This is a three-dimensional tic tac toe game in which two players try to get 4 marbles in a row (horizontally, vertically, diagonally, or three-dimensionally) to win. Two people can play against each other, or one person can play against the computer. In the one-player game there are several levels to choose from (Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert). To play, you simply click where you want to place your marble. The "Current player" shows you whose turn it is.
This is a freeware logic and strategy and spatial perception (in three dimensions) game, and it is good for older kids.
Four In A Row 3D Website
(also see my reviews of other games at this website:
42,
Booby Trap,
and
Solve It! 3D).
This demo by Humongous Entertainment gives you a taste of their "Freddi Fish" series of adventure games. Freddi Fish is a cute little "super-sleuth" fish, and your job is to guide Freddi Fish through various underwater locations in order to solve a mystery. Humongous Entertainment has many wonderful adventure games for kids aged 4 to 8, and all of them are well-made and fun to play and very extensive (it often takes days to play one of their adventures because there is so much to see and do). My nine-year-old son still enjoys playing them (and I do too!), and my three-year-old daughter is starting to enjoy them as well. In addition to the main adventure, there are usually several little video games hidden in each adventure game, just for fun.
At computer stores I have sometimes been able to find 2 or 3 Humongous Entertainment adventure games bundled together for the price of one game. In addition to the Freddi Fish adventures, they also have adventure games featuring a character named "Putt Putt" (a cute little animated car), they have adventure games featuring Pajama Sam (a little boy named Sam who goes on imaginary adventures as a superhero called "Pajama Sam"), and they have adventure games featuring a character named "Spy Fox" (a cartoon James Bond). We have enjoyed all of the adventure games which we have purchased, and we have played them over and over. The more recent adventure games are even better because when you start the adventure over for the second or third time, many of the clues and gadgets are different than before!
From a Christian standpoint, there are two games which I'm not comfortable with. One of them is called "Freddi Fish: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse." My guess is that by the end of the game Freddi learns that the schoolhouse is not really haunted, but I don't want to spend money on a game which has a "haunted" theme. In case you didn't notice, the demo which I am reviewing here is the demo for "Freddi Fish: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse." Fortunately, there is nothing "haunted" in this demo (the worst thing that happens is that a turtle appears to have lost his head, but obviously it's inside his shell), so I decided to include this demo here because it gives you an example of a Freddi Fish adventure. The other game I'm not comfortable with is called "Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside." In this game, Pajama Sam discovers that he doesn't need to be afraid of the dark. Unfortunately, throughout most of the game it seems that "Darkness" is a dark and sinister and scary character (he turns out to be friendly and lonely at the end of the game), and when Pajama Sam goes inside Darkness' house it is full of "haunted house" features. Even though these things are done in a cartoonish way, I didn't want those kinds of images in my kids' minds.
When you run the demo, make sure that your computer's sound is on so that you can watch the introductory movie as it explains the story line. Then Freddi and her friend Luther will float and wait until you tell them what to do (by clicking on things). As you move the mouse pointer around the screen, sometimes it will turn solid white to indicate that you're on a "hot spot" which will do something when you click the mouse button. Sometimes funny little things will happen when you click a hot spot, and other times Freddi will pick up the object that you clicked on (you'll need those objects later in the game, so try to find and collect them all). When the mouse pointer changes into a large white arrow, it means that Freddi and Luther will swim in that direction if you click the mouse button. At the bottom of the screen you can see the objects which Freddi is "carrying."
This is a free demo, and the full game is aimed at kids from about 4 to 8. These adventure games help teach your child how to listen carefully to what people say in order to learn important clues, they help reinforce logical thinking and problem-solving skills, they challenge your child in remembering how to visit places which he or she has visited before, and so on.
Freddi Fish Website
(also see my reviews of other demos at this website:
Putt Putt
and
Spy Fox).
Game Maker is a program which older kids and adults can use to make sophisticated games with exciting backgrounds, animated graphics, music, sound effects, and so on, all without writing a single line of code. There is also a programming language which provides even greater flexibility in writing games, and it comes with a number of example games to help get you started.
I have not yet had the time to learn how to use Game Maker, but there are lots of free games which have been made with this program (see the Game Maker Showcase). If you download and execute an EXE file from the Game Maker website (after scanning it for viruses!), it will immediately run the game. If you download and execute a GMD file from the Game Maker website (after scanning it for viruses!), it will run the Game Maker program instead. To play the game, simply click the Run menu and choose the "Run Normally" option (or click the green triangle on the toolbar).
This is a freeware program, although the author requests a voluntary $15 registration.
Game Maker Website
(also see my reviews of other programs at this website:
Child Proof,
Drawing for Children,
Motion Planning,
and
Tangram).
This is a DOS game which is similar to a classic game called Load Runner (it runs fine under Windows). The idea is to guide your character by running and flying (using a jetpack) around the screen as you try to collect green gems and various golden objects. The golden objects are simply for bonus points, but you must collect all of the green gems in order to open up the door to the next level. You also have a phaser which you can use to blast holes in bricks (and certain other objects) so that you can escape from the various robots which are after you. There are hundreds or thousands of levels, and each level is a puzzle which requires reflexes and hand-eye coordination as well as sometimes doing things in the proper sequence. The game also has a Level Editor which allows you to exercise your creativity by making new levels to challenge your family and friends.
After running the program, press S to start the game, then press Enter to begin the level. Use the arrow keys to guide your character, use the ALT key or the Insert key to fly (being careful not to run out of fuel), and use the CTRL key or the Delete key or the Enter key to blast certain objects (such as bricks and boxes) with your phaser. The speed can be changed by pressing the + or - keys, and there are several "cheat" codes which give you more fuel and more lives. For more fuel, press these keys at the same time: Tab 2 F. For more lives, press these keys at the same time: Tab 2 L.
