Alphabet - Play With the ABCs
Ages 3 - 102

This game is very fun!! It looks like a boring game for three year olds but it really is a game for all ages. I do disagree with the age range, though, I think that instead of 2 to 102 it should be more agreeable to have 2 to all ages since 103 seniors would enjoy it.

The game doesn't really have a point, it's just a lot of fun. It's like a toy that you play with and it's like one of those little toys where you pull a lever and a Sesame Street character pops out and you push a button and out comes Big Bird. If you want to, you can type a key and the letter will pop out.

I think that this game is for girls especially because boys would be too "mature" for it. Nine year olds and eight year olds will be a little uncomfortable about it with their friends because it's about playing with the "ABC's."

If you asked me about what my favorite part of it is, I'd tell you it's the "G" game. I can't explain all 26 separate games so I'll just tell you about the "G" game. What you do is you have a little "g" and all of these little "g's" around it and you have to eat all the other "g's" until you get so big that you turn the whole screen red, the color of the "g" and then you feed the hippopotamus.

The next favorite game is the "i" game. The "i" is very scared. If you have a microphone the "i" will run when you yell or blow into the microphone and soon all those little "i's" will be bring out bigger, capital "I's." Don't worry, they're just as scared.

There are absolutely no problems. It is very, very interesting, and I can play it over and over and over and over.

The graphics on the "T" were very, very good. The sound and music were very, very good.

I don't recommend playing it with another girl because it would be, "Do the "q", no, do the "s", but my mother loves to play it and she especially likes the "a." My mother doesn't play any other games.

Brigit B. Age 10

Tivola is a new find for us. We are reviewing four of their current games. Their games take a different direction from the games we generally see. They are quieter, and range from funny; to literate to incredibly artistic.

Alphabet - Play With the ABCs is another game drawn from the graphic art of Kveta Pacovska. Like Midnight Play this one is also hard to pigeon hole. It belies description. It's like looking at an animated quilt, or an aquarium, playing with a kaleidoscope or walking though a museum where you can touch the paintings. The artwork is incredible, the sounds, great and the silences, wonderful. Of course there are letters - but you have never seen letters like these. Simply moving the mouse produces effects and the keyboard can be played like a piano - introducing letters into the art. Unexpected humorous touches has produced chuckles and even loud laughs in our office. Between the laughs and the unique sound track I can always tell who is in the game.

This product is for special children and grownups. There is no story, much of it is random, there are no directions to help you explore but it is really a pause that refreshes. At this time, game is only available from the Tivola site.

Editor Review 12/00