IWin.com Homepage

IWin.com is a website that offers hundreds of downloadable games for kids to play.  These games take only minutes to download and are available for FREE(most for a limited time).  The genres of games include hidden object, time management, action, board/card, game show/word, match 3, puzzles, and online party.  There is even a section specifically for free games.  What I found most appealing about this website is that you are able to play a 60 minute free trial for most of the games.  I like being able to try out a game before I commit to the purchase, nothing worse than buying a dud game.

Turtle Odyssey

In my lengthy time spent playing and exploring this website, one game I really enjoyed was Turtle Odyssey.  This game is an adventure type game featuring a little turtle named “Ozzy”.  As Ozzy you navigate your way through 8 episodes which include a number of sub-levels.  The objective is for you to collect coins and diamond jewels while doing your best to avoid obstacles like evil octopus.  You must collect all of the diamond jewels to open the door at the end to complete the level.  The heart on the bottom right corner of the screen shows your life and the blue circle in the left corner shows your oxygen level.  Both of these must be kept from being completely empty or your journey can’t proceed.  You can refill both by finding bottles filled with either air or hearts at different points throughout the game.  This game is a fun nonviolent adventure for your child.  I played this game on its free 60 minute trial, but if you really enjoy the game there is the additional option to buy.

Vacation Mogul

The second game that I thought was worth mentioning was called Vacation Mogul.  This was a time management based game.  The background story to this game is that your distant uncle has passed away and left you and your sister his millionaire  island home.  As the story unfolds you come to realize that something was fishy about your uncle’s passing and your sister also goes missing.  It’s your job to find out what happened! In addition to solving a mystery you are also a real estate mogul developing vacation spots.  Each level within the game has specific tasks and time limits to building hotels, motels, shops and other attractions.  This game definitely requires multi-tasking skills as many steps go into building and maintaining resort areas, such as hiring workers, getting building materials, constructing buildings, upgrading and repairing sites, and researching for new developments.  This game is great because it has no time limit for the free play.  Once you download this game you can play for as long as you like.  The only downfall it seems would be the amount of advertising.  After almost every level it seemed there was a break for a commercial advertisement.  Once again if you do purchase this game the advertising has been removed.

So, if during your exploration of IWin.com a game does catch your fancy a couple of options are available for permanent ownership.  An All Access Pass entitles you to unlimited play of a number of online downloadable games as well as 24 hours of offline play time for each for a monthly fee of $9.99.  The second payment option is Club Iwin which for a $6.99 montly fee gives you discounted game purchases.  The third payment option is a a direct buy with no membership needed for the games at retail prices generally $9.99 each.

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Homepage After Login

DinoSawUs.com works by bringing its players into a colorful world inhabited by even more colorful looking dinosaurs.  Just think how different the world would be if these interesting creatures were still around!  While we will never know what dinosaurs would really be like, it’s pretty fun to play around and imagine.  The game starts with the creation of your own dinosaur character and login name or as the game calls it your “secret-identity”.  You start off as a free non-member with 5 credits, which doesn’t really give you too many options initially if you’re looking to buy something for your dino.  There are a whole bunch of games that you can play for free as a non-member and areas for you to explore.  The locations in the game range from the town-hall to the diner to the museum to of course the volcano site.

DinoSawUs Museum

The museum section had a really great educational factor to it.  There is a part titled “General Knowledge” and this section included information on volcanoes, digging up dinos, fossil finding, and pronunciation.  Each location has its own games and activities within the game which keep any repetition to a minimum.  The main toolbar for the game contains links for your own personal aspects of the game.  These are located on the bottom right of the screen and include “Gunge, Friends, Party, My Stuff, Chat, Postcards, and Travel”.  Chat is a preloaded assortment of conversational words that can be used to communicate with other players through your character.  This is nice because it takes away any possible concern over inappropriate contact on this socially interactive site.  Another cool part on that toolbar specifically is the travel section which brings you to a larger map and allows you to jump right to any place in the DinoSawUs world.

