| Zoombinis Island Odyssey | Learning Company, The / Broderbund | 2002 | |
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Those engaging and adorable little Zoombinis go back to Zoombini Isle, only to find that their home has been destroyed by Bloats, and the essential moths and critters (Zerbles) who sustained life on the island have vanished. To restore the delicate balance of life, children guide crews of 12 Zoombinis and their caterpillars through a series of mind-bending puzzles that will rejuvenate Zoombini Isle. When they first get to the island, children have to figure out the ball-dropping pattern of a chute and wheel to catapult the Zoombinis onto the island cliffs. They decode hieroglyphs to get each Zoombini through the gate, and guide the moths across flower beds according to certain attributes. While the games are unusually thought-provoking, some take several trials to figure out, even with the nicely narrated help system. In a Zerble feeding activity, for example, testers didn't realize that there were two ways to unveil the preferences of the little critters (using Venn diagrams) and struggled for too long. Kids found it tough to accurately estimate the time using a revolving Earth, and needed lots of help (as did their parents) when trying to figure out correct sequences in a planting activity. All things considered, however, the activities are responsive and addicting, and really get kids to use their heads. After the Zoombini crew gets through to the Zerble and moth hangout, it's time for a new crew to take the journey. In fact, there are 240 Zoombinis that must get through the games. That means that kids have to play the activities at least 20 times (more when the individual activities aren't completed the first time)! | ||
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