Chutes and Ladders

Copyright KBkids.com

Chutes and Ladders has been a classic game for generations. As with the board game, this program will appeal mainly to very young children. Most appropriate for the 3-5 crowd.

The basic idea is to reach 100 on the game board first. Spin a spinner, and moving the number of spaces designated. If you land on a square with a ladder, you are magically transported to a higher number. Land on a slide, and you slip back toward the beginning.

In the PC version, the slides and the ladders are tied to 'good deeds,' and 'bad deeds.' They are rather silly, such as not sitting on the Ringmaster hat etc. These 'deeds' are animated in more than fifty short clips.

Chutes and Ladders can be played by one child, or up to six players. There are three boards to choose from:

The gameplay is identical in each scene, but the circus and zoo areas contain a few games to play. Unfortunately the games in each area are identical. The only differences are the characters in the games.

Treasure Hunt: Find a hidden object in an undersea picture, or a magician's home. Matching: Find two matching penguins, or two circus poodles.

Counting: Count berries for a bird, or balloons for a clown.

Maze: Help a monkey, or a clown through a maze. Tossing: Play badminton with an elephant, or a seal.

While this is a very good rendition of the real-life game, there is nothing here to make it truly unique. Fans of the game, and small children who need work with numbers will enjoy it. Just don't expect much difference between your PC version and the actual game.

Bottom Line: While nothing terribly unique, a good rendition of the popular board game.

 

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

Overall: 2 1/2

BrainGain: 2 1/2

FunFactor: 2 ½

EasePlease: 4

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