Ladybugs is a Mac game for very young children. You will have a lot of fun with your little toddler “working” on the computer. There is much opportunity here to teach your child the basics of the keyboard and mouse and have loads of entertainment as well.

There are short instructions where you can practice reading letters and words with your child. The white letters outlined in black make it easier to clearly see and read out loud, however it would have been more age appropriate with block lettering. Very young kids are able to learn so much it’s almost unbelievable. They can learn their letters and words if given a chance, enough instruction and patience on your part.

The game has 3 modes of play and each one should be enjoyable for your child. Color Trouble is a section where you match the color of your ladybug to her house. Following the flower path, you guide the ladybug to the same color house. In the Ladybug Race you are racing the blueladybug to the houses. I think the blue ladybug is a little confused because she sometimes loses her way. This will give your child a chance to beat her. In the Tangled Maze you guide your ladybug through a maze to her like color house.

All 3 games will help your child with color recognition, coordination, direction and learning to win or lose. Even if you must control the mouse and keys for your tyke, I think a 2 year old would still appreciate the cute ladybugs and colorful scenery. All of these factors are very important in the development of young children. I think it would have been perfect if the developers added a memory game mode to the puzzles. It is incredible how much a toddler remembers.

The simple graphics, large cursor and the happy music will set the stage for a lighthearted afternoon of fun while at the same time learning new things on a cute, joyful game like Ladybugs. An extra bonus is the priceless bonding with your little one.

Features of Ladybugs:
-Fun Hands on Play
-Colorful, Cute and Simple graphics
-Happy Music
-3 Modes of Play
-Non-violent

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

How can you go wrong with a name like Pirate Poppers? Aaargh! With its pirate theme and music what else is left but a treasure map and riches? You need to piece together a map for the location of the legendary treasure of Isla Calabera.

There are 3 modes to play in this pirate game: Adventure, Puzzle, and Arcade. The Adventure mode has 77 levels of play. In the Puzzle mode you must clear the row of balls with only a limited number of cannons, so you must figure out exactly how and where you will place these balls on the rail. In the Arcade mode you get a number of lives before losing a level.

The play is to simply shoot cannon balls at groups of colorful balls rolling on a track towards a barrel. You must aim for like color balls and shoot while the chain of cannons continues to move forward. When the balls are blasted and disappear, the cannons on either side will come together and if they are the same color and are 3 or more, they may also explode and clear the game board.

There are a lot of power-ups in this game. Some of the extras will change the color of the balls to blasting a whole slew of cannons with an explosive one. With some of the other features, the balls will move backwards giving you extra time to figure out your strategy. There is a spyglass when you are able to shoot faster and more accurately. On top of all that there are many extras you can catch with your cannon. The many jewels and treasures will give you extra points and the skull medallions will increase the number of lives.

Pirate Poppers is very similar to Zuma, Sweetopia and Luxor where you shoot at orbs coming down a tube-like conveyor belt. This is an action packed arcade Mac game with pirate cannons, treasures (gold, silver and jewels) and much more. You’ll have fun just sitting back and shooting cannonballs out into the chains of multicolored spheres. This game takes some strategy and thinking, but on the most part it is just an enjoyable game to kick back and shoot.

Features of Pirate Poppers:
-Pirate Theme
-6 Power-ups
-Treasure
-77 Levels

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Education is the name of the game in Eco Match a colorful and fun match 3 game. The planet is dying from air pollution, deforestation and more. This is not just a children’s game but a forecast for what is happening to our earth now and what it will become in the near future. Only you as the director for World S.A.F.E organization can restore the world to its once beautiful and pristine place for all species to live happily.

As the leader of this remarkable coalition you must travel world-wide to clean the air polluted atmosphere from industries, cars, and machines. In addition, you must reforest the devastated areas and return the balance back in the jungles. As you succeed in all these projects, you will, in turn, help save the endangered species. Also recycle factories are important to meet goals. You will take one step at a time in 7 continents with 15 levels each. After completing 10 missions, you can go on to another continent.

The levels consist of match 3 of the same items to clear. There are goals set for each level, and each level can be a match 3 like items to clear by one of the 3 methods: swap, drop or flood. At the upper right of the screen will let you know which of these 3 methods you will be playing. You must make matches over tiles or “eco zones” to finish the board. Coins collected can be used on the necessary projects. There is only a timed mode, but you can replay a level after unlocking it. You keep making matches until you fill all your goals at the right of the screen. Once these fill, you proceed to the next level.

There are useful power ups to assist you, and animals will help you on your missions. Jillian, your assistant, is there to guide and offer important data along the way.

Eco Match becomes an addictive match 3 play as you go along. The ecological information dispersed throughout the game is extremely important and useful for teachers, children and all beings who are into saving the planet. However, if you are a gamer wanting to play match 3 games, Eco Match will meet your needs. Some of the levels are easy, but some are a bit challenging and you may need those power ups. Have fun bringing back devastated forests and saving the endangered animals in an atmosphere of clean breathable oxygen.

