Zoombinis Special 3 CD Pack (Maths Journey, Mountain Rescue & Games)

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Product Details

Platform : Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000
Binding : CD-ROM
EAN : 5016488109376
Manufacturer : GSP
Product Group : Software
Release Date : 2002-10-04

ASIN : B00006LSWK

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Zoombinis Maths Journey features uncommonly fun reasoning games that require serious problem solving and maths work. Adored by educators and parents alike, this CD-ROM challenges children to employ such basic fundamentals of mathematical thinking as organising information, reasoning of evidence, finding and making patterns, and systematic testing of hypotheses--all the time keeping children thoroughly entertained throughout.

Not too long ago, Zoombinis enjoyed the good life. Though they all looked slightly different--different eyes, noses, hair, feet--such differences meant nothing to the Zoombinis. And so they lived happily on Zoombini Isle, making small, useful products that were prized the world over.

So begins this unsuspectingly addictive CD-ROM, yet the perils that face this cheerful society are not as fearsome as the amount of time you'll potentially spend on this pursuit. Beware the chubby, chattering Zoombinis if you don't want to get hooked to your computer for at least 90 minutes a session.

The journey follows four puzzle-filled trails, each exploring related mathematical ideas. The fundamental data and variables for all this work are the variations in the Zoombinis' features. Their "feet", for example, can be shoes, skates, whirligigs, or coiled springs (the sound effects for these items are particularly great), while their "eyes" may be heavily lidded, enhanced by eyeglasses, blocked by dark shades, or limited to just a single eyeball. Sorting and arranging these variables in order to solve puzzles requires concentrated effort from the players and the game rewards them well with inventive scenarios that evolve in fabulously curious ways as skills are gained. This may not sound like much, but when Arno the Pizza-eating Tree Troll, who has been yammering for the perfectly topped pizza his entire lifetime, suddenly demands a perfectly topped ice cream sundae, too, it is a staggering, giddy surprise.
The product is full of so many little joys, it's hard to demand improvements. Still, it'd be a great thing if version 2 would feature something other than the monotonous, ping-ping-ping soundtrack that's featured here. But that's minor. In the end, the creators' promise that this CD-ROM will "encourage kids to develop a lifetime habit of associating fun with learning" is spot on. (Ages 9 and up) --Jean Lenihan, Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk Review Zoombinis are little blue guys and gals that inhabit a kingdom reminiscent of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth, and ingeniously teach maths principals using puzzles instead of numbers. In the Zoombinis Mountain Rescue CD-ROM a group Zoombinis gets trapped in a cave, and it's up to players to organise a search party that can withstand the logical travails of a journey through this perilous and quirky terrain. There are nine "obstacles" along the rescue route. Players cross a bridge of turtles by sorting Zoombini search-party members by nose colour, hairstyle or other characteristics. Deducing (again based on features) which Zoombini can snowboard down which path furthers the mission as well. The search party is held up briefly in a cafeteria where it must use logic to wait on Norfs who drop oblique hints about what they want, or don't want to order. Each game will stretch your child's ability to use forethought and analysis to assess a situation. Even the easiest of the three levels is designed to be challenging, so be prepared to help out along this creative and strenuous path.

The genius of this Windows-only program is that it turns sophisticated mathematical concepts into engrossing activities. We played a game called "Boolie Boggle" endlessly--Boolies either smile or frown, and in this game, the object is to change frowns into smiles by bumping Boolies with pinballs. Pretty easy until you start getting chains of Boolies and chains of pinballs. Soon your mind is throbbing as you try to figure out what a sequence of three pinballs will do to two frowning Boolies. "Binary addition" sounds pretty intimidating, but that's exactly what "Boolie Boggle" is teaching. "Algebraic thinking" and "information-age maths" are among the other things this program teaches--mercifully, it manages it with little creatures and 3-D mazes instead of formulas and numbers.

As this journey unfolds, members of the search party drop off due to mismatched noses, wrong path choices and other errors. Fortunately, there is a practice mode where kids can play the games without sacrificing their Zoombini friends. Puzzles change elements, so there's no way to "learn" a level then repeat it by rote. There is also a very thorough parents' guide, which is helpful for parents who have, err, forgotten about binary numbers. Zoombinis Mountain Rescue is a gentle, yet challenging program that will probably even work its subtle magic on maths-phobes. --Anne Erickson

Customer Reviews

Excellent educational game (2005-07-14)

Zoombini is an excellent game. It trains logical thinking through game playing. Children are given challenges and puzzles to sove. These challenges and puzzles are fun to work with. The game can be set at different levels of difficulty to suit children of different ability. The lowest level is not trivial (hence not boring). The higest level is very challenging. The graphics and animation are interesting, humourous and pleasant. The game also provides printable puzzles, which means children don't always need to have access to computers in order to use the game. Zoombini is a game that is educational, fun to use and, in my children's case, non-adictive. I highly recommend it to schools and parents.

Nice game, poor support, mac users beware (2004-07-20)

When I bought this it said it was mac compatible. Worked great on MacOS 9, not so well on Mac OS X. After being passed around from company to company, I got to riverdeep who basically said that even though they claim Mac OS X support, the software wouldn't work on all machines running Mac OS X...

Pity, my kids really enjoyed the game itself, but it is such a pain to have to dual boot to work around a manufacturer's limitations...

Looking for the shock factor? (2004-07-02)

This will give it to you. My 6 year old son has dozens of what I like to think of as "Educational" software games, but nothing even comes close to Zoombinis.

These two CDs, equally good, will have your child doing logic problems that you will need to think twice about solving yourself. Games are all thinking games which involve sorting, grouping, decision-making logic and spatial application. You will find yourself adddicted to the music and the challenges in all. Where's the shock factor? Well, one minute you are helping your child decide which slope his zoombini should ski down, the next you realize that he is doing boolean algebra to make the decision.

BUY IT!

What a great package (2004-03-15)

As value for money goes, this is a great package. It was recommended to me for my "logic enabled" :~) 3 year old (although technically its for a much older age range) and she has had a whale of a time with it. It relies on sorting out the patterns made by a set of blue creatures with varying noses, hair, feet etc and guiding them through puzzles set in a fabulous landscape.

The games start simple and its reasonably possible for a young child to get through the first level unaided. But then extra facets of logic are added in, always with a natural progression, always with help available. By the top levels, i CAN'T do it!!!!! But i know plenty of 7-8 year olds who do a better job than me!

My 3 (now 4 year old) plays it all the time, it really suits her need to order and organise things, my older child loves the gentleness of the early levels - and well.. i am still hoping that playing it "after dark" might improve my logical thinking!

Zoombinimania (2004-01-10)

Well, my Key stage 2 class love these games and are continually asking to play on them. I have been able to get both games to run on XP, but you do have to adjust the compatability options for the Maths Journey. Just right click on the shortcut, select properties, select compatability and select "run in 256 colours".

Any game that can get children to devlop their thinking and reasoning skills while they are having fun is always welcome in my classroom - and most of them seem to have got a copy for Christmas so that they can play it home as well!

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