PLAYSKOOL PUZZLES

System Requirements:

Windows

• IBM compatible 486DX 33 MHz
• Windows 3.1 or Windows 95
• Super VGA (640 x 480), 256 colors
• 8 MB RAM
• Mouse or other Windows-compatible pointing device
• PC-compatible double speed or faster CD-ROM drive
• Sound card
• Printer (monochrome or color) optional

Macintosh

• Apple Macintosh
• System 7.0 or later
• 25 MHz 68030 processor
• 8 MB RAM
• 13" or larger monitor, 256 colors at 640 x 480 resolution or higher
• Double-speed CD-ROM drive
• Printer (monochrome or color) optional
  

Playskool Puzzles awards and ratings:

• First Bologna New Media Prize Logic/Problem Solving Division award from Children's Software Revue and the Bologna Children's Book Fair (April 1997)
  
• 1996 Software Magic Awards Top 20 Logic/Problem Solving Division award from Parenting (September 1996)
  
• Winner of the 1996 Parents' Choice Award from the Parents' Choice Foundation
  
• 90 out of 100/Family Recommended rating by Family PC (July/August 1996)
  
• "Best Children's Vacation Product of 1996" by Dr. Toy (August 1996)
  
• 5 out of 5 star rating by CD-ROM Today (March 1996)
  
• Ranked among Top 10 Best Software for children ages 4-6 by Children's Software Revue (July 1996)

kidsdomain.com review of Playskool Puzzles

Playskool Puzzles can be set to three levels of play - Easy, Medium, or Hard. The level of play can be changed in any of the activities by choosing the Level menu at the top of the screen. Whichever level you choose applies to all of the activities, and the setting is saved.

Easy puzzles have fewer pieces to assemble, fewer dots to connect, and show a thumbnail of the picture in the upper-right corner. This level is suitible for toddlers who haven't used a mouse often.

The Medium level produces more puzzle pieces, and still shows the thumbnail sketch for the child to refer to.

The Hard level has puzzles with 10-15 puzzle pieces and miniature images do not appear. Also, at this level, the puzzle piece rotates until you choose the correct location and orientation for it.

Activities

Lots of activities here...

Explore It! puzzles work in layers. Choose one of the four options and complete the puzzle. Then click on an image in the puzzle, watch it expand and become another full-sized puzzle! This goes on for several levels, until there is only one object. The name of the object appears on the screen and is spoken aloud while an animated sequence plays. The toolbox then appears on the screen (see the Toolbox section below for instructions.)
Mix 'n Match allows the creation of silly creatures, which can then be painted, expanded by using stickers and made into puzzles. An animated party breaks out when the puzzle is completed.

Connect the Dots offers choices for connections - a needle, hammer or wrench. The hammer was really fun, the animated hammering and sound effects were great. Next, select a style for the dot labels and click OK. Then click the dots one at a time, in the appropriate order. As they are clicked, lines appear, revealing the image. These completed puzzles can be saved, printed or moved to Puzzle Maker for further work.

In the Jigsaw activity, assemble jigsaw puzzles and color them. Once the puzzle is complete, the name of the object appears and is spoken, then a short animation is played.

In the Puzzle Maker, choose from stickers, paint and types of jigsaw cuts. This activity was designed to develop shape recognition skills and creativity. The picture most recently used in another activity automatically appears here. After the puzzle is cut, a whirlwind blows it apart. It animates upon completion.

The Toolbox
There are eight different coloring tools in the toolbox: a lightening bolt, which restores the original picture, an eraser that removes everything in its path, a pencil, a fill bucket, printer icon to print the current page, a vacuum to remove color, a magic brush to restore original colors, and a paint brush to paint in the color you select. There are also 15 different colors, including a rainbow bucket.

Printing
The print screen presents choices for how you want your image to appear: in color or black-and white, and with or without puzzle lines.

Sound and Graphics
The music in this title changes from activity to activity and is actually enjoyable instead of being overwhelming, as some children's software titles tend to be. Also, the volume can be adjusted from the tool bar at the top of the page.