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Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures

Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures

List Price: $19.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great over and over
Review: "It is really good" says my almost-7-year-old daughter. She and her twin brother have played this game countless times since we first purchased it over 2 years ago, maybe 3 years. Quite challenging when they were younger and still fun, especially for my daughter. 3 levels of difficulty, quite a few different activities & games, a nice goal at the end (pun intended). Really good for learning basic computer skills as well as logic and problem solving. Once the kids understood how it worked, I never had to help them with it--they could go through the whole game on their own. One of if not the best computer games I've seen for 4-6 year olds.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Woof Woof!! Excellent For Kids, Fun For Adults, Too!
Review: Although Clifford's Thinking Adventures is rated for children ages 4-6, my 3 1/2 has been playing with it, loving it, and learning (without knowing it!) since we received it from Amazon a week ago. There are three difficulty levels, and even on the Easy setting I have been impressed with the level of thinking my daughter has shown in figuring out the puzzles and also in the long term goal of getting Clifford to his birthday party.

When you play, you first choose 4 jewels for Clifford's collar, which show up along the way as you explore the game and work on the more difficult, multi-part tasks which must be completed before Clifford's birthday party may begin. These tasks involve your putting together various items you find in the game to solve problems. For instance, one of the tasks is for Clifford to get a bath and brush so he will look spiffy for the party. Fair enough, but this task cannot simply be accomplished by going to the dog groomer's shop (Clifford is too big to get through the door!). Later, as the game is played, you will find that the groomer, who previously closed his shop at the mere sight of the humongous Clifford, is taking a balloon ride in the park. What do you do when his balloon gets stuck in the tree and he can't get down? Think think think...how about using that rope ladder we saw earlier by the fire station? When the groomer gets down, he is so greatful that he gives Clifford a grooming kit he can use, if he can find enough water to bathe in. Where is there enough water? Think think think...was that a swimming pool I saw on the map??

There are plenty of games and puzzles along the way to the party as well. For instance, when Clifford accidentally knocks over the stand in front of the grocery store, you have to piece the broken sign back together (puzzle - spacial relationships) and put the grocery items back on the proper shelves in a certain order (following directions, counting).

I have noticed that the games and item locations can change from game to game for repeat playability. The game is also automatically saved wherever you happen to be, even if you do not close out of the game properly. This is a nice feature for small kids.

I have very few criticisms of the game. Actually moving Clifford around on the map in the game where you take people (and their cars) home according to their directions ("I live in the yellow house next to the three apple trees") can be a little bit tricky to master. Also, I first thought that it was a little annoying that the game does not give you a cursor to click until the characters in the scenes stop talking. I now think that this is a good idea, because it forces you to listen and to think about what the characters are saying instead of just clicking away as on an arcade game.

I changed my sound card a few nights ago, and went into Clifford to test it after my daughter had gone to bed. I ended up playing an entire game myself using one of the more difficult modes. About halfway through my wife walked in and started giving her suggestions over my shoulder. Yes, we really enjoyed Clifford too!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Very Easily Bored With It
Review: I am surprised to see all the five star ratings for this game. This game is easily mastered and once mastered, it is boring. It took my three year old a day to master the game.

It is Clifford's birthday and Emily and Clifford have to get ready for the party. So off they go to find jewels from his birthday collar that were lost, solve some problems, and complete some activities. The activities are varied working on a variety of skills: memory, problem solving, creativity, matching, eye hand skills and more. Some of the activities can even be made more difficult or easier depending on the ability of the child.

The biggest problem I see with this software is that once you finish the game, it is over. Different levels don't equal different games just harder games. But overall, the game is the samend nothing changes. IT took my three year old a day to master the game. Now he is bored with it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great way to keep kids busy!
Review: I bought this CD for my 3.5 year old daughter, and she loved it from the first day. I just gave her the basic instructions to get her started on it and then she wanted to do it independently. Mostly she figured out what to do even before I could! The game starts with Emily Elizabeth planning for Clifford's birthday party for which she must get certain tasks done, like tidying up the yard by matching pairs of objects or icing the birthday cake. Clifford gets into trouble at times and at others he rescues others from trouble. It prompts the child to think logically and develops reasoning power and is great fun at the same time.

