Nick Jr. Boost (www.nickjrboost.com)

© 2008 Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group
$1072, Windows, Mac OSX, Internet Site
Teaches: reading, letter and number recognition, Spanish
CTR Rating: 92%
Editor's Choice

CTR Review

Wouldn't it be great if screen content customized itself to your child, rather than the other way around?. A case-study in good design, Nick Jr. Boost (formerly called My Noggin) is a subscription-only ($10/month) collection of activities, videos and record-keeping features, with no ads or alternative agendas. It provides an excellent interactive companion to Noggin, the NickJr. TV channel. Just be careful that you don't start a free trial (credit card required) and forget to cancel. After you subscribe with a password and screen name, you setup additional screen names for up to six children. You can customize each child's record with an icon and select their level... the content ranges from preschool to first grade. Children are greeted in their playroom by Moose. From there, they have one-click access to activity centers like Zee's Creativity Center, Dora and Diego Sports Village, Moose's Golden Treasure Hunt, Dora's Neighborhood, Blue's Guess and Draw, and Blue's Birthday Party. While the games vary in quality and can take a while to load the first time (on average, about 20 seconds), this load time decreases after the first play because the instructions only play the first time and can be skipped. The games are also designed to branch; in other words, they automatically get easier or harder to match a child's level. Most of the games are arcade-like, with a high frequency of sorting, counting and matching and the ability to stop at any time. Correct answers earn you marbles, which accumulate in a bag in the margin of the screen and can be used to unlock additional games in the toy chest. This is also where children can watch a collection of 23 videos of prior TV shows. The only creativity activity, called Moose and Zee's Creativity Center, offers a nice variety of drawing options, but in a screen area that is too small. All in all, this is a well-designed site that is well worth your child's time. Just keep an eye on your credit card statements.