Rocket-Bolt Game

There were quite a few mini-games offered throughout the game.  Just to name a select few of the games, there was a Rocket-Bolt game were you have to maneuver your dino character equipped with a jet-pack through a variety of maze type levels.  In each level you collect balloons for points as well as added bonuses of health and avoid other objects trying to stop you.  This game gets harder as you progress upward through the levels  and requires some definite thinking and logic skills to figure out how to fly to success.  Some additional games include a Rock-Band type game, a color memory game, a Burger Restaurant game, a hangman game, and a word search.  The color memory game was pretty fun and reminds me of the electronic handheld game “Simon” that I played as a child.

This site did have quite a bit more available to players who became members.  The membership does require a payment and they have three options available, a monthly payment of $5.95, a 6 month term payment of $24.95 or a yearly payment of $39.95.  The additional features after becoming a member include stuff like special cars and costumes for your dino, the ability to buy exclusive dinos, and the use of the “Party” option on the toolbar.  Your child will definitely want the paid version but the free version gives you enough experience to know whether or not the game is one your child will want to return and play.

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Have you ever wanted a safe site for your children to play on that has it all? No more constant web surfing needed after you visit TVOKids! This site is filled with an enormous range of activities for children ages 2-5 and 11 & under  to enjoy.  It has games targeted towards reading, math, science, art, spelling, music, and sports, just to name a few.  TVOKids really provides a way for children to improve a number of important skills while still having a great time.  The fun doesn’t stop there, in addition to having a range of games, they also have a variety of videos which range from cooking instructions to providing tips and help on homework.

Each age group has it’s own home page with links to the games, videos and more.   I played games and watched videos on both age group sites and found them both worthwhile.  One of my favorite games on the older children’s site was called Dino Dan.  In this game you are provided with tools to find the fossils just like a real life archaeologist would  such as a sonar, a shovel, a brush, and a shifter which all need to be used at specific times.  You advance through the game by finding fossils in the dig site to form a number of different extinct dinosaurs.    

In addition to the dig site, another cool feature of this game is the Dino Lab.  This section includes a Hatchery (where dino eggs are cared for), a Yearbook (which shows some of the game’s character Dan’s friends), and a Dinocyclopedia (where you can learn about all the dinosaurs whose fossils you’ve found).  There are also a couple of dinosaur themed mini-games within that are unlocked after finding a certain number of complete dinosaur skeletons. A cool option about this game is that you can but aren’t required to create a login account.  This is nice for continuous play action and does require a parent’s email.  If you child likes dinosaurs they will most certainly love this game, I know i did!

Not to leave out the 2-5 age group site, a game that I thought was particularly entertaining and educational in the category of reading and spelling was called The Adventures of Sir Readsalot.  This game reads a page of a story aloud in a very silly sounding voice, while simultaneously highlighting each specific word.   This really allows the child to connect the sound with the visual spelling of the word.  After the short part of the story is read one word disappears and you must click around the  castle background to find the letters that make up the word.  Almost every object is click-able and moves around a little when clicked.  Even if you don’t click on the correct one to find a letter, you can enjoy the reaction from the object you did click as it moves around.  The game also helps you out in finding the letter if you are having trouble by providing a red arrow which will point to the desired location.

In conclusion, TVOKids felt very safe in my opinion  and had a variety of fun activities for kids.  The site is free and I have yet to see any ads located anywhere really on the site, which is nice since ads seem to pop up everywhere.  I highly recommend this site. Enjoy!

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When using Neopets, your child has to create an account, which is free to all users. Some basic information is required, including an email address, in case of a lost password. Also with the necessity of an email address, it will require your permission for your child to engage in this site. The use of the account is to collect points and keep track of your Neopet. This game requires a child to learn responsibility about having a pet. For example the pet if neglected, can become withered and ill. This game allows your child to feel accomplished. By playing games your child can earn Neocash which is used to decorate your neo-home and revitalize your Neopets. All of these lessons are taught through over 100 games. These games can range from puzzles, educational (for example the game, Imperial Exam, is helpful with spelling) to games that are based upon pure fun. All of the games are geared toward children, with no violence involved. The games involve the use of the Neopets characters, which are adorable and friendly. Your child can also interact with other neo-pets within town, but it is not an online network for meeting new people.

