Smiley Central Studio (www.smileycentralstudio.com)
© 2009 Techno Source
Following the tried-and-true "buy a toy, get a password" business model, Smiley Central Studio consists of a set of $10 smiley toys, each with a password to a creativity studio, found at www.smileycentralstudio.com. There are five types of toys, including a key chain, plush toy, a collection of figurines and charms. Once you pry open the packaging, which in once case required wire cutters, you log onto www.smileycentralstudio.com where you must register and type in your 13 digit code. This process is hardly child-friendly, but fortunately is only required once. There are no credit cards or subscriptions to worry about. Next, you see your toy surrounded by sets of stamps, clothing items and paint buckets. The process of modifying your Smiley is all multiple choice -- it would be better if you could drag-and-drop the selections. In addition, you can only decorate your smile face and not the backgrounds. Finished work can be saved online for later viewing. The idea is fun, but the creativity potential is very limited, and there's no shortage of prompts to get you to buy another toy. Note that work can only be downloaded to Windows computers.
$10, Windows, Internet Site
Teaches: creativity, writing
CTR Rating: 82%