I'm ready to play - are you? (BBC Multimedia Tweenies Ready To Play (PC))

Member Name: Krystal

Product:	BBC Multimedia Tweenies Ready To Play (PC)
Date:	15/03/01 (260 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun and educational

Disadvantages: None

I found this Tweenies CD-ROM in PC World just before Christmas, and bought it as a present for my 4 year old son. It is recommended for age 3 and over, but my two and a half year old daughter can also manage some of the easier activities.

The first time your child logs in he has to type his name in and choose a badge to go by his name. My son chose a boat and my daughter wanted a flower, but there are lots of other cheerful designs to choose from.

Next you go to the main menu where all the activities are accessed by clicking on the Tweenie clock. There are five buttons on the clock which represent an activity; Messy Time, Telly Time, Story Time, Song Time and News Time. Two additional items not on the clock are Play Time and Mail; these are represented by a toy box and Doodles. A description of the activities follows.

MESSY TIME

This section gives your child the opportunity to be creative and use his imagination as he paints pictures, makes masks and finger puppets. Your child's masterpieces can be printed and kept for posterity (or binned later when they're not looking!) This section is very popular with my two.

TELLY TIME

Here there are 5 video clips to watch; Caring for a pet, Litter, My day, School and Shiny metal. This is probably not a section to return to over and over in a short space of time as the clips aren't that long and my son in particular says "I've already seen this!"

STORY TIME

This is where Max reads a story called "Felicity and her famous felt-tips". We look at the book as Max would see it, and there is a repeat button if you would like to hear a particular page again. Your child has to click to turn the page when Max has finished.

SONG TIME

Fizz and Milo introduce this section; if you click on Fizz there is a choice of 5 songs that the Tweenies perform - If you're happy and you know it, One finger one thumb, Heads, sh
oulders, knees and toes, Looby Loo and Wheels on the bus. Click on Milo and all the Tweenies appear together standing in front of musical instruments. Click on some or all of them and they will dance and the instruments (guitar, keyboards, drum and sax) will start to play. There are two tunes to choose from, and you can make the tempo faster and turn the volume up.

NEWS TIME

Bella's "Guess What!" quiz is in this section; there is a circle with 6 segments hiding a picture and various questions, for example, "What is the missing number? 1 2 3 -5". If your child gets it right a section of the picture is uncovered to reveal something, and the idea is to guess what it is.

MAIL

If you return to the main menu and click on Doodles, you can send a letter or drawing to the Tweenies. Choose a Tweenie to send mail to, and Doodles will deliver it and the Tweenie will say thank you. Doodles also delivers messages, rhymes and pictures to your child from the Tweenies. My children love this section, and think it's great when their favourite Tweenie sends them mail.

PLAY TIME

There are 3 games to play here - Snap, Milo's Flying Rocket and Catch. In Snap, Jake is collecting toys to put away in the toy box, but only ones that match. Different ones appear at the top of a slide, and if they match the ones at the bottom you have to click to put them in the box.
In Milo's Flying Rocket, Milo needs you to help him get the other Tweenies on board, but you have to collect enough fuel to do this. I find this quite hard!
Finally, my favourite, Catch. Doodles needs your help to catch as many bones as possible (they come flying over a wall!) in his bowl by moving the mouse. It's quite easy at first but gets more difficult as the bowl gets smaller and the flying bones get faster!

IS THIS WORTH BUYING?

In my experience, yes, definitely. It has been played with consistently since C
hristmas, which is more than can be said for some of my children's other presents! When their friends come over they have to be signed in and have a go as well, so it's highly recommended by the age group it's intended for.
This CD-ROM costs £19.99, but in my opinion it's money well spent.

Summary: