Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2485 in Software
• Brand: GSP
• Released on: 2002-10-04
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows 95

Amazon.co.uk Review
Zoombinis Maths Journey features uncommonly fun reasoning games that require serious problem solving and maths work. Adored by educators and parents alike, this CD-ROM challenges children to employ such basic fundamentals of mathematical thinking as organising information, reasoning of evidence, finding and making patterns, and systematic testing of hypotheses--all the time keeping children thoroughly entertained throughout.

Not too long ago, Zoombinis enjoyed the good life. Though they all looked slightly different--different eyes, noses, hair, feet--such differences meant nothing to the Zoombinis. And so they lived happily on Zoombini Isle, making small, useful products that were prized the world over.

So begins this unsuspectingly addictive CD-ROM, yet the perils that face this cheerful society are not as fearsome as the amount of time you'll potentially spend on this pursuit. Beware the chubby, chattering Zoombinis if you don't want to get hooked to your computer for at least 90 minutes a session.

The journey follows four puzzle-filled trails, each exploring related mathematical ideas. The fundamental data and variables for all this work are the variations in the Zoombinis' features. Their "feet", for example, can be shoes, skates, whirligigs, or coiled springs (the sound effects for these items are particularly great), while their "eyes" may be heavily lidded, enhanced by eyeglasses, blocked by dark shades, or limited to just a single eyeball. Sorting and arranging these variables in order to solve puzzles requires concentrated effort from the players and the game rewards them well with inventive scenarios that evolve in fabulously curious ways as skills are gained. This may not sound like much, but when Arno the Pizza-eating Tree Troll, who has been yammering for the perfectly topped pizza his entire lifetime, suddenly demands a perfectly topped ice cream sundae, too, it is a staggering, giddy surprise.
The product is full of so many little joys, it's hard to demand improvements. Still, it'd be a great thing if version 2 would feature something other than the monotonous, ping-ping-ping soundtrack that's featured here. But that's minor. In the end, the creators' promise that this CD-ROM will "encourage kids to develop a lifetime habit of associating fun with learning" is spot on. (Ages 9 and up) --Jean Lenihan, Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk Review Zoombinis are little blue guys and gals that inhabit a kingdom reminiscent of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth, and ingeniously teach maths principals using puzzles instead of numbers. In the Zoombinis Mountain Rescue CD-ROM a group Zoombinis gets trapped in a cave, and it's up to players to organise a search party that can withstand the logical travails of a journey through this perilous and quirky terrain. There are nine "obstacles" along the rescue route. Players cross a bridge of turtles by sorting Zoombini search-party members by nose colour, hairstyle or other characteristics. Deducing (again based on features) which Zoombini can snowboard down which path furthers the mission as well. The search party is held up briefly in a cafeteria where it must use logic to wait on Norfs who drop oblique hints about what they want, or don't want to order. Each game will stretch your child's ability to use forethought and analysis to assess a situation. Even the easiest of the three levels is designed to be challenging, so be prepared to help out along this creative and strenuous path.

The genius of this Windows-only program is that it turns sophisticated mathematical concepts into engrossing activities. We played a game called "Boolie Boggle" endlessly--Boolies either smile or frown, and in this game, the object is to change frowns into smiles by bumping Boolies with pinballs. Pretty easy until you start getting chains of Boolies and chains of pinballs. Soon your mind is throbbing as you try to figure out what a sequence of three pinballs will do to two frowning Boolies. "Binary addition" sounds pretty intimidating, but that's exactly what "Boolie Boggle" is teaching. "Algebraic thinking" and "information-age maths" are among the other things this program teaches--mercifully, it manages it with little creatures and 3-D mazes instead of formulas and numbers.

As this journey unfolds, members of the search party drop off due to mismatched noses, wrong path choices and other errors. Fortunately, there is a practice mode where kids can play the games without sacrificing their Zoombini friends. Puzzles change elements, so there's no way to "learn" a level then repeat it by rote. There is also a very thorough parents' guide, which is helpful for parents who have, err, forgotten about binary numbers. Zoombinis Mountain Rescue is a gentle, yet challenging program that will probably even work its subtle magic on maths-phobes. --Anne Erickson

Manufacturer's Description
Zoombinis Maths Journey Go on an epic adventure of math and logic. Embark on a dangerous quest to a new Zoombini homeland and learn critical logic and mathematical thinking skills. Trek across treacherous terrain strewn with perilous mind-bending puzzles. Learn important life skills such as deductive reasoning, pattern recognition, hypothesis testing, and more, while leading the Zoombinis to freedom. This entertaining adventure is a journey into the math of the information age. Develop the cognitive mathematical thinking skills used in writing computer programs, organizing spreadsheet data, and searching for information on computer networks.

Zoombinis Mountain Rescue Attacked by a severe storm, a small band of Zoombinis seeks refuge in a mountain cave. Instead of safety, the Zoombinis are trapped in a hazardous tunnel where mysterious creatures lurk. Kids build logic and mathematical thinking skills in their challenge to manoeuvre the Zoombinis through nine puzzles, each with 3 levels of difficulty. This new entertaining adventure is a journey into the maths of the information age - the mathematical thinking kids will use in writing computer programs and organising data in spreadsheets. It is the second title in the multi award- winning Zoombinis series

Customer Reviews

Zoombini mania!!
This game is brilliant for developing children's logical and general mathematical skills.It's jam packed visual detail and is very stimulating and exciting for children to play. It's a logical maths journey disguised as a fun game, with fun loving zoombini's which you lead to safety!I play myself all the time!!
However, it may be slighlty difficult for younger children to understand as the instructions aren't too clear unless the instruction manual's read.Have Fun!

Great game!
.. the first time you play it, anyway.
This is an interesting game, I bought this pack because when I was younger I loved playing the mathematical journey. I even took it into school and my whole class (year 6) loved it. (:
I've even noticed my younger brother sneaking it away to play with! It's a good, fun, educational game that I'd enjoy seeing more of. For older people, though, it can get rather tiresome playing the same levels over and over again, as you have to get a group of Zoombinis from one place, to another, by completing various puzzles. Once you have completed them, they go from 'easy' to 'medium'. Then once you've taken another group across, it goes from medium to hard, which is when it really starts to get fun. You have to continue doing these puzzles until you've gotten all of your Zoombinis to the 'goal'. (Although you can save your game, so you don't have to do it all at once - thank goodness).

All in all, I strongly recommend this game for anybody with young children, but not for people over the age of 13, unless you're desperate for good 'puzzle/logic games'.

Very Good (except one small thing)
I bought this 2-CD set for my son without noticing that they each run on different Windows platforms - Mountain Rescue runs on all versions of Windows including XP, but Maths Journey only runs on Windows 95/98 - a problem if you only have XP.