My daughter got so hooked on it that she would play it non stop for 6 hours at a stretch and beg me to let her play when I tried to stop her. We also bought her head phones and if we wanted to watch a movie in peace on a Sunday afternoon, we would just put on her CD and give her the headphones! By age 4 she had played about 400-500 games at the hardest level. Even now, at age 4.5 she pulls it out once in a while.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Game so far...
Review: I've have about 10 computer games for my 2½ year old grand-daughter and out of them all, this is the one she likes the best and begs to play everytime she comes over. She has it mastered on the easy level. She loves looking for the jewels and finding the ladder to save the groomer. Digging in Clifford's back yard to find the matching objects, and putting the groceries back on the shelf that Clifford has knocked over are other favorites. She loves decorating the cake and giving Clifford a bath and will sometimes go back and do it a second time in the same game. She has learned to hit the "ESCAPE" button to quicken the game along and skip all the talking to get playing the games! I like the fact that it is different every time. I would highly recommend this game and think she will be playing it for quite some time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Game so far...
Review: I've have about 10 computer games for my 2½ year old grand-daughter and out of them all, this is the one she likes the best and begs to play everytime she comes over. She has it mastered on the easy level. She loves looking for the jewels and finding the ladder to save the groomer. Digging in Clifford's back yard to find the matching objects, and putting the groceries back on the shelf that Clifford has knocked over are other favorites. She loves decorating the cake and giving Clifford a bath and will sometimes go back and do it a second time in the same game. She has learned to hit the "ESCAPE" button to quicken the game along and skip all the talking to get playing the games! I like the fact that it is different every time. I would highly recommend this game and think she will be playing it for quite some time.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: There are BETTER clifford games
Review: My 5-year-old son had this game and the Clifford Learning Activities. The Learning Adventures is a very limited game. My son went right through it and was bored after he had completed it. He occasionally wanted to play it after he had finished it but it just could not hold his attention like a good educational game. We got the Clifford Learning Activities and were VERY pleased with this game. It is constantly challenging him and holds his interest. There are tons more educational areas than the birthday game. As a parent, it contains more of the items I would like my son to learn and he too is thrilled with the other game. If you are looking for a game for the long haul AVOID THE LEARNING ADVENTURES and get the ACTIVITIES.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great for a six year old!
Review: My daughter has fallen in love with Clifford. Since we bought her this game she has not been able to stop playing it. The game is fun and educational. It actually does help teach thinking and problem solving skills. It's also well made with intuitive interfaces well geared for the intended age group. The box says 3-6 years old but I think any child that likes Clifford will enjoy this game. My daughter is almost seven and I can see that she will be playing it for quite a while. If you are familiar with the quality of the games from Humongous Entertainment (Pajama Sam, Putt-Putt, etc.) this game is in the same league. For me it was money well spent.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Really Great!
Review: My four-year-old plays more than 30 educational software games on a monthly basis (sometimes three a day before school in the morning and before bed at night). This one is a favorite of hers and so it is at the front of the CD-ROM Album. She started at the easy level more than a year ago and now she always does the hard levels. I (father) like the music and the navigation is much simpler than most programs provide. It still surprises me that she chooses to play it even though she mastered it long ago, but I can see that it teaches her good manners and sensitivity to others so I am happy to have the "Clifford influence" in her upbringing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Motivational and a Positive Influence
Review: My four-year-old plays more than 30 educational software games on a monthly basis (sometimes three a day before school in the morning and before bed at night). This one is a favorite of hers and so it is at the front of the CD-ROM Album. She started at the easy level more than a year ago and now she always does the hard levels. I (father) like the music and the navigation is much simpler than most programs provide. It still surprises me that she chooses to play it even though she mastered it long ago, but I can see that it teaches her good manners and sensitivity to others so I am happy to have the "Clifford influence" in her upbringing.


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