Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #208 in Software
• Brand: Avanquest Software
• Released on: 2002-09-06
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows XP

Amazon.co.uk Review
Once again, the BBC has produced a superlative software package for youngsters aged between three and six years old.

Though this is a fairly large age gap to bridge, the content on Pingu: A Barrel of Fun achieves it effortlessly. For the younger end of the age group, there are shape-sorting, number- and letter-matching, sound- and colour-recognition puzzles to crack. For five- and six-year-olds, the "hard" rather than "easy" skill option will give plenty to amuse. For example, in the easy letter game, players must choose the initial letter of a given everyday object, whereas in the hard version, players must spell the whole word. (Hover over the letter and you get the name of the sound; once you've placed it, the voice-over tells you the name of the letter--an extremely sound educational approach.)

The sound game, a real highlight of the package, is an aural pelmonism, where players must match sounds to make the symbols disappear. In the harder version, the organ grinder plays a tune and players must match the sounds in the correct order. Though most sounds are everyday (telephone, cow, pig) there are some more exotic sounds (lion) that children may not recognise, but they can match them to the pictures shown.

For older players, there is a selection of five games to choose from, each with an easy, medium and hard skill option. In "Ice Flow", you must get Pingu across the water without wetting him so he can deliver birthday presents: a kind of basic Pingu Frogger! "Snow Maze" is reminiscent of a simple Pac-Man, but the added bonus is picking objects up along the way that you can build up into your own original picture at the end. "Fish Tennis" is bordering on the surreal--a kind of elementary tennis reminiscent of the original Atari game, but with Penguins not paddles and fish not balls! "Building Blocks" sets players a puzzle not unlike those in the Krypton Factor--matching shapes together to build up an overall object within a template. In the easy version, each shape is cut into three pieces; in the medium version it is four or five pieces and in the harder one, seven or eight. The only let-down to the game section is "Music Time", a recording synthesiser which allows you to play nursery rhyme tunes, sing along or record your own composition. Though the idea is great, the mouse dexterity required to make it work effectively is probably beyond the target age group, and the resulting sound quality on a home PC is poor.

That said, this is a minor blip in an otherwise fantastic package. It is easy to load, has great graphics that perfectly reproduce the TV programme, and while younger players may require supervision and help, they will still enjoy their favourite character, even if mastering the finer points of the package is beyond them. Whether your child is a fan of Pingu or not, there is plenty for him or her to get their teeth into. From early learning to elementary gaming skills, Pingu: A Barrel of Fun will definitely last the three years of the target age range and players will continue learning all the time. And, once your children has turned six, a simple and effective Uninstall option means your hard drive won't be clogged up forever. --Lucie Naylor

Customer Reviews

Pingu Software
Having bought several software packages for my children, I would describe this one as adequate only. It is really only suitable for the younger end of the specified age range, and you can expect your child to get to grips with the games fairly quickly. One disadvantage is that you have to use different controls for many of the games, for example one game required use of the mouse, another uses the z and x keys and another uses the arrow keys! The Winnie the Pooh Learning game, also suitable for 3 - 4 year olds, offers a wider range of activities and will keep children absorbed for longer than Pingu.

Great fun for Pingu fans of all ages
Contains a number of games and activities that can entertain and teach your pre-school child in different ways.

Some of the games could be challenging for a three year old - certainly my son can't understand the Frogger-style Ice Flow game. He laughs when Pingu falls in the water!

If you want to give your child some practice in mouse and keyboard skills, and introduce them to letter sounds and shapes, numbers, shapes and sounds while doing so, then I can recommend this.

What a great product
We've had doubts in the past about the suitability of Pingu as a role model for our 3 year old. We've even gone as far as stopping him watching it at times. Maybe we've missed the point of the slapstick but we've noticed an element of naughtiness creeping in after watching Pingu and his friends.
Through this disc Pingu has redeemed himself and he’s back on our viewing list.
Installation was no problem so off we went into the world of Pingu. Plenty of animations on the menu screens with easy navigation. Each puzzle or game is identified with its title and a picture so selection is easy if you haven't reached reading age yet.
Its clear without explanation what each activity is about. Again Pingu is much in evidence and makes positive contributions to learning the games and giving rewards for success. I won't even try to write Pingu speak, but suffice to say its obvious what he’s saying from the tone and intonation. The sound effect for getting a puzzle wrong is not discouraging, while the one for success brings fits of giggles from everyone watching as well as playing. Did I mention that there’s always an adult audience whenever Pingu is on the pc? Says an awful lot I think that a group of adults can get so much fun from watching a toddler playing a game. As for the toddler himself, he'd play all day if we let him. He goes over the games again and again. His favourites are the shape sorter, the spelling game and the music programme, which he loves singing along to.

This really is a jewel of a programme. We've been amazed at how much such a young mind can learn. We thought many of the games would be beyond his ability. Our mistake for not realising how far advanced his abilities are. Thank you BBC and Pingu for showing us our error.
We expect to get many many more hours of fun and learning from this programme. It’s challenging without being too hard, easy to understand without being too simplistic. A great balance.