Arthurs Brainteasers

 

Actimates D.W and Arthur dolls are the latest to join the ranks of such famous interactive dolls as Barbie and Barney. You do not need to own the interactive doll in order to run Reading Round Up, Math Carnival, or Brainteasers. If you purchase the doll, you can buy what is called a PCPack. This PCPack includes the a CD which has some learning activities. It does not include any of the three titles mentioned. These titles must be purchased separately, and can be run with or without the doll. Brainteasers is the least impressive of the three Arthur titles. If you have a child who loves Arthur, and does not want to have anything to do with recognizable academics, this would be a good choice.

Arthur and his friends are in the park waiting to play games with your child. The format here is identical to Arthur's Math Carnival and Reading Roundup. Each of his friends are in charge of a different activity. Other than the music activity, each contains five skill levels ranging from early kindergarten, through upper fourth grade.

Prunella: Prunella is in the jungle, making music with the animals. By clicking on animals, your child can control the rhythm, and musical patterns. Birds sing the scale, while other animals chirp, holler, bellow, and sing. Your child can record his or her musical piece and listen to the animals perform a concert.

Francine: Help a mummy find it's way through a maze within an ancient pyramid. There is a key which must be found within the pyramid. At level one, there is only one hiding place for this key, while at level five there are eight places the key could be. This maze resembles an arcade game, with ladders, and holes which cause the mummy to drop to the last level.

D.W.: D.W. wants to drench the dragon in the castle. In order to do this, your child must move a catapult which is loaded with water balloons. At level one, the catapult must only be moved back and forth. Hitting the dragon is quite easy. When your child reaches level five, the catapult moves back and forth, but your child is also given control of the amount of pull on the catapult arm. This becomes quite a challenge at this level.

Mr. Ratburn: Arthur's teacher is running a quiz show. Contestants hold up answers to general knowledge trivia questions, and your child must select the right answer. The questions range from general shapes, to who started the Red Cross. These questions cover a broad range of general knowledge through upper elementary school.

Buster: In a repeat from the Math Carnival program, you will find Buster helping your child find a hidden object. In this case, Pal is hidden behind a window. Buster will tell your child how close he or she is to finding Pal. At level five, he will tell your child how many windows they are away from finding Pal.

This is a good program, but not as academically sound as the first two. Not the top choice of testers when it comes to Arthur programs.

Bottom Line: A good program which will add to your Actimates doll if you own one. Other computer owners will be more satisfied with the Math Carnival or Reading Roundup programs.

 

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com 4 star rating system)

Overall: 2 1/2

BrainGain: 2 1/2

FunFactor: 2 1/2

EasePlease: 4

 

Sorry, this program is no longer being manufactured. Watch for a copy on ebay.