Product Description

Settled in their new homeland, Zoombinis

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3313 in Video Games
• Brand: The Learning Company
• Model: 380860
• Released on: 2001-10-25
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platforms: Mac, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 95
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds

Amazon.com Review
Zoombinis are little blue guys and gals that inhabit a kingdom reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, and ingeniously teach math principles using puzzles instead of numbers. In Zoombinis Mountain Rescue a group of Zoombinis gets trapped in a cave, and it's up to players to organize a search party that can withstand the logical travails of a journey through this perilous and quirky terrain. There are nine "obstacles" along the rescue route. Players cross a bridge of turtles by sorting Zoombini search party members by nose color, hairstyle, or other characteristics. Deducing (again, based on features) which Zoombini can snowboard down what path furthers the mission, as well. The search party is held up briefly in a cafeteria where it must use logic to wait on Norfs who drop oblique hints about what they want, or don't want, to order. Each game will stretch your child's ability to use forethought and analysis to assess a situation. Even the easiest of the three levels is designed to be challenging, so be prepared to help out along this creative and strenuous path.

The genius of this Windows-only program is that it turns sophisticated mathematical concepts into engrossing activities. We played a game called Boolie Boggle endlessly. Boolies either smile or frown, and in this game, the object is to change frowns into smiles by bumping Boolies with pinballs. Pretty easy until you start getting chains of Boolies and chains of pinballs. Soon your mind is throbbing as you try to figure out what a sequence of three pinballs will do to two frowning Boolies. "Binary addition" sounds pretty intimidating, but that's exactly what Boolie Boggle is teaching. "Algebraic thinking" and "information-age math" are among the other things this program teaches--mercifully, it manages it with little creatures and 3-D mazes instead of formulas and numbers.

As this journey unfolds, members of the search party drop off due to mismatched noses, wrong path choices, and other errors. Fortunately, there is a practice mode where kids can play the games without sacrificing their Zoombini friends. Puzzles change elements, so there's no way to "learn" a level then repeat it by rote. There is also a very thorough parent's guide, which is helpful for parents who have, er, forgotten about binary numbers. Zoombinis Mountain Rescue is a gentle, yet challenging, program that will probably even work its subtle magic on math-phobes. (Ages 8 and older) --Anne Erickson

Amazon.com Product Description
The math and logic odyssey continues. Scale the heights in a cliffhanging alpine adventure and expand critical logic and mathematical thinking skills in Zoombinis Mountain Rescue. Join a daring rescue party as it searches for Zoombinis inside a mysterious, menacing mountain. Build important foundational reasoning skills and journey into advanced concepts like binary computing and networks--all during a bold mission that has kids searching perilous, puzzle-packed passages. This second adventure in the Zoombinis series is a journey into the math of the information age--the mathematical thinking skills used in writing computer programs and organizing spreadsheet data.

Customer Reviews

Zoombinis Mountain Rescue Fun, Secretly Educational....
My children received Zoombinis Mountain Rescue for Christmas, alongside Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I Spy Treasure, and the Sim Theme Park PC programs. Now that it is March, Zoombini Mountain Rescue is the only program that continues to challenge my 6 and 8 year old sons to think. They cannot memorize this game; it changes and requires constant problem solving. It's humor and fun hide the fact that this is an "educational program." This is a great way for kids to learn mathematical theory and logic! ( My Mother, a teacher, even used the 1st Logical Journey of the Zoombinis in her 1st and 2nd Grade classroom with much success. ) We had no problems with loading, display, and playing the program. The characters and challenges in both Zoombini programs are neither violent nor simpering. Kids at 6 years will need some parent help as they progress in Zoombini Mountain Rescue. Logical Journey of the Zoombinis was less difficult for the youngest gamers. Watch out parents! It's fun for all ages...

Second Zoombinis Game
Finally, there is another Zoombinis game. It took about five years, but I was so excited that I immediately rushed out and bought it. I was a little disappointed to see that the graphics had changed, so that all of the Zoombinis looked different. As soon as I started to play it, however, I changed my mind. Though it only has nine puzzles and three difficulty levels for each, the game is still challenging. The Zoombinis are living in Zoombiniville happily, until a storm makes some Zoombinis get trapped in a cave. They venture out to rescue the others, and find that the friendly Boolies have lost their mayor. Now, the Zoombinis decide to help the Boolies get back to Booliewood so that their mayor will return. Instead of the difficulty level rising for an entire leg, each level can now have its own setting. Once a group of 16 Zoombinis gets through a level any three times without losing any Zoombinis, the difficulty level rises. Math and logic are slyly disguised and placed in each level, without using numbers. Some of the new concepts include dimension labeling and binary addition. This long-awaited sequel to the first Zoombinis game is almost as good as Logical Journey, though I would rather have the first if I had to choose. If you like this game, try the original, Zoombinis Logical Journey, and the third, Zoombinis Island Odyssey.

VERY INTERESTING
This is almost better than the last! It is VERY VERY educational and VERY VERY fun. I could let my kids play it for hours. I highly reccomend this item.