Features of Eco Match:
-Over 100 Levels
-Swap, Drop and Flood Match Plays
-Power Ups
-Save the Animals

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Christmas is a magical time of the year and many musical artists create their own holiday albums for this festive period. However, do you remember any except maybe Bing Crosby’s White Christmas? According to the Wall Street Journal REO Speedwagon put out Not So Silent Night Christmas album this 2009 season, and they are featured in the new Mac hidden object game Find Your Own Way Home. Will this be the big comeback of a 1971 rock band? Apparently not with 13 top 40 single hits over the years the group has not stopped working. REO Speedwagon has been around performing since the beginning. That’s a long time to be in a rock band.

The Mac hidden object game Find Your Own Way Home, title from one of their hits, is an extensive story about a reporter, Ruby Easton, working for Entertainment Now when a band member goes missing. Your job is to track down clues and information through the hidden objects and puzzles before everything goes haywire for this band’s grand performance.

In the game there is the information panel at the bottom of the screen giving you data and tools. The timer keeps track of your remaining time to complete the level. You must find specific powers to make hints available for you to use, and the smart phone is there to change game settings. In addition to the hidden object/seek and find games, there are mini plays to master. One is the find the differences in 2 identical pictures, find the many Biffs spewed around the music site, and find things that make noise such as musical instruments, notes, records and cds.

Personally, I’ve never heard of REO Speedwagon, but I’m sure many of you have and others are fans with their albums because why else would they be around so long? The music is nice but not very edgy for a rock band. The play is okay, but I thought the storyline is dragged out too long at the beginning with Ruby and her apartment. It picks up a little when you get to the music studio. So rock out with Find Your Own Way Home Mac hidden object game and have a merry holiday season.

Features of Find Your Own Way Home:
-REO Speedwagon Band
-Many Hidden Object Modes
-Find the Missing Band Member

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Keep the zombies out of your house no matter what or they’ll eat your brain! Plant vs Zombies, an unique play, is not only fun, but it will get very challenging as the levels go higher. The cartoon artwork will alleviate any blood and gore worries you may associate with walking zombies. The only concern for young kids may be when the zombies are beaten will lose their heads and body parts.

The play is to click on the available seed packet, drag it to the green sod, plant it to stop the zombies. Clicking on the suns will gain you more seed packets. When you plant sunflowers, it will produce more suns to click on. After a certain number of points, you will get different packets to stave off the monsters. The pea shooters can down the zombies, the sunflowers produce only suns (but are needed to increase your score to access more seed packets), cherry bombs will blow up your enemies, potato seeds only block and slow down the zombies, freeze shooters are similar to pea shooters but more effective, purple devourers will eat the zombies and more seed packets will become available as you pass each level. Some plants shoot, destroy zombies and others slow them down. You decide where to plant each type of seed depending on what they do.

The higher the level, more zombies will be lumbering towards your home. Some zombies with poles can vault over your barriers. If they should get passed all your blockades, the last form of defense is the lawnmower. It will mow down the zombies in that path.

One of the mini games is the bowling for zombies with potatoes. The potatoes will roll across the top of the screen. When you click on a potato, drag it to the sod path where a zombie is walking towards the house. It will roll down the grass and knock over the zombie. This is a fast action game and you must quickly grab a potato and use it appropriately. The red, hot potato will explode the zombies but they are few and far apart.

Plants vs Zombies is just a fun action packed game and nothing more. Well, maybe you would like to protect your brain from being eaten so it’s prudent of you to keep pace with destroying the dreaded zombies.

Features of Plants vs Zombies:
-5 Game Modes
-Crazy Dave’s Shop with Special Plants and Tools
-26 Types of Zombies

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Heartwild Solitaire Book 2 like the first version is beautifully drawn and displayed. The storyline continues the romantic tale of an artist and his lover (this game is for mature audiences like the first). In this second story the current lover becomes jealous over the artist’s search for a perfect model to help inspire him.

The play is similar to mahjong solitaire where you match 2 identical cards to clear the board. At the bottom or side there is the draw pile and you must match cards that are higher or lower. If the draw card is an Ace, you can match a King or a 2 to clear the cards. The joker is wild and can be used with any card. There are other wild cards you can take over to the next level. The level is over when there are no more moves. Each card left on the board will be deducted points. If the total score is 0 or better, you go on to the next level. If the score is negative, you must retry the level.

The Bonus meter fills up when you remove cards. The faster you remove, more points you garner. The Long Sequence meter fills when you remove cards in a sequence. When filled, you’ll get extra points for each card. Restore cards helps you when you are stuck by restoring some of the cards back on the deck. Powerup cards will appear with special labels, remove them as usual to receive powerups such as undo, bonus fill, reveal, restore, and wildcard.

The bonus games will help increase your score. Once such game is to memorize the card pattern, it will scramble and you need to restore the original pattern. It’s timed but there’s plenty of time to restore by clicking on 2 cards to move their positions.

Heartwild Solitaire Book 2 is a relaxing and enjoyable game to play. The storyline is not as engaging as Book 1, but the tale is not intrusive since you only come across it every 10 levels or so. The memory game starts out easy, but does get harder in higher levels. This break in the solitaire play is nice since there are 280 levels and at times gets repetitive. The artwork is stunning with its intense color and background. The music is appropriate for the time period and conducive for a delightful play. If you enjoyed the first Heartwild Solitaire, you may like the sequel to that game. Try it out for a pleasant time playing cards.

Features of Heartwild Solitaire Book 2:
-280 Levels
-Powerups and Mini Games
-Romantic Story

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Practice, practice, practice, that was my tennis coach’s daily drill. I spent many hours hitting the ball against the wall, throwing it up to serve, and volleying back and forth with a partner. No one got better unless you put in the time. Smashing Tennis is the same for me. In tennis, I used 2 hands only for my backhand. I used my feet for running back and forth, not the arrow keys. So I practiced, practiced and practiced Smashing Tennis and got better.

Smashing Tennis with its simple 2D graphics and accurate sound effects is a challenging action game you must practice to have any fun with it, but once you hear the “pong” of the hit ball, you are hooked. To serve the ball you use the space bar once to throw the ball up and again to hit it. The Practice mode will show you when to hit the serve. The arrow keys moves your player around the court. For the beginner you can limit the arrows to the right and left ones moving the character side to side until you are comfortable with the play. When you are ready, you may choose the advanced mode using all the arrows for a multidirectional play.

It is very important to choose the correct ability of yours and your opponent’s skill level. This must be done carefully or your play will not be fun. You can adjust the skill, speed, strength and precision of each player. In addition, you can choose different court surfaces (grass, clay and decoturf). I’ve played on grass (fast) and clay (slow) courts but I have never come across a decoturf court in real life.

The different strokes were amazing. I could actually see the drop shot. How do they do that? At this posting I have not mastered the lob or hitting the ball hard so I’m waiting to see the visual on it. Also the 2 player mode is still in the future for me, but it will be intriguing to see how everything works with 2 people playing on 1 computer. The tournament challenge is still out of my reach but for all those advanced players it should be quite entertaining.

I guess there are 2 negatives for me regarding Smashing Tennis. One is that it is difficult for casual players (I’ve watched gamers pick it up and play right away) unless you practice, and also there are no girl tennis players represented. What about adding the Serena Williams, Dinara Safinas and Justine Henins of the tennis world? The simple graphics did not bother me since being an avid tennis player and fan concentrating on hitting the ball back is what captivates my attention. It would be fun to be able to design your players. I also am familiar with the thrill of hearing the ball hit the sweet spot and beating your opponent. You have all this with Smashing Tennis so try it out and don’t forget to practice.

Features of Smashing Tennis:
-For all ages
-1 or 2 player mode
-Difficulty Options
-Adjustable Skill Levels
-Tournament Play

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Tony Tortuga’s company went out of business like many companies now a days, and the administration did not help it out with a stimulus package. That means poor Tony the turtle is out of a job, but his wife always knew it was about time for Tony to start his own delivery service. He quickly gets orders from different sushi restaurants to deliver the food to their customers.

The play is your basic sim game to click on the restaurant with the type of sushi the client is ordering. After waiting, the sushi is ready to be delivered to the home. You click on the sushi then click on the house with the order and Tony will swim first to pick up the sushi and then to the home. In addition you have to supply the restaurants with fish from the factory when they run out of items. You know when to click on the factory for your fish order when you see the closed sign at the restaurant. Each level is timed but there is plenty of time to make the sushi and deliver it. Every few levels there are puzzle games to get more points. One such mini play is to go through a maze collecting bags of rice before the stingrays eat them. If you find the wasabi, Tony will swim faster for you.

I felt Sushi To Go Express is a game for kids. The graphics are simple and cute. The sushi is easily identifiable. I didn’t see much difference in the difficulty levels, but it could be because the game kept quitting on me. I have a Mac Book Pro with Mac OS X, version 10.5.8. I even made the screen smaller to see if it would help. It got me a little further in the game before quitting. I’ve talked to others who were able to play the game without any problems. The game is repetitive with not much action. I found after delivering sushi to one house that same home kept ordering more items. This makes figuring out who ordered when a little difficult, but it really makes no difference in the play. I guess that kept the game going without having different customers rotating through the screen like other sim restaurant or store games like Miriel The Magical Merchant. Another very annoying factor is the strange sound Tony makes when he gets paid. Even though I didn’t find this sim game exciting, I can see some kids and casual gamers enjoying it.

Features of Sushi To Go Express:
-50 Reef Levels
-Upgrades
-Mini Games

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

What do you do when you hear the drip, drop noise? Call a plumber that’s what! Mac puzzle game Drip Drop is just that. I figured out why the characters except the girl all looked like they grew up on the Jersey Shore. It’s because they are plumbers. Just kidding, but the guys look like they have seen better days.

You will enjoy playing against one of these guys or the anime girl. However, be warned they are a tough bunch. They do not like to lose. If you opt for the 2 player mode, you can use different keys on your computer to operate 2 positions. Another player can use your computer at the same time to play against you. The other method is to play against the computer. In addition you can change the skin or background to whatever suits you.

There are 3 different games to play: Classic, Flood and Feed. Drip Drop like Tetris has items falling from above. In Classic you can maneuver the positions of the 2 items coming down the screen to your advantage by pressing the space bar and using the arrow keys. The next 2 items coming down will be displayed at the top center of the board. You can also control how many matches you will make in each game from 2 to 5 same items. Also there are 3 modes: Easy, Normal and Hard. In Flood you try to wash your opponent away by not reaching the top of the screen. It took me awhile before I realized that you do not match the similar objects in Feed. You match each animal with what they like to eat, thus the title, Feed.

Drip Drop has been around for awhile now, but it is one of the classic go to game you play whenever you can. Its playing power is ageless. You can control the difficulty level of your game to make it impossibly challenging or laid back relaxing. Whatever your decision, it is addictive. The bonus is the Jersey Shore gang with their comical looks. After thinking about it, the cute girl does not fit the bill for a gruff and grimy plumber. I give this game a 4 out of 5 for the number of different plays, pleasant, easy music and the plumbers.

Features of Drip Drop:
-Play Single or 2 Player
-3 Different Games
-3 Modes of Difficulty
-Choose Your Opponent

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sprouts Adventure is a sim play where you are the one controlling the lives of young, small creatures called Sprouts. Darkness fell on the land of Sprouts leaving just a few Sprouts to survive on their own after a terrible storm. They are out of food and do not know what to do. You are there to guide the Sprouts back to their original prosperous life in this interesting Mac game.

The play is to meet the needs of the Sprouts, build their homes and buildings to make their lives easier, happier and healthier. The 5 Sprouts in your care are called: Tulip, Basil, Rosa, Cypress and Pina. They will let you know what they need with the picture above their heads, and they will verbally let you know with their cute, squeaky voices. In order to feed them, you must click on a Sprout and drag him/her to a patch of dirt to till and work the ground. Afterwards you click on the rain button, drag it to the patch, then click on the sun, drag the sun to the patch, and the plants will grow. Click on any hungry Sprout, drag him/her to the patch to eat. Also dropping any Sprout on a flower will provide food for them.

In addition, you need to click, drag a Sprout to magic stones, butterflies, gems and weeds. This will increase their life attributes. All of which are important for the welfare of your group. In addition earning Karma points will open up various spells for your Sprouts. This can be done by the Sprouts’ offerings, fulfilling wishes from the well and by fishing. There is a day meter to display the time of day. This is important because some spells can only be done during certain times of the day or night. The map when you click on it will show the overview of the entire Sprouts’ world. This will allow you to view when the wild flowers, gems, magic stones and weeds are available. The weeds are important to click and drag a Sprout to remove them.

When a Sprout gets an idea, there will be a light bulb above his head, and by clicking on it you will be able to find out what kind of thought it is. If it is to erect a building since they will need a place to rest, sleep and work in, you drag the supplies to an available site. The first building takes many days to erect but is essential for the Sprouts to sleep in and rest so they will be able to work on all the projects. The more Sprouts you have working will get the job done faster.

The Sprouts will be better when they are happy, curious, nourished, motivated, and rested. In this state the Sprouts will do wonderful things for you. This Mac game is like Virtual Villagers and My Tribe except it is a little easier to play since you can accomplish many things without killing your little Sprouts. This game will be appropriate for younger children to learn a sim play of this type. There are achievements and discoveries to collect and find. Since the area is confined to a small area, and with the overview, it is easy to collect all the items for increasing life’s attributes. In addition, spells are locked and open up slowly one at a time for you to incorporate it in the play. Increasing your population comes from the earned eggs. You click on the egg, drag it to an open area and wait.

Sprouts Adventure is an adorable sim play for children and casual gamers to have fun raising a group of Sprouts who will become a useful, lively and responsible citizen of their world. I think the sounds effects and artwork are appropriate assets to this game. The play is enjoyable, if not a little slow, and fun to establish new inhabitants in their own village.

Features of Sprouts Adventure:
-Be a Deity
-Earn Karma to Unlock Spells
-11 Structures
-Dozen Sprouts

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Hike into the darkest jungle of the Mac game Abundante, and find yourself deep in the midst of fun and excitement. This is a match 4 or more gems in order to complete a level game which will bring you closer to hidden secrets of this archeological hunt.

This exotic jungle adventure begins with Dr Ray Rumble’s archeological society funding a mission to find the lost temple of Nahca Rotha. The myth is that the Nahca Rothians possessed great knowledge and treasures. You are an archeologist who is on this journey to verify the authenticity of this information, and to recover the gems and jewels.

The play is a match 4 or more gems game, and by moving a wooden mining cart at the bottom of the screen back and forth, you collect the jewels embedded in brick. Click on a brick with a gem inside, catch it in the cart and slide to another area with the same color gems, make a 4 or more match by shooting the brick back up, and catch all the freed gems in your cart. You must quickly move your cart back and forth, clicking as you go, because the bricks are constantly descending during your play. If you do not complete the level before the bricks crush the cart, you lose one of your 3 lives.