This picture is one of the towns your child and their neopet can visit. It includes different shops that they can use to purchase new items for their Neopet with their neo-cash. Many of the towns are similar to this one, but different in appearance. They all include different games that are relevant to it’s neighborhood.

Although there are no pop-ups, as a parent, you may want to be aware of the ads that are on the boarder of the website. Also an ad will present itself before each game your child chooses to play. Fortunately, these ads are not inappropriate to younger ages. Most ads consist of children’s movies and cell phone coverage.

I have played Neopets throughout my childhood, and at the age of 20, still have friends who indulge themselves in its experience. All of my friends and younger siblings have found this game extremely enjoyable. This game is fun because it has its own child-like innocence. The only problem with this site is that it can be confusing in some regards. Luckily, there is a tutorial that your child can use to learn how to play.

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Genesis

Genesis is an awesome game much like Auditorium, which  I recently reviewed. A puzzle game with music and beautiful graphics that increases in difficulty. Point the beams of light towards the planets to light up the sky, get the music flowing and have the light flow to all to solve the level.

Twisty Text

A fun game where you make as many words as you can out of the 6 letters given to you in 2 1/2 minutes.  Guess the 6 letter word to advance to the next level.  Click the Twist button to rearrange the letters.  Challenge yourself and try and get all the words.  My FAVORITE part about this game is the controls. You can drag and drop the letters and you can underline the word with your finger. COOL use of the ITouch/IPhone technology.

Crack The Code

Crack the Code is a version of the old classic game Mastermind.  Guess the order the colors are in.  You get hints each step of the way.  A black peg means you have the right color in the right place.  A white peg means you have the right color but it is not in the correct spot.  How long will it take you to Crack the Code?

Tap Word

A boggle-like game.  Drag to form words or tap consecutive letters before the time runs out. This game comes with LOTS of options. You can  set the timer for 1-5 minutes, change the board size to either 4×4 or 5×5 or change the minimum word size allowed. At the end you get a complete list of the words that were possible.

Boxed In

Boxed in has received millions of downloads.  This is a logic based puzzle game where you guide the robot with your finger.  The robot needs to push boxes in the correct order to solve the puzzle.  The game play gets increasingly difficult, adding force-fields you need to deactivate by pushing floor switches down with the boxes.  I recommend if you get stuck either going to another level or stepping away and coming back to it. This game is tons of fun and requires lots of thinking and planning.

These are just a sample of the wonderful educational games available for the many Mac products like the IPod, ITouch and IPhone. Most of the full versions of these games are $.99 which makes them a huge bargain. For my son’s birthday it was nice to be able to get him an ITunes gift card so he could decide which games, movies, music and/or videos he wanted to spend his money on. Email me if you have any other games or apps you would like me to review.  Remember they have to be non violent and I LOVE educational games. Thank you! Have fun!

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As far as kid’s computer games go for the Wii – Jump Start Pet Rescue is one of THE BEST games I have found for 3-6 year olds. My children have played Jump Start Games since they were 3 and to see these characters come to life in a Wii game is WONDERFUL!  From designing their own avatar, to adopting pets to playing educational and fun games — Jump Start Pet Rescue will keep children entertained and learning for a long time.

My daughter, who is six loves this game.  She is a very good reader so thought a couple of the games were easy but still enjoys them and running around taking part in the many activities Jump Start has to offer. This game really makes children think and offers so much content that is educational AND fun. From designing their own “jumpee” (avatar) to running around and doing tasks and solving educational games — your child will be entertained AND learning for a long time. Enjoy this video to see some of the fun things Jump Start Pet Rescue for the Wii offers.

Some of my daughters favorite activities have been picking out a pet to play with, feed and train, exploring the worlds including going down the cool water slide and playing the MANY games that are offered.  Honestly my daughter is not easily impressed with games and she was blown away by this one.  Younger children might need a little help getting acclimated but the game design is very intuitive and this is the perfect game to begin your child with to learn how to use the Wii remote.

