reading teaches your child new skills as they master previous ones. The activities are paced to correlate with their learning. As your child performs better and faster, the game will dish out extra challenges to keep them excited and engaged.

Self-Correcting Practices
To help develop fluency, your child can read the books out-load using the Nintendo DS microphone. After your child reads, the tutor will play back the recording and compare it to what she reads for self-correcting practice.

A Fun Reward System
Animated and interactive quizzes are introduced to test your child's retention of the skills and concepts they learned while playing the game. As your child learns to read by mastering skills and concepts, fun prizes are awarded. Your child will be eager to accumulate as many prizes as possible.

Parent Mode
By tracking your child's progress, the tutor shows you where your child excels, and where more practice is needed.
Up to 3 Users per Game

With up to three possible user profiles, every child in your family can have their very own Virtual Tutor!

Get 63% OFF

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