This is the basic play of the game but there are more “surprises” to come. The first few levels are easy and slow to help you adjust to the game, but it becomes faster and more challenging soon after completing the first few levels. Some of the helps and obstacles in the game are the lightening bricks when placed strategically can break all the bricks in one column or row, making shapes with the placed bricks will garner you more points, and the scaffolding and moss will create some problems for you if you are not careful. Another entertaining power-up is the fireball you get into your cart and shoot up to explode any bricks nearby.

There are mini games throughout the play, and you can win prizes on top of all that. Also a very important part of the story and game is unlocking pieces of a missing amulet that are scattered all over the temple. The main game will unlock a second mode and then after the second is unlocked, the 3rd one will become available.

Abundante is a exciting gem match game that will provide hours of fun play. I initially found this game challenging, but with practice got much better at it and enjoyed it even more. With all the different levels and modes, you will not get bored and will be pleasantly surprised to find a game worth playing.

Features of Abundante:
-Fun Story Line
-Lots of Challenging Levels
-Power-ups, Bonuses, Rewards
-Surprises

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Based on a bestseller by Mary Kay Andrew this Mac hidden object game follows the remarkable life of Dempsey Killebrew. What would make a up and coming lawyer give everything up and return to her family home? Is it possible for Dempsey to have a happy life there?

Dempsey Killebrew is fired from her job with a renown public relations firm in Washington, D.C. She arranged accommodations for a high profile senator that turned into a hiatus for him and a prostitute. Even though it is not her fault, she is blamed for everything. Life is not fair. In order to put this part of her career behind her, Dempsey accepts her father’s offer of fixing the old family mansion that he had recently inherited. Little did Dempsey realize that the old place is falling apart with an ornery old lady and her dog residing at the home. She must not only fix up the place but also throw the residents out.

You play the usual hidden object games going from Dempsey’s apartment, rooms in the mansion and various locations in the small town of Guthrie, Georgia. In each scene you have a list of objects to search. There are 5 hints to use if you need them and if you find the small house in each scene, you will get another hint. After completing a HOG, you get a mini puzzle to complete. One such puzzle is to remove the lint from Dempsey’s jacket. You take the cursor and move it back and forth to remove the lint. Many of the side games are similar to this one from washing the car to painting the mansion. You can skip these games if you wish. I found it to be too much after awhile so I did skip them.

You can play the HOGs in timed or normal mode. I suggest you try the timed since finding the objects is fairly easy to do. You do go back to many of the same scenes to do other duties like find all the spots that need repair and wash the car. The play is a bit repetitive but still a pleasant game.

Mary Kay Andrew’s The Fixer Upper is similar to Yard Sale – Hidden Treasures in play but the stories are different. Yard Sale is funny and The Fixer Upper plays more like her novels. This is pure speculation since I have never read any of her novels but I’m assuming, especially when she goes to town and speaks to the people. The play I thought had way too much dialog and reading to do. I understand it is necessary to advance the story, but it got to be too much after awhile clicking back and forth from one person to another. If you are a fan of Mary Kay Andrew’s or an avid HOG player, try this game.

Features of Mary Kay Andrew’s – The Fixer Upper:
-Many Locations with Lots of Hidden Objects
-Story of Dempsey Killebrew
-Many Mini Games

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Word games are always fun to play and are great workouts for your brain. Lately the current buzzwords for those who want to stay young and vital are mental fitness and brain training. Exercising your brain is in and Mac word game Text Twist 2 will do just that and more for your overall well-being.

Everyone is different and Text Twist 2 takes that into consideration by creating 3 modes of play to fit all types of people. In the Lightning mode you must use all the letters offered to make a word before the time runs out. Some people are good at this mode, but others, like me, need more time to figure out the word. What’s great about this game is you can twist the letters around so maybe you’ll have better luck making your word. The crossword puzzle mode is in the crossword configuration and you make words using the blocks presented both vertically and horizontally. Word of the Day will give you letters every day to form your words.

The classic play is time or untimed depending on how you are feeling that day. You are presented with a group of letters and you click on the one letter at a time to form words. The clicked letters will go into boxes above the available letters and you click again to submit your word. At the very top of the screen you will find empty squares of 3 or more. Once you make any accepted word, your word will be placed in the boxes. Once you fill up all the 3 letter words, the game will not take anymore even if you come up with a good word. You need to go on and make 4 or more letter words to fill up the rest of the boxes. If you are lucky enough to get the bingo word, you can go on to the next level. Most of the time the bingo word uses more than 4 letters. However if you do not get the bingo word and your brain is spent, you might want to use one of the couple of passes available to you, but remember the object of this game is to form as many words as possible.

Text Twist 2 is a great game for the whole family. I had fun just playing by myself and will return to this game. It is not only enjoyable and educational, but it’s addictive as well. If you are into word games, try twisting some of the letters and form your own words. Your brain will thank you for it.

Features of Text Twist 2:
-More Than 25,000 Words
-3 Modes
-Great Graphics

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Let’s face it, not too many of us aspire to be the national spelling bee champion, but it’s still fun to compete and possibly win on the Merriam Webster Spell-Jam competition. This game will take you through different sets to prepare you to become the preeminent winner.