The game has 5 different worlds to explore with saving pets your main mission.  Your child will talk to and interact with the many fascinating and loved Jump Start characters to guide them to their missions.  There are games that educate in everything from math, letter recognition, repetition, memory and more.  Pet Rescue seems so vast and my daughter has played it four times for an hour each (my limit on games) and still has barely scratched the surface.

I think you can tell I like Jump Start Pet Rescue, huh?    I have reviewed many Jump Start products like their have a brilliant site (I reviewed it here and since they have added MANY additional features).  I also have reviewed  many of the wonderful games they offer for preschool through school aged children.  It was amazing to see these characters come to life for the Wii and I cannot recommend this game enough for ages 3-6. Thank you Jump Start for yet another amazing product.

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One of my daughter’s comments about Jump Start was, “I like Jumpstart.com because you can always change how you look. You can have different color hair, eyes, and try out different clothes for your characters each time you play.”

What do You or your child have to say about Jumpstart.com?

Check out the video to see JumpStart.com in action:

Please see my previous posts for details:

Jump Start Contest

Jump Start Contest Extended

Stay tuned for my full review, comments and contest winner announcement on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009. Thank you and have fun playing on Jumpstart.com!

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– A copy of the newest version Jump Start Kindergarten called “The Legend of Grizzly McGuffin” AND

– Free 3 month FULL membership to jumpstart.com as a prize.

What to do to enter the Jump Start.com Contest:

1) Visit Jumpstart.com (free to play as a non-member). Or if you want to try out the full membership for one month you can use the Promo code 02CENTS to get a month of membership for 2 cents.

2) Email me a comment on or before Saturday January 17, 2009 11:59PM EST to: jennymannion@yahoo.com with SUBJECT: JUMPSTART CONTEST

I will NOT be accepting entries via the comments section you MUST email me and follow the following directions for eligibility:

– In YOUR EMAIL TO ME: Tell me WHAT you like about Jumpstart.com and your name (at least first name and last initial) and a valid email address. Alternatively you can send in something your child said they liked or found cool about the site.

– THE SUBJECT OF YOUR EMAIL MUST READ: JUMPSTART CONTEST

(If you have a website, you can include that url info too — please no spam or you will be disqualified from the contest.)

3) I will include most comments submitted by readers in my review of Jumpstart.com on Tuesday January 20. At the same time I will announce the winner. I will assign a number to each comment I receive in the order received. The winner will be chosen by a random number picker.

4) If you are the winner you will need to supply an address as to WHERE to mail the prize.

Simple right? I wish everyone good luck and I am so happy to be giving out 2 of Jump Start’s great products as a prize.

I have compiled my previous info/reviews of JumpStart Products below for you to get an idea of the quality of their products:

INFO/REVIEWS OF JUMPSTART PRODUCTS

Jumpstart Preschool Advanced

Jump Start Preschool is a GREAT game for 2-5 year olds. It teaches mouse control and offers lots of fun learning games. Lot of cute animations in cute little voices…. The Jump Start games for any ages are great but the preschool is my favorite. It teaches them how to get in and out of the different games offered which allows the children to learn some early independence on the computer.

Jump Start Kindergarten

I gave my daughter Jump Start World Kindergarten for Christmas and it has been our favorite computer game to prepare her for Kindergarten. It has the cute characters that accompany all the Jump Start titles (by Knowledge Adventure) and lots more. For a very inexpensive price ($9.99) you get the starter software that comes with the first 2 of the 12 levels which has over 30 activities and games that your children can continue to play. Jump Start also asks a parent to sign up so you can receive progress reports and it will tell you what your child need help with. I think this is a wonderful game. You create your character and solve games to get gems to use for a variety of purposes. It is 3D, immersive and your child will feel like they are a part of a story. As the game progresses you will receive a pet to take care of, play tons of learning games and unlock new areas. After solving each of the learning games and some mini missions given to you by the characters in the game your child will receive a badge for completing this level. Getting the emails from Jump Start is great as it does not just tell you how your child is doing. It also allows you to leave messages on the blimp going by for your child and to do a lot more to customize your child’s experience playing the games. The map to get to characters and places makes it easy to maneuver and my daughter loves the goal of getting the badge filled.

