Game Review: Puzzle Play Software: Hidden Pictures
Rated by 3 members
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this is one of the three titles in
School Zone's
Puzzle Play Software & Workbooks series. It's
perfect for 6- to 8-year-olds, and can be enjoyed by younger
kids if there is someone around to help. This software teaches
kids to think logically as they construct and then solve hidden
picture puzzles.
Families can talk about what makes a hidden picture puzzles fun. Did you like having to dig for the objects? Were you surprised that you didn't construct these puzzles by camouflaging objects? Was it more fun to create the puzzle or to play it?
Common Sense Media Review
PUZZLE PLAY SOFTWARE: HIDDEN PICTURES comes with a workbook
of 57 hidden picture puzzles and a CD-ROM. The software
component of this game isn't what you would expect. Instead of
allowing you to add objects onto a picture and sneakily hide
them by matching colors and shapes, the program has you add the
objects on top of a picture and then it magically sinks the
objects underneath the picture.
To solve the puzzle, the person playing it is shown the picture with a grid superimposed on it. By choosing coordinate points, the player directs a funny character to dig at the point he or she has selected. The puzzle offers a limited number of digs to uncover the eight hidden objects, but every time the player finds one, that dig isn't counted. The puzzle also provides hints to direct the player to the rows and columns where objects are hiding. This gameplay is similar to playing the classic board game "Battleship."
For fun and variety, you can also imbed goodies and gags, including a sneak peek token that allows a buried object to flash its location for a second or two.
Puzzle Play Software: Hidden Pictures is suitable for ages 6-8, and it could be used by younger children if a parent or sibling is willing to help. At $7.99, it's a good deal because you get both the workbook with traditional hidden picture puzzles of camouflaged objects as well as the software that lets you create your own puzzles. Providing kids with the tools to become puzzle masters is a great idea, because in creating the puzzles, they learn logic and planning. Kids feel proud when they create something for someone else to play.
This is one of three titles that make up School Zone's Puzzle Play Software & Workbook series. The others in the series are equally as good: Puzzle Play Software: Mazes and Puzzle Play Software: Dot-to-Dots .
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