There are 3 modes of play in this game: Practice, Game Show and Competition. Practice will give you 25 words to spell, and it will take you through the session 3 times. Hopefully you will be able to spell all the words correctly by the third time. In all three modes you are able to choose from Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. A commentator gives you the word, and you have 4 options before spelling it. You may ask to repeat the word, give you a sentence, definition, or origin or get all 4 hints. I found that repeating the word and the definition helps you the most unless you know Latin or Greekthen the origin may aid you in correctly responding. The sidebar will show all your correct answers in green and the misspelled ones in red.

The Game Show mode is probably the most interesting since you can win money and have helps besides the 4 hints available in Practice mode. They are Pass to skip the word, Uniques will give you letters jumbled, 1st letters give you the first 3 letters of the word, Consonants gives you only the consonants, Vowels gives you just the vowels, and Word Choice will offer you 4 words to choose the correct spelling. You have the option to play up to 200 rounds of spelling for this mode, and you can win from $100 to $1000.

In the Competition mode you may add up to 7 players to compete against you and will bring up each player through an underground elevetor to the podium. The most difficult part of this section is that you cannot redo your typing. You must get the spelling correct the first time you type it on the board.

In between the game levels there are Speed Rounds where you spell as many words correctly in 1 minute. Here more than any other part of the game you need to have excellent typing skills in addition to outstanding spelling prowess.  I found this section to be the most exhilarating.

I found this word game very interesting. I think it can improve both your spelling and typing abilities in a fun way. The difficulty levels are appropriate, but not even close to the National Spelling Bee tournament (luckily), and the beginner’s level is too difficult for young children but should be fine for 8 year olds and up. The intermediate level includes a few commonly used foreign words, and the advanced incorporates even more esoteric vocabulary. I thought it was curious to use the same words in the different modes. For instance in the advanced Game Show level they used the word liege and it came up again in Competition.  I’m sure all you RPG players can spell this word easily.

With spell check available everywhere, there appears to be no need to have a strong spelling skill, but everyone will take pride in spelling well in this fun and educational Mac game. This game is not for everyone, but if you are into word games, this one is different enough to make it appealing and entertaining.

Features of Merriam Webster Spell-Jam:
-Fun Game play
-3 Modes: Practice, Game Show and Competition
-Multi-player game play

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Good Mac games for young children are hard to find, but not impossible. Ladybugs and Bob the Builder are a few that are phenomenal games for kids. Lua Lua can also be added to this group with its many puzzles and fun to be discovered by young minds.

Lua Lua is a complilation of 7 different types of puzzles geared towards young kids but gets challenging enough for some older ones. La La Land is not a reference to Los Angeles, but a game where animals will sing and you must remember the sequence of animal sounds. It’s like the electronic game Simon or Bop It! Your progression is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Don’t worry if you do not remember the order, it will reset and show you again what to do. No pressure.

Thinky Thinky is a memory game where you turn over puzzle pieces to reveal the animal. You make matches of 2 identical pieces to complete. Cute characters to see and match.

Taquin or teaser is a slide puzzle game. In this game you slide tiles to make a picture of an animal. Click on the empty space to move a tile. It starts off very easy but each level becomes increasingly more difficult.

Pig Tac Dog is a tic-tac-toe where you are the winner. You are the dog playing against the pig, and it is very difficult to lose. Loads of happy times for the young ones.

Drag n Drop is where you drag and drop a picture of an animal to the outlined forms.

Soopa Koopa can be challenging with re-assembling of animal faces. In the beginning there are only 2 rows to slide until the face appears. However, this puzzle goes up to 8 slices of a face and with this many rows to align, it may take some time before the face appears.

Catch a Match is an action packed game where you click on pairs of the same animal falling from the top of the screen. It begins slowly and easy, but it will challenge some kids with many different animals floating down the screen. However, you do not get penalized and there’s no big buzzer to out you just a pleasant game to work on your cursor skills.

All these games will challenge different parts of your children’s brain in a fun and entertaining fashion. These puzzles are kid versions of adult plays. The games states it’s for kids from 3 to 7 years, but I think some 2 years old have the concentration, if not the coordination, to enjoy the game. You’ve seen 2 year olds learning the state capitals, all 50 states, names of dinosaurs, world countries, presidents, languages, etc. The list is endless. If the adult has the patience to go over things with a 2 year old, they have the ability to absorb all the information.

4 of the games are available to try out in the demo and the other 3 are locked. The larger cursor is great for little tots. Lua Lua is kid friendly with fun music and great, colorful graphics. In fact you can access free adorable dog icons. My favorite is Sharpeipei. Others are Chocolab, Pugglywuggly, Bostielu, Dogbully and Toxicodog. You can view these pictures at Lua Lua Dog Icons. Also any and all upgrades are free so you can’t go wrong with this awesome Mac game for kids.

Features of Lua Lua:
-7 Different Games in Full Version
-Great Fun for Kids
-Free Upgrades and Icons

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Cradle of Persia a match 3 objects to destroy Mac game is different with building of Persia, one building at a time. You could say it is a little like a sim play with you making matches to build housing, getting supplies and feeding your villagers. Like Cradle of Rome that preceded Persia, both are entertaining and fun to play.