This game is freeware. Younger kids (5-ish or 6-ish) can enjoy this game if they are in charge of the phaser, for example, while a parent or older sibling does the running and flying. This makes it a fun family activity. As the child gets older, then he can experience the thrill of learning how to do the running and flying by himself. My seven-year-old son had a real feeling of accomplishment when he finally was able to play the game on his own.
In this two-player game, each player has a spaceship and they are trying to shoot at each other. The spaceships do not fly around, but they can rotate left or right in order to aim their cannons. What makes this game interesting and unique is that there are several planets on the screen, and each person's shots are affected by the gravity of these planets (the bigger the planet, the more gravity it has). Hitting your target usually involves watching where one of your shots goes, then making some deductions about the influence of gravity in order to adjust your next shot appropriately. This is an interesting way to teach kids various concepts about space and about the force of gravity and about the challenges of programming satellites and spacecraft to reach their intended destinations, and so on. Even if you don't like the idea of your kids playing "shooting" games, this one might still be worth taking a look at. This can also be played as a one-player game simply by having one child shooting at the other spaceship without the other spaceship firing back.
This is a free game which was written using the Game Maker program (see my review of Game Maker). When you run the game, it loads Game Maker. To play, simply click the Run menu and choose the "Run Normally" option (or click the green triangle on the toolbar). On the main screen, click the "Multiplayer" button, then click the "1 Computer" button. Player 1 uses the left and right arrow keys to rotate the blue spaceship. The up arrow increases the shot speed, and the down arrow decreases the shot speed, and the space bar shoots. For Player 2, the "a" and "d" keys rotate the red spaceship, the "w" and "s" keys increase and decrease the shot speed, and the "f" key fires the shot. Only 3 shots per person can be on the screen at the same time, so sometimes you have to wait as your shots go whizzing around the screen before they crash into a planet and allow you to shoot again. To end the game, press the ESC key, then click Exit, then close the Game Maker program.
In this puzzle game you are trying to move your tank across the field in order to capture the flag. In each level there are various obstacles in your way, such as water, thin ice, moveable blocks, solid blocks, tank movers, tunnels, anti-tank guns, and so on. Your tank has a laser gun which you can use to move the moveable blocks or to disable the anti-tank guns. You can also bounce your laser beam off of mirrors in order to hit far away obstacles.
Use the arrow keys (or left-click the mouse) to move your tank, and use the space bar (or right-click the mouse) to fire your laser. There are thousands of levels to play, and there is a Level Editor which allows you to exercise your creativity by making up new levels to challenge your family and friends.
This game is "Helpware," meaning that it is free but the author would like you to send him a new level that you have created. Younger kids (5-ish) can get the hang of this puzzle, but they will probably need some help in "looking ahead" to figure out the best path to take. This makes it a fun family activity.
This is a WWI combat flight simulator. What sets it apart from most other flight simulators is that all you really need is a joystick (a mouse will also work, but not as well). You don't need to learn how to use numerous keys for operating your plane (such as keys for starting the engine, releasing the brakes, retracting the landing gear, etc.) as in other flight simulators. Instead, you simply use your joystick for flying, shooting, dropping bombs, and changing your speed (and also to change the "camera angle" if you have enough buttons on your joystick). If your joystick doesn't have a speed control or several buttons then you can configure the game to use the keyboard for certain controls. Still, this is far less complicated than with most other flight simulators. My three-year-old daughter loves flying the plane, and when it eventually crashes then she knows what to click on to get the plane back in the air. When my son was seven he preferred for me to do the flying and aiming with the joystick, and then he did the shooting and dropping bombs using the keyboard. This made it a fun family activity. He felt a sense of accomplishment when he was able to fly and aim and shoot all by himself.
Many parents are understandably concerned about their kids playing "shooting" games, although the level of realism is often a factor in parents' decisions concerning such games. For example, a "shooting gallery" type of game (in which you are trying to shoot at various targets) might be acceptable to many parents, while a game which depicts blood and gore might be unacceptable. Master of the Skies has great realism when it comes to flying and scenery and so on, but there is no blood or gore. If you as a parent feel that it is more of a "shooting gallery" type of game then you might be comfortable with your kids playing it.
This is a shareware game which emphasizes reflexes, eye-hand coordination, spatial awareness (flying and aiming in three dimensions), and a little strategy, and there is a free demo available. They also have a newer combat flight simulator called Red Ace Squadron, but the free demo didn't seem to work as well on my machine.
This is a computer version of the Mastermind game. The computer will choose 4 different colors, and your job is to guess the correct colors and put them in the correct order. To choose your 4 colors, either right-click on each color or else left-click and drag each color to the gameboard. When you click the OK button, the computer will show you how many colors you chose correctly, and how many of them are in the correct places. The white dots indicate the number of colors you got right, and the black dots indicate the number of colors you put in the proper places. There are several difficulty levels.
This is a freeware logic game which is good for kids 8-ish and up.
This logic puzzle comes with most versions of Microsoft Windows (click the Start button, then select Programs, then select Accessories, then select Games, then click Minesweeper). The object is to use the clues to find all of the bombs without getting blown up, in as little time as possible. To start, click any square. The numbers tell you how many bombs are touching each numbered square. For example, if you see a 1 in a square then there is exactly 1 hidden bomb touching that square. If you suspect that a square has a bomb hidden behind it then right-click on that square to mark it with a flag. The red counter on the upper left shows you how many more bombs there are. The game ends when you either click on a hidden bomb or when you have marked all of the hidden bombs and clicked on all of the other squares. To start a new game, simply click on the smiley face.
This is a freeware logic puzzle which is good for kids 8-ish and older.
