Disney's Toontown Online

$9.95, Windows with Internet Connection

Teaches: socialization, logical problem solving

CTR Rating: 90%

CTR Review

Update 2010: Sadly Toontown has been unplugged. Update 2006: Rating has been raised to 4.6 due to additional interactive features. The first "massive multiplayer" online game exclusively for kids, Toontown is a subscription based CD/web product that one eight year old tester quickly labeled "awesome." Note that you'll want DSL or cable modem (always on) service to get the most out of the game. After you sign up for an account, your first order of business is to create and name your avatar, or "Toon", which is your cartoon character that will represent you in the game. Next, it's on to the "Toon-Torial" where you learn how to play the games. It seems that evil robots called Cogs have taken over Toontown, and it's up to you and all the other kids playing the game to stop them with squirt guns, pies, and other animated gags. Sure, you can take down a Cog on your own, but you soon learn that it's better to cooperate with other kids in a joint attack. You communicate with other players, but only with pulldown menus of canned comments, which keeps the game clean and safe. A buddy chat feature can be enabled by a parent, if desired, for more personal communications on a case-by-cased basis. Other games let you earn jellybeans (Toontown currency), which can be spent at gag shops, to give your Toon more abilities. The bottom line? This is a compelling, well designed, humorous game that keeps children engaged with other kids for hours, in a secure setting. As of July 2003, subscriptions are priced at $10 per month, $50 for 6 months or $80 per year.