When you make enough match 3s of like items, you will have enough money to buy your first building. Once you start your villages, the people will begin to come and it is up to you to make food matches to feed your clan. Unlike Cradle of Rome you make matches by chaining like objects together instead of swapping. The object of this play is to break all the marble tiles by making matches over them. Like other match games you have chained blocks you must also make matches over in order to break the links.

Cradle of Persia is not original or different from other plays, but is a good Mac match 3 game. I can play these games for hours. They are that addictive, and the building of your empire is entertaining and fun to see expand and grow. The match game is relaxing even though there is a water jug measuring your time. The artwork is good and music appropriate for the scenes. I like playing this game for what is is – a match 3 play for casual players and children.

Features of Cradle of Persia:
-7 Historic Epochs
-100 Levels
8 Special Bonuses
-Masterpieces of Ancient Persia

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Plan It Green, what a clever and current name, I initially thought. Then my second thought about this game was of some boring environmental game that would no doubt put me to sleep immediately and lecture about how wasteful I am. However, I was completely wrong! Plan It Green, besides the double entendre, is a fun and inventive game that actually makes taking out the recycling fun. Moreover, the game is generally focused on making the town of Greenville more “green” but it feels more like a game of SimCity than in your eye environmental improvement exercise.  Can you see Al Gore on stage lecturing about buying energy units?

The game has two game options: Campaign mode and Free Play mode. Campaign mode is the main story and as you finish saving districts in Greenville as the new mayor, you unlock the districts to play in Free Play. In Free Play you do not have the goals to meet like in Campaign mode. The game begins in a semi-tutorial and helps you along the way as you proceed. There is a task bar for each level and when you perform all the tasks listed, you move on in the latter mode. These tasks vary from upgrading houses to make them more eco-friendly to building parks and recreation for citizens. There are different areas in which you can work as well, like the town center (where you focus on businesses) and the industrial sector (where factories and clean energy are the priorities). Some of the ecologically correct upgrades are solar panels, water reclamation system, recycling bins and eco gardens.

As I said before, this game really reminds me of a SimCity game that has gone green. What is most important is to finish all your goals in the allotted number of days. Personally, I felt like the time limit the game presented was a little too pressing, but it did help the game continue on a good pace. The fact that there were sometimes vague goals (like raise green awareness to 20%). It was a good
game with a definite agenda at forcing children to relate to a green community. Overall I would give Plan It Green four out of five stars.

Features of Plan It Green:
- Improve 8 Neighborhoods over 45 Levels
- Pick the latest eco-upgrades
- Create a Green City

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Cassandra, a psychic, is brought together by fate with Violet who returned her mystical ring. Not only did Violet become a close friend when she found out Cassandra does mystic readings, she asked her to find her missing brother, Michael, for her in Mac hidden object game Cassandra’s Journey 2 – The fifth Son of Nostradamus. Is the title long enough?

The play is to find objects in the scene listed along the bottom of the screen. The blue words require the use of inventory items to complete the task. The objects are easily found in each scene pertaining to the story, but if you need hints, there are plenty to choose from. Each hint will cost you a percentage of the blue liquid in the flask to the right of the screen. Each hint must be unlocked before you can use them, but are very powerful when you have the opportunity to access them. The first and most powerful hint will cost you 90% of the liquid, but will pinpoint the object. The Area Spell will only take 50% and will outline the general area of your object. The Magic Wand uses 80% and will turn the crystal ball into a compass when your cursor is close to the object, the sphere will get brighter. The fourth spell is Photo. It will use 70% and will show you the shape of the object as it is in the scene. Slide Show spell will show you the outline of the object. The crystal ball will also show you the number of tasks completed and the number of task still needed. A word of warning: the hint flask will drain if you click on too many false items.

The HOG is packaged nice and orderly in files. There are tabs with items (shows the objects you need to find), inventory (items found and can be used for tasks) and objectives (goals). The journal at the lower right side will outline Cassandra’s journey in this search.

The varied HOGs are the usual search for many items in a scene. Also incorporated in the same picture will be finding a number of the same items or performing many tasks like cooking soup, making pizza and salad. Another scene is to find pairs of like, but not exactly identical, pieces. You may need to find 2 artworks or cooking instruments. There’s also finding outline objects.

In addition to the well done scenes, there are a lot of mini games and puzzles to do. Upon meeting Nostradamus, he performs a magic act for you. There are solitaire games to reveal magic numbers. The numbers will lead you to different places to search for more objects and clues. In a street scene you click on the transportation and that will take you to a mini puzzle like Traffic Jam to clear cars out of the way so the bright colored car can drive through the mess. In addition there are jigsaw and logic puzzles to do.

Cassandra’s Journey 2 – The Fifth Sun of Nostradamus, like the title, has a lot going for it. There are many levels with interesting scenes with many objects to search for, and it is full of tasks and puzzles. It is put together in somewhat of an orderly fashion and with a mystery to solve. The artwork is beautifully crafted. I don’t remember the music, but it must have been good since it did not deter you from the game. It has everything you would want a HOG to have and more. Try it out for a good, solid HOG.

