I Spy Spooky Mansion

Rating:
Summary: Loads of fun
Review: 9,7& 5 year olds love to play it alone or together. Even after playing it numerous times, it still challenges and intrigues the kids. Mom & Dad look forward to kids bedtime so we can play it.

Rating:
Summary: Pros and Cons cancel each other out
Review: A comprehensive list of pros and cons for I Spy : Spooky Mansion:

Pros: 1. You can enter your name in the beginning of the game to "register" and your name becomes incorporated into the clues. 2. In the study, you can create your own riddles which you can then print out. Great for kids who like to create or like poetry. 3. You can stop and save your game along the way - an especially nice feature for kids with short attention spans or parents who want to limit the amount of computer time and don't want to hear the standard, "let me just finish this board...". 4. The riddles vary in difficulty. A young child may need more help than an older one (good family OR independant activity). The butterfly puzzle is especially difficult - as an adult, even *I* had to ask my husband for help on one! 5. Each room varies so much from the others and not all of the puzzles are the same format. That really keeps kids' attention. 6. The clues appear in text at the bottom of the screen for easy reference. Also, the clues are "read aloud" when you first enter the room. This feature is great for kids who are learning to read. 7. There are trick questions all over the place. Buy the game and see what I mean! (If I gave an example, they wouldn't be trick questions anymore *wink*).

Cons: I really only have one complaint about this program. Unfortunately, it is big enough where an otherwise amazing game is bumped down to three stars because of it's one major flaw: Despite what the box says, you won't want to replay this game once you are done; Unless, of course, you let it sit on your shelf for long enough to forget the clues and the locations of the items you have to find. You are given two sets of clues for each room and they do not reset themselves once you have finished the game. In short, once you have played the game once, the challenge and fun is gone and you're ready to list this game on ebay to get your money back...

Rating:
Summary: Play it once and that's it - you're finished.
Review: Based on the reviews here, I purchased this game for my 7 year old for Christmas. She got through it in a few hours and that's it. Finished. No more levels to play, nothing new to do. I won't purchase another "I Spy" game.

Rating:
Summary: My students enjoy it!
Review: I am a pediatric occupational therapist who used this game as a fun way to develop eye-hand coordination, visual perception, thinking, and reading skills. They were so motivated! Unfortunately after you "win" the game that is all there is; not another more challenging level to explore.

Rating:
Summary: its a good game
Review: I am a teacher,and I write this with the help of my 8 year old student,Kyoung un in Korea,who wants to tell you why she really loves this educational game!!!!!She tells me she loves it "because it is enjoyably spooky,fun,but also a way of learning!It is also a great puzzle...Ive spent at least one hour a day studying with it,and the pictures are fun and scary"
Ok people,I hope that is helpful .As a teacher,I found it to be a very useful learning means,because the students love it...If they love it,yiouve won half the battle...why didnt teacheres make learning fun when I was a kid in the late 70's?

Rating:
Summary: Great activity to do with your child!
Review: I bought this for my nephew when he was 6, and even now (he's 8)he enjoys it. Slightly spooky (complete with screams and halloween music)and challenging even with repeated playings, this game is rewarding for a 6-8 year old to play alone, but we also had a lot of fun figuring out the puzzles together. The combination of deductive reasoning (in the clues) and great graphics makes this an educational and addictive game.

Rating:
Summary: Fun even for a 3 year old...
Review: I bought this game for my 3 year old daughter for Christmas along with the I Spy Junior edition. She also owns the I Spy Junior Puppet Playhouse. She had gotten so good at the Junior games, I thought we'd try something a little more advanced.

Although some of the clues are difficult for her to find, we have had more fun playing it together. Sometimes she will surprise me and find something even I can't find. It's been a blast.

I'm going to have to try the "Treasure Hunt" version.

Rating:
Summary: High Quality Product that Keeps Them Thinking!
Review: I bought this product for my son when he was five and a half. He already owned all the I Spy books at the time, & the software seemed like a natural compliment to that interest. Plus, the Halloween theme was timely, and the price was right. He loved it right away & was continuously challenged at the varying levels of difficulty & wide variety of activities in the program. A full year later, he is still enjoying it at the highest levels & never gets bored with it--he is great at these types of computer activities (like all 6 1/2 yr. olds now!) and still finds that this program challenges & entertains him! Highly recommend it, great value, excellent thinking & reading skills development.

Rating:
Summary: treat it as an I Spy book
Review: I brought this for my children when they were keen on I spy books and was disappointed to find the lack of replayability.
They all joined in with locating the clues and enjoyed seeing there name through out the puzzles. I also enjoyed the game.
The disapointment was that when the game was completed that was it. There are only two riddles for each room and you get both when you play. The hidden message is always the same. The only part they play for now is making the ghosts.
The only time the game sees the light of day is when we have visiting children. Mine almost never ask for it now.
Treat it as you would one of the books. If your children enjoy the books and read them again and again never tiring of reading the same riddles and finding the same items then you may get value for money.

Rating:
Summary: A very interesting game for kids of all ages
Review: I have been playing this game with my 5-year-old daughter since I got it last week, it's a very well-designed game which kept us both highly interested in finding the way out of the mansion. But somehow we can't get the last piece of puzzle due to a riddle we can't solve: it's the one with all the butterlies that you need a magnifying glass to find the things on the wings, the only and last thing we can't find is 'frown', I have tried searching every inch of the screen and clicking every possible place, but still failed. I don't know if there's a bug on the CD I got or I just can't find it.