Millie Meter and Her Adventure in the Oak Tree
Ages 4 - 10

I preferred this game of the two I played. It was more interactive in that you had to do things that would end up saving the oak tree instead of just wandering around meeting characters. I got confused at the beginning of the game because I thought I was supposed to take the pictures. But really you clicked on Millie when you found something you liked and SHE took the pictures. It really should have been better explained. I also had trouble remembering which places I had taken pictures and which ones not. It would have helped to have the character say when Millie walks in, "You've already taken a picture here, but thanks for stopping by", or something like that.

Editor Review

Warning - this product contains educational content. Tivola's products are produced in Germany and the Europeans don't shy away from complex concepts and terminology. Their stated age range always seem to be too young for the content provided - They do not talk down to kids and as a result children can quiz their parents about things like photosynthesis and the symbiotic relationship of algae and fungus in lichen. Besides the overall exploration of the ecosystem of the oak tree there are separate puzzles. They are slightly more clever than the standard - for example in the shell matching type of game you have to match a bird song with a bird. Besides English, you can select German or French as the game's language. Or you can alternate among them to hear how funny the songs sound in the different languages. Yes the characters do sing and the voices are different.

You can spacebar to get out of the introductory credits and some scenes but you cannot stop dialog and so if you unintentionally re-click on something you will get repeat dialog. Annoying for this American child. It's mainly a click and listen game but the scenes are pretty interesting. There are six interactive puzzles but more interactivity would have made it even better.

Reviewed by Rebecca L.