Features of Cassandr’s Journey 2 – The fifth Sun of Nostradamus:
-Interesting Story Line
-Many Mini Puzzles
-Hours of Play

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Agatha Christie, murder mystery novel and movie fans will enjoy this clever hidden object Mac game. This game will get you involved in the detective work by rewarding you with clues when the different levels are solved. There are more puzzles within this hidden object game to help break up the searching for clues/objects.

It is set in St Loo a small village on the coast of Cornwall, England in 1927. Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous detective, is called to End House to investigate murder attempts on Miss Nick Buckly the owner of the estate. It is your job to find the culprit by finding items on the grounds and in the house in order to stop any deadly deeds.

From the map of the estate of End House showing the landscape and various rooms in the house, you are to go from room to room and areas outside to uncover any and all clues of solving this mystery. Click on the gold colored section to begin your investigation, and it will reveal an area full of objects and clues to find. Poirot will give you a list of items, and you have 25 minutes and only 5 hints to go over the room and discover the objects. Some of the things are not relevant to the crime, but others could be useful for solving the mystery. In this hidden objects game you not only find the item, but sometimes you must move the object around the game board.

After finding all the pieces on the list this investigation is over, and you will be rewarded a clue card. This is a statement from a suspect or colleague who may or may not help you. These cards are stored in the clue room to be read without a time limit later in the game.

Bonus rounds between levels will offer more clues to your investigation. For example, after finding scraps of newspaper in the garden, you must put the torn pieces like a jigsaw puzzle back together so you can read the pertinent article in print in order to receive another clue.

After playing through 13 investigations and uncovering clues, you will come to the end of the game and will review all the clues and testimonies and hopefully be able to reveal “whodunit”.

The hidden object part of the game is relatively easy at first but gets more difficult further into the game. The hints are helpful, but there are only 5 of them per investigation so you have to use them carefully. I wasted 2 hints looking for an item that was off the page and not visible or reachable. I had to shrink the screen in order to see the location of the object. Another thing to watch is clicking on everything to find a hard to see item, because you will be penalized 30 seconds off your time. However, the 25 minute time limit is more than enough to search for most of the things on the list.

I don’t usually play hidden object/I spy games unless there’s another draw attached to it, and this one had the right one for me, Agatha Christie. Anyone who has read her novels or who likes I spy puzzles will really enjoy spending some time working and solving the Peril at End House. Also the music is very good and appropriate to the time period.  So get to detecting and catch the criminal while having fun at the same time.

Features of Agatha Christie: Peril at End House:
-Objects to discover
-Puzzles
-13 Characters
-25 Different Rooms
-Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Novel
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Pearls are a central theme in both Mac match 3 games Trial of the Gods – Ariadne’s Fate and Journey, and that’s a good thing in my book. I cannot have enough pearls in my jewelry box. In the sequel Ariadne is saved and reunited with Theseus, but alas, life is not so easy for these two lovers of ancient Greek mythology.

Theseus is sent to ward off the Amazon invasion, but gets captured instead. Now Adriadne must venture out and save Theseus. She implores the gods to help her on her journey, and Aphrodite offers to assist her in return for gifts to repair her tattered temple.

In order to get Aphrodite gifts you play a match 3 or more similar objects game. You begin by matching tiles with pearls to release them, and as you travel along the path to get closer to Theseus, you get different types of match plays to earn. At the market place you match purses of gems to be first in line for the goods. The purses do not swap so you have to figure out how to get other items lined up to make the match.

There are many power-ups you get for making combos. The emerald will destroy tiles horizontally and the topaz will do the same diagonally. The onyx will eliminate tiles horizontally and vertically, the quartz will make the same type of item of one kind disappear, the celestial sphere will destroy tiles around the selected tile and the caduceus’ staff will shuffle tiles surrounding a tile. You either make matches or bring items down to the bottom of the screen to collect them. When Ariadne needs to have her fortune read, you must bring down cards. If you see coins appear on the board, you must click on them quickly to collect them. They only appear for a short time. If you see tiles with 2 items, you can match this tile with either of the items.

Aphrodite will also grant Ariadne gifts like the porter who will escort her through shortcuts on her journey for awhile. Along the journey, you will play hidden object games to collect more items. These HOGs are quite simple, but they do break up the match plays. After earning gifts for Aphrodite, you will play a sim type of game by placing these gifts in appropriate locations in and around the temple. Move the piece around the board until you see the outline of it appear and place it at that location.

The main plays are the match 3 games. You can either play the Adventure and follow the story of Ariadne or play Ariadne’s Loom where you bring the ball of yarn down the board to complete the needlepoint picture on the left. The play is similar to the Adventure except you do not follow the story or play the mini games.

Trial of the Gods – Ariadne’s Journey is very similar to the first game, but with added games like the HOGs and the sim games. Both of these games are simple and not much of a challenge so if you are looking for a difficult game, this is not the one. However, you can play it timed in order to up the ante a little, but if you want a easy, relaxing fun day, try playing this colorful match game with added side games.

Features of Trial of the Gods – Ariadne’s Journey:
-2 Modes to Play
-Hidden Objects
-Restore Aphrodite’s Temple

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars