TouchMaster: Connect

$20, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi

Teaches: logic, strategy, spelling, fine motor coordination, temporal relations

CTR Rating: 88%

CTR Review

If variety is the spice of life, TouchMaster on the DS is a good choice. This collection of 20 action, strategy, puzzle, trivia and card games has something for everyone. Most are variations on a theme of familiar casual games. In Feeding Frosty you move a snowman around the screen to see how big you can grow it, while avoiding bad guys. In Boxdrop, you create stacks of number blocks that add up to 21. If you don't like a game, it's easy to exit and play something else. While the scoring scheme can be complicated, the games are generally easy to play and well designed. There is no commercial content or worrisome content. Features include the ability to connect with Facebook and Twitter to post high scores, three game save slots, and the ability to control background sounds. Multiplayer options are available for both single player, DS System Swap and DS Download play. Developed by DoubleTap Games for Warner Brothers.