Matchbox Caterpillar Adventures in Time

$19.99, Win

Teaches: history, space, logic, memory

CTR Review

This excellent program kept our testers captivated for hours. Kids travel backward and forward through time-- along with their Caterpillar vehicles. Once they arrive at a destination, say ancient Egypt, they use their bulldozers and front shovels to help build the pyramids. There are five time periods to visit, each with multiple missions and difficulty levels. Kids repair a meteor-damaged space station on the moon, for instance, and help rebuild the Great Wall of China. The program is easy to get started with and very responsive. It can be used with the CAT Controller keyboard device if you've got one, but your regular keyboard and mouse will work just fine. As kids play, they are rewarded for collecting bits of historical information about each time period. They do this by driving their vehicles over spinning question marks, that when activated offer a narrated fact or two. These tidbits are actually quite interesting and informative. The program's rewards are printable templates for 3D models. Also cool are the "secret areas" containing arcade games that kids will stumble upon these as they explore. Our only concern has to do with longevity over time. Although it took our testers hours to complete the program, once all the way through, they didn't ask to play again. Still, for the affordable price, this one's a safe pick, especially if you've got more than one interested kid in the house.