Blue's Clues Kindergarten

This game lets young players show Periwinkle the early-education ropes, guiding him through math, science, reading, and time-telling drills in a cheery game environment. Players select rhyming fridge magnets to build language skills, eventually making poems of the words they identify correctly. Counting and adding activities in the sandbox make elementary computation a snap, while a poster of the solar system provides a gateway to fun and interesting facts about all the planets orbiting the sun. Children can adjust the difficulty level of gameplay, adapting each exercise so its degree of challenge is just right. Successful learning is rewarded with printable activity pages, providing opportunities for learning and entertainment away from the computer.

There are only so many ways to bundle up basic education drills, and the core content of Blue's Clues Kindergarten is not radically different from most preschool learning programs. Its tone is bright and friendly, though, making it one of the most genuinely playable games of its type. With appealing characters and well-designed activities, it delivers its educational content gently, mixing it with a solid dose of low-key humor. And for players who need a short break from the learning action, there is a hide-and-seek game. The prospect of tracking down a lurking Joe provides just the right breather for kids before they return to the task of showing Periwinkle what kindergarten is all about. --Alyx Dellamonica

Amazon.com Product Description
Periwinkle is nervous about going to school. To help him, Blue and Joe turn Blue's house into a make-believe kindergarten with games about science, math, rhyming, art, and more. Choose from five games with Blue, Joe, and friends, while three adjustable levels of difficulty match children's growth. Play Refrigerator Rhymes in Blue's kitchen, tell time with Tickety, learn math at the Sand Table with Shovel and Pail, and--at Peri's fort--there's Super Science. Loads of educational clickables and surprises await in Blue's Kindergarten. Plus, areas for printable activities and for parents let the learning fun continue away from the computer.

Product Description
Periwinkle is nervous about going to school and to help him overcome his fears, Blue and Joe transform Blue's house into a pretend kindergarten classroom where the games are all about science, telling time, rhyming, art, creativity, math and more! Play Refrigerator Rhymes in the kitchen, tell time with Tickety, play a math game at the Sand Table with Shovel and Pail, and at Peri's fort - it's Super Science!

Activity 1: Go to the bakery and pick items off shelves.

Activity 2: Go to the library and put books where they're supposed to go, by matching the book with the letter on the shelf.

Activity 3: Go to the Toy Store and help customers buy presents by picking from a shelf full of items.

Activity 4: Go to the grocery store, and help Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper select groceries by taking food items off of ... you guessed it, shelves.

The only activity that is different, is a mediocre music activity, where you match what Purple Kangaroo does. Eh.

Sounds pretty exciting, doesn't it! Well, not really. The only reason this game will sell like crazy is because it has Blue in it. If it wasn't for that, no one would pay attention to it. The activities are simplistic and rapidly become boring due to the recurring and unimaginitive "shelf" theme. Worse, the program doesn't really explain anything to your child. It just jumps right in and says "Match the letter on the book, to the letter on the shelf." Your child may likely ask, "What's a letter?"

The show is good, but this game isn't. Pass, unless you really love shelves.


Hours and Hours and Hours of fun!   August 5, 2004
M. Kulis (Stamford, Connecticut - United States)
26 out of 27 found this review helpful

My daughter has had this software program for several months now. She is four years old and doesn't watch Blue's Clues that much, although she knows what it is. That's what's so amazing to me about this software, your kids don't have to sit in front of the TV for hours to know how to play it!

It strays from your typical Blue's Clues adventure of finding the 3 clues. The software runs like a virtual preschool (which she can appreciate now that she's attending one).

My favorite feature (and hers!) is how you can give your drawings and paintings away to other school "members". Then a few minutes later along comes Joe explaining that you've recieved one too!

I've found the "outside" part of the software to be very full of knowledge about animals. Children take part of a scrapbooking adventure and in the process learn many facts about different animals.

All games/tasks can be made more difficult with "leveling" so that the software never gets old.

This game is WAY better than TV!


Lots of fun for a 2 1/2 year-old   December 29, 2002
Jason A. Miller (New York, New York USA)
24 out of 25 found this review helpful

I bought this game for my 2 1/2 year-old nephew, even though it's billed for ages 3-5. I didn't realize, however, that he would take to it so quickly. In the week since I've had this game, he's basically played it for an hour every day, and cries when I try to protect his little eyes by turning it off sooner.

He can use the mouse to navigate his way quickly and accurately through Blue's neighborhood. There are many different screens to go through, from Miss Marigold's school, out to the streets, and into the five different stores where you perform the activities. He particularly likes to go into the library and place books back onto the book cart, matching the letters -- even if he doesn't yet know what those letters are called. Other activities seem a little pointless to me: after you go into the "present store" and select a gift, a pile of money appears (as much as $10) and then you have to transfer the bills one at a time into a talking cash register. I was afraid this would bore my nephew, but he actually does all of it. Only the music store frustrates him -- there are only three instruments to play with (a bell, a triangle, and a xylophone), and the music is basically tuneless.

Wisely, the game also has fun little extras for when your child doesn't want to complete the activities. At times, all my nephew does is click on the mailbox to make it talk, or watch the fountain shoot water into the air, or get the chimney to count to 9. It's a great idea to include games on Miss Marigold's computer that your child can print out and play with, even when the computer's off. I don't think my nephew will outgrow this game too quickly.

On the whole, this has become my nephew's favorite computer game (he also has "Elmo's World: Pets, Food & Telephones" and "Muppet Babies Toyland Train"). Although he lacks the patience, at 2 1/2, to complete some of the activities, he loves the colors and sounds and funny noises the game offers, and can keep himself occupied indefinitely (in toddler terms).

One thing the programmers probably didn't intend: although the game is hosted and narrated by Joe, my nephew still calls him "Steve". This makes me laugh!


Age Group 3-5 ???   October 8, 2002
21 out of 24 found this review helpful

My daughter absolutely loves Blue. She can watch the videos over and over. I bought this game to allow myself a little quiet time. So far she seems to love playing it. The thing is, she's only 19 months old. To be honest the game seems to lack substance. It's mainly alot of repetition that I think would be extremely boring for a 3-5 year old child. If she can "get it" now, then I can't believe that in a year from now she'd still want to play it. I wouldn't recommend this game for the intended age group. I would however recommend it to parents of younger children who are interested in taking the time to play the game with their child. When we first bought the game I needed to explain what was going on. The more she played however she began catching onto the concept (you have to help pick out gifts for customers, go to the grocery store, the library, etc.)
If you have extra money buy the game, if not get your child something you're sure they'll enjoy. Like I said this game seems to be more for a younger child and I don't see it entertaining their interests for too long a period of time.