Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there is more going on here than just solving visual puzzles. These games actually teach kids visual discrimination, rhyming, vocabulary, word-object association, and reading. Because three of the four games are timed, kids need to be old enough to handle the pressure that the timed gameplay creates.
Families can talk about which of the four games they like to play most. Parents may also want to talk about the time element. Does pressure make the game more fun -- or is it too much?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jinny Gudmundsen
I SPY CHALLENGER for the Leapster system is a video game based on the extremely popular I Spy children's books by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick. The software offers four different educational games, each of which will get kids thinking -- and reading -- without even realizing it.
"Riddle Race," stays true to the I Spy book format. Kids hear and can read a rhyming riddle that challenges them to find specific objects in a cluttered photo-realistic picture. For example: "I spy a teacup, a two-letter word, a toppling top and a nest for a bird." Kids use the Leapster's directional arrow pad to scroll around the picture.
When they find one of the objects, they use the stylus to touch it and make it wiggle. The game then says and displays the riddle again while changing the color of the found object's words.
While kids perceive that they are simply hunting for objects in a picture, this visual puzzle game actually teaches them about visual discrimination, rhyming, vocabulary, word-object association, and reading.
The other three fun games in this software are educational, too. In "Match Attack," kids play a Space Invaders-type game involving matching like items. Kids line up an object at the bottom of the screen with a like object scrolling by on the top and then shoot it up to match it. The key to this game is figuring out connections between objects. In some rounds kids match everyday objects that go together like a bat and a ball. Or they may need to match objects with the same shape or color.
In "Oops Hoops," kids pick up and sort like and different objects based on attributes, such as color, shape, size or function. In "Grid Grab," they search grids of objects to find designated patterns of objects.
Overall, I Spy Challenger makes an excellent addition to any Leapster library. Kids will enjoy the fun games -- and they're sure to learn something along the way.
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Educational ValueKids solve puzzles. The game also teaches visual discrimination, rhyming, vocabulary, word-object association, and reading |
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