Common Sense Media Review
By Jinny Gudmundsen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Series' visual puzzles wow savvy sleuths.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
The ninth title in Scholastic's popular I Spy software series, I SPY MYSTERY has kids solve visual puzzles to obtain clues to 13 different mysteries. This software contains 56 I Spy puzzles that challenge kids to find objects hidden in a crowded photorealistic picture; accompanying each picture is a riddle that, when solved, lists the objects to find.
Is It Any Good?
Most of the 56 puzzles found in I Spy Mystery are recycled from earlier CD-ROMs, including I Spy Treasure Hunt (2001), I Spy Spooky Mansion (2004), and others. This can be disappointing to children anticipating all-new content. But since the recycled puzzles are combined with new puzzles to form mysteries that have additional components, even kids who've played the previous titles will find something new to explore here.
Families who are new to this series will find lots to like. The mystery format provides great motivation to solve each I Spy puzzle within a mystery folder. The pictures used as puzzles are intricate and fascinating, and solving them requires thinking and problem-solving skills. Parents might want to play with children under age 6 because some of the riddles are very clever, and finding the objects can be challenging.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about which of the 56 puzzles they like best. Same goes for the mysteries -- which ones were the most exciting to solve? Parents might lead a discussion about magnification and how there are things that exist that we can't see with the naked eye.
Game Details
- Platforms : Windows , Mac
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Scholastic
- Release date : September 15, 2006
- Genre : Puzzle
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : August 25, 2016
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate