ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures - Empire of the Plant People - Box

ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures - Empire of the Plant People
Ages 10-12+

So you are really getting up there – almost into teen-hood. Well this is the last ClueFinders. From here on you are on your own. For general hints see the review for ClueFinders 5th Grade Adventures. The format is pretty much the same except of course, it's harder and your adventure takes place in a more realistic world situation. Because it is harder you now have access to Reference Information.. As for the theme – Ecology is the operative word here. You must go underground – yes under the dirt to save an entire underground plant civilization and, in turn, the town. You will need to unlock doors, build bridges, concoct sleeping potions, purify drinking water, and find which industries are polluting the environment. There are some puzzles involving decimals – but the main focus is on reasoning and increasing your awareness of other cultures. Language skills have moved from grammar to comprehension, logical reasoning and understanding assumptions. There is a relatively comprehensive section on world history from early man, through Egypt, Greece, Persia and China. The science section focus on the environment and has enough information to create an environmental activist. The graphics are colorful and clever and help to keep up the interest. Instructions on how to solve some puzzles are often vague. I presume that figuring out what is required is part of the exercise. The ClueFinders format requires that you must play each puzzle four times. So when you think you have finished the puzzle – you will hear something like "One more time" or "You have met the challenge but – there is another challenge". Of course you could always opt out and just play the games.

As in previous ClueFinder games, Lap Trap holds the keys to navigation, maps and the research information. I particularly liked the relevance of the settings and using current topics as a basis for the puzzles.

Editor Review 6/02

It was a pretty fun game but there were some good things and some not-so-good things about it. On the good side was that it was slightly a challenge. My favorite thing was the math problems – I liked getting the correct answer. On the not so good side was the graphics. Sometimes it was difficult to tell how and when to do things.

It has vocabulary, math and critical thinking. ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventure comes with another game, The Mystery of the Missing Amulet. I didn't especially like that one. I didn't like that one because it sort of puts you down. It says, when you are working on something, "We oughta keep moving", or "Are you done yet?" It gets very annoying. I wouldn't recommend this to a 6th grader but maybe a 5th grader because I didn't think it was very challenging. I wouldn't recommend the one that comes free with 6th grade because it was poorly made. I liked 6th grade adventure and I think you would too.

Reviewed by Lizz S.

  • ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures - Empire of the Plant People
  • © The Learning Company $19.99
  • Windows 95/98/2000/Me/XP Mac System 7.1 to 9.1
  • To Order: http://www.amazon.com