Putt Putt Enters the Race
Company: Humongous Entertainment
Estimated Price: CD-ROM, $29.99
http://www.humongous.com
Age Group: 3-8

Putt Putt Enters the Race

Another exciting adventure is in store for Putt Putt and his special friend: your son or daughter. If your child is familiar with the other adventures, Putt Putt Enters the Race offers them new faces and new problems that must be solved. Putt Putt must find four items to enter the race: a helmet; a flag; gas; and special tires. To get these items Putt Putt must trade, recycle, earn money and help his neighbors.

The graphics are fantastic and the interaction with the citizens of Cartown can grab and hold the attention of a small child (or even a large one!).

The dashboard is always visible, and that is where you will find Putt Putt's inventory. Not only that, but clicking on the special "click points" and the dashboard will give special results. Putt Putt can pick up and trade or sell items as necessary.

It is fun exploring all the places and characters in Cartown. Remember to click on everything you see, and to stop a while to chat with the town people. In that way you can find and gather everything you'll need for the race. At each stop there is an adventure or a game to be played!

I really enjoyed the educational aspects of Putt Putt. The program creates an atmosphere where the children must use critical thinking skills, problem solving, and memory skills. But some of the situations, I feel, are a bit too advanced for the average 3 or 4 year old. Putt Putt Enters the Race gives an exciting challenge, however, to those children who are 5 years old or more. It may take two or more tries to solve a particular problem, or several trips around town, but it's worth the time and lots of fun!

Putt Putt also teaches the children safety. I loved the part where a building was on fire and Putt Putt had to call the fire department. Putt Putt teaches children the correct way to use 911, and demonstrates what questions will have to be answered, how to stay calm and on the phone until told to hang up, and then to stay safely out of the way.

There are bottles lying around town for Putt Putt to recycle. Putt Putt gathers these bottles to take to the recycling center for money. (Money is needed to buy the tires.) I am very interested in ecology, so this part of the program was appealing to me. Not only did Putt Putt pick up the bottle saying "This does not belong here" but he teaches the children that they can earn money doing it.

In the library the children must use their knowledge of numbers to put the number on their flag. In the garage they must use a patch kit to cut out shapes to put a patch on Putt Putt's friend Mr.Tow Truck's tire.

The helmet helps the children to realize that whether they are racing on a car track or with their bikes, they should always wear a helmet for safety.

Once you have collected all your items, you enter the race. You use your mouse to steer Putt Putt. There are five laps and a flag counter at the bottom right of your screen. Your child can rerun the race as many times as he likes.

Saving, Loading, and Quitting the game could not be easier! These functions are now accessed with the mouse on the dashboard! You click on the ignition and the sun visor flips down to reveal the commands. You don't want to save the game? That's fine! The game path will be randomly determined every time you start a new game.

What you get
Putt Putt Enters the Race comes with a CD-ROM, Putt Putt Stickers, a Junior Activity Book, and a Free Putt Putt Key Chain! (It is a nice big Putt Putt key chain and I collect Key Chains!) Humongous Entertainment included a wonderful reviewer's kit that was very helpful to me. The package included an information guide, and on a separate CD-ROM there was character art, screen shots, and the beautiful Putt Putt desktop picture that now makes me the envy of my grandchildren! Thank you, Humongous! Now, are the rest of you companies taking notes?

Requirements and Installation
Putt Putt requires Mac OS 7.1 or greater, a PowerPC (90MHz recommended), 16 MB RAM, and at least a 4x-speed CD-ROM drive. There is no installation. At the first launch of the program it will check to make sure that your CD speed is up to requirements. (It's a Dual Platform CD-ROM--also Windows 3.1, 95 or 98)

Summary
Putt Putt wants to race at the Cartown Speedway. But before he can there are several items that are necessary for him to get before he can enter. Putt Putt needs your help to find these items that are located all over town. As you help Putt Putt you will meet the people of Cartown, and learn some valuable lessons in safety, sharing, and helping friends and neighbors.

I would highly recommend this program to all of you with children between the ages of 5 to 8. Although the graphics and audio will hold the attention of the younger set, I believe the tasks themselves are too difficult for them to accomplish on their own.

MacMice Rating: 4

Lyn Price
vlprice@earthlink.com