I Spy Spooky Mansion Software

Average Rating:

Pros: 1. You can enter your name in the beginning of the game to "register" and your name becomes incorporated into the clues. 2. In the study, you can create your own riddles which you can then print out. Great for kids who like to create or like poetry. 3. You can stop and save your game along the way - an especially nice feature for kids with short attention spans or parents who want to limit the amount of computer time and don't want to hear the standard, "let me just finish this board...". 4. The riddles vary in difficulty. A young child may need more help than an older one (good family OR independant activity). The butterfly puzzle is especially difficult - as an adult, even *I* had to ask my husband for help on one! 5. Each room varies so much from the others and not all of the puzzles are the same format. That really keeps kids' attention. 6. The clues appear in text at the bottom of the screen for easy reference. Also, the clues are "read aloud" when you first enter the room. This feature is great for kids who are learning to read. 7. There are trick questions all over the place. Buy the game and see what I mean! (If I gave an example, they wouldn't be trick questions anymore *wink*).

Cons: I really only have one complaint about this program. Unfortunately, it is big enough where an otherwise amazing game is bumped down to three stars because of it's one major flaw: Despite what the box says, you won't want to replay this game once you are done; Unless, of course, you let it sit on your shelf for long enough to forget the clues and the locations of the items you have to find. You are given two sets of clues for each room and they do not reset themselves once you have finished the game. In short, once you have played the game once, the challenge and fun is gone and you're ready to list this game on ebay to get your money back...