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Thomas & Friends Trouble on the Tracks

Hasbro

The brightly structured world of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends will appeal to the orderly side of pre-schoolers as they help rescue a derailed engine, put it back on the tracks, spiff it up and get it back to work. If your older toddler glows when told he or she is helpful or a hard worker, this CD-ROM will put them in junior train-engineer heaven. The story begins with an engine named James eagerly heading out to get more coal for the other engines, but things don't go quite as planned; James has an accident on a sharp corner because he's being too hasty. Kids get to help rescue James and restore him to his shiny, bright-red self by completing eight activities that will test their problem-solving skills, spatial abilities and deductive reasoning. They must find James, properly assemble crane gears to get him lifted back onto the track, collect coal, find the proper parts and install them on James by listening to whistles, looking at train parts and then putting everything in its place. Once James has a full tank of water and a full bin of coal, kids get to drive the repaired engine. This is the best part of this friendly CD-ROM, as it demonstrates to little locomotive fans how steam engines work, from shovelling coal to goosing the throttle.
Each activity has three levels, and Trouble on the Track also has clickable surprises interspersed throughout each activity, something that earlier Thomas offerings lacked. Kids can visit Sir Topham Hatt's office to see and print their certificates (they get one for every level of each activity they complete) or various pictures that they can colour, turn into puzzles, or simply hang on their walls. Everyone from the Horrid Lorry to the Troublesome Trucks is here, and Thomas the Tank Engine fans will enjoy this program as it gently chugs along. (Ages 3 and older) --Anne Erickson
Stuart Little: Big City Adventures

Hasbro
Playskool Store Playset

Hasbro

The Playskool Store PlaySet brings a whole new dimension to role-play, with the popular game of shopping being brought to life with hands-on experience.
The cash register is designed to attach easily to a standard computer keyboard (adult assistance required), which allows interaction with the store by using the register's keys. The store has six different departments to shop within, each offering the chance to either "help a customer" by working the register, or play a fun game or activity.
Shopping with a customer allows the child to take over the role of checkout assistant; entering prices, scanning items, matching prices (number recognition) and accepting payments. The customer automatically decides the type of payment for goods, either cash or credit card. With cash, turning the key on the register "picks up" the money and the draw opens. If payment is by credit card then "pulling back" on the playset card processes the payment.
Each department also features its own game/activity, with the chance to play games such as sorting, memory, puzzles and number recognition. With the store offering six departments such as; clothing, pets, groceries etc., and with each department bringing along its own type of customer and requests as well as games, there is no end to the play scenarios that can be created.
Ability levels are also not forgotten. These are automatically adjusted to the skill of the child, with games and requests being tailored to their ability. As their skills increase the program will adjust accordingly to allow full stimulation at all times.
Fun accessories to print out include name tags, play money and bar code tags, as well as reward certificates. These mean the child is praised along the way, building their confidence and providing hours of endless play.
Shopping has never been so much fun! --Mandy Wood
Tonka Construction Classic

Hasbro
Thomas & Friends Great Festival Adventure

Hasbro

If order is important to your child, Thomas the Tank Engine's world is probably a favourite place. In Thomas and Friends: The Great Festival Adventure, kids enter the tidy world of Thomas and friends and immediately set about polishing engines, loading boxcars with the right items and making sure passengers get onto the train in timely, proper fashion. All the while, Sir Topham Hatt encourages kids with phrases such as "I know I can trust you to be really useful"--high praise in this place where practicality is paramount.
This CD-ROM could win an award for cinematography--the "camera" tracks, zooms, and swoops through the activities. Thomas, Percy, and everyone's favourites, the Troublesome Trucks, move about the Island of Sodor preparing for the upcoming festival. The seven activities are either of the counting/sorting/pattern-recognition variety or ones that work on basic hand-eye co-ordination and mouse control. Kids can go to the engine shed to polish, oil and wrench the engines into prime working condition; unload Bulstrode the Barge and fit the packages into the boxcar with the matching label; or help round up cows that escaped from a farmer's pen. Each task has only three levels of difficulty and they can be completed quickly by a kid with some computer savvy or an older child. Between these chores are short vignettes involving Thomas and his friends, making this CD-ROM feel familiar to fans of the television show.
While the age range for this program is "2 and up", don't assume that it'll keep your 5-year-old busy for very long. But if you have a helpful 3-year-old who needs to learn how to mouse and count, Thomas and Friends can put your child on the right track. --Anne Erickson
Tonka Garage

Hasbro
Spot's Busy Day

Hasbro
Tonka Space Station

Hasbro

Construct and operate a functioning space station with an arsenal of out-of-this-world Tonka vehicles. Drive a Tonkonium Extraction Vehicle through a maze of lava pools and explosives, or speed a Terra Racer through the low-gravity zone of the station's sporting arena to entertain your station crew. In Tonka Space Station, you decide whether to build defence grids to demolish hazardous space waste, or focus on food production for your many hungry workers. With the ultimate motor pool at your fingertips, the fate of the station is entirely in your hands. Doing the job well can result in promotion--work your way from a lowly Photon 3rd Class all the way up to Galactic Commander.
The game's primary goal is to build a functioning station, one that balances the needs of its residents with other important considerations like safety, productivity and research. To this end, players build modules--sporting arenas, habitats, communication hubs, defence grids and harvest areas--on the platforms available in the station. To build a module, you are given a specialised Tonka vehicle and an arcade-style mission; to construct a harvest module, for example, players drive a Bio-harvester through an obstacle course of hostile alien plant life, snatching edible berries from the jaws--er, pods--of the carnivorous vegetation.
Tonka Space Station has some stunning anti-gravity effects, and the machinery and settings of the space-station activities are satisfyingly realistic. The need to stay on top of safety, industrial output and the happiness of the station's people provides an engaging framework for the main focus of the game: the arcade games and the Tonka vehicles these activities employ.
In this sense, Tonka Space Station is slightly disappointing. The variation between the vehicles is not nearly as wide as it could be, and players accustomed to real-world Tonka products may yearn for more options than steering, shooting and avoiding danger. None of the vehicles, in other words, does anything as amazingly cool as what even the simplest front-loader or backhoe can do. If you can get past that, however, this game is perfect for players who are interested in space sciences and enjoy simpler arcade-style activities. (Ages 5 and up) --Alyx Dellamonica
Furby

Hasbro

What could be more fun than an afternoon in Furbyland? The first activity is to design your own Furby: choose among different sizes and many colours and patterns to create your ideal little buddy. When he's complete, there are lots of different games to play with your new friend. For example, in "Club Furby", your goal is to keep the Furby dancing by matching different sizes of disco balls. The three Furby backup dancers provide helpful comments like "bo-ring" when you're not doing well.
"Furby to the Rescue" is another favourite, with many challenging mazes to conquer while rescuing baby Furbies and collecting valuables. Each game has multiple skill levels, bonus rounds, and goofy rewards, making this activity similar to classic arcade-style entertainment. In the Scrapbook area, learn the history of Furbies, make use of the Furbish-English dictionary, and print colouring pages that make great fridge art. Happily, all the screens in the scrapbook are printable, so you can share the dictionary with other Furby-loving friends. While this program is officially for youngsters, Furby addicts of all ages are sure to enjoy. --Jill Lightner
Tonka Raceway

Hasbro
Action Man Jungle Survival Kit

Hasbro
Tonka Search And Rescue

Hasbro
Mr Potato Head Activity Pack

Hasbro