The goals needed to make the badge also make it seem like an adventure game combined since you need to get things from certain characters and fulfill tasks given to you. Jump Start will ask you if you want to sign up for their subscription plan which includes 10 more levels at $8/level. It will wait until your child has finished one lesson before trying to download another. You can pay for a lesson at a time and then decide if you do in fact want the lessons to keep on going.

The games are age appropriate and are based on the US standards for schools. My daughter gets so caught up in the games she does not realize she is “working” on her numbers and reading at the same time. This is a safe game to let your child play alone or to watch them play and help them if they do get stuck and need assistance — it will depend on your 4 or 5 year old’s experience playing games by themselves.I highly recommend Jump Start World Kindergarten. My kids have a lot of the Jumpstart games for different ages and I do love them.

JumpStart First Grade (Ages 5-7)

JumpStart First Grade (Ages 5-7) is a GREAT game with tons of activities to teach addition, subtraction, reading, money, time, music, art and following directions. Children can change the level difficulty themselves by clicking on the level gauge on the screen. Lots of fun stories and music and engaging games.

Jump Start has MANY other games for all ages including art games and more. Amazon.com lists tons of good reviews for all Jump Start games. For more information on other games they offer and for reviews please go here.

Good luck in the contest! Jump Start is an amazing educational resource for children and I am delighted to include readers comments in my final review and to give away their quality products at the same time!

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I have loved Nintendo and their quality kids and adult video games since they started. I am so pleased to see that they not only have stayed the most inexpensive hand-held and console game system available but the one with the HIGHEST QUALITY for family content and education. I resisted getting my son a hand-held gaming system for a few years after he started nagging me for one. I felt he had his computer and didn’t need another distraction. I worried that he would be constantly wanting to play and that the games would have no educational value. I started researching the hand-held systems a bit more last year and was happy to find out that Nintendo offered VERY educational games for all ages — sorry I EVER doubted you Nintendo! At age 7, last Christmas, Santa was nice enough to bring him a Nintendo DS Lite .

The GREAT things about the Nintendo DS Lite are the great games available, the ability to draw with the stylus right on the screen, the dual screen graphics, the built in microphone that WORKS, the fact that it uses rechargeable batteries instead of replacing batteries and the ability to play some games wirelessly with up to 8 players. Once again Nintendo has exceeded even our wildest imaginations in the gaming industry and lead the way to the next level.

My favorite educational games broken down are:
Big Brain Academy: In Big Brain Academy you are working towards building your brain bigger and bigger. The puzzles are split up into five areas – thinking, memorizing, analyzing, computing and identifying. Each area has 3 games, with multiple difficulty levels — so at 15 games total you are getting a lot of entertainment and learning in.

Brain Age: Yes, Santa Brought this for ME but don’t tell my son that! He also gets enjoyment out of it and now that he is in 3rd grade and is learning multiplication and division he can use it to sharpen those skills as well. My whole family loves this game. There are a bunch of short games on this program that help with logical thinking, memory, math, reading (yes, there is a game where you read INTO the DS) and there is also Sudoku on it for those addicted where you use the stylus to write the numbers in the boxes. These games are truly addicting and you are learning at the same time. My husband said he noticed a marked improvement in his memory skills after a few days of playing this “game”.

Brain Age 2: I have not received this yet (my son will for his birthday in a few weeks — whoo hoo!) I will update this portion with my opinion once I wrestle it out of my son’s hands! : ) But I have heard great reviews and if it is anywhere as good as the first I see many hours building my brain ahead! The description is that there are 17 new activities that are all designed to help work your brain and increase blood flow to the prefrontal cortex. Whether you’re playing simple songs on a piano keyboard or monitoring the photo finish of a footrace, you’ll love your new mental workout! You can get this bundled now with the new Nintendo DS Lite which is cool black and maroon colors for only $149.99.

There are TONS of educational games for the DS Lite depending on what you are interested in or what you feel your child needs brushing up on. Nintendo makes learning fun and the DS is an amazing tool Whether it be Spelling, Math, or even the NY Times Crosswords, the Nintendo DS offers tons of ways to exercise your brain for the whole family.

Thank you Nintendo for maintaining your quality and cost over the last 25+ years!

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