Daring Games for Girls
How far far from the original intention this game veers from the book it is
based on Double Daring Book for Girls by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam
Peskowitz which was inspired by The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden.
Both these books attempt to give kids information on games from my generation, mumbly pegs, double Dutch - street
games; outdoor activities and skills that could be found in girl and boy scout manuals;
plus a mix of interesting life-experience trivia that requires living with interesting people.
The message is - go out and do something you never have thought of doing before.
While the game copies some of the activities, it misses the broader message, which probably needs more than a wiimote to inspire.
In the game, the girl wanders around a town meeting other kids her age (about 8)
who ask for friendship bracelets to become friends.
To make enough bracelets to become friends with all these kids you have to make more money than you start out with.
The best option is to make and sell lemonade.
Then you go into the craft store and buy yarn and scissors needed to make the bracelets,
and then you braid them by touching different color strands.
In this respect it is similar to other games that use the motion function of the Wii to manipulate items.
The "friends" you make give you hints on what you might do, explore a cave,
be a spy, make a scooter and it is up to the player to get enough money or to get enough points by playing games
like soccer and tetherball to purchase the equipment.
In between the long loads, the screen flashes inspirational messages from
famous women and miscellaneous trivia that become quiz questions later. Not toxic - in fact pretty good.
I actually went through both the girls' and boys' books and would certainly recommend
both of them as good sources of interesting activities.
But my hope is that if you give a girl this game to play,
she will come back to you and demand that you help her make a rope ladder and go spelunking.
Reviewed by: Editor - May/10
Rating: E - Everyone
Fun Factor: Moderately paced, task oriented, doesn't feel daring.
Female Factor: Girls doing things.
Player Friendly: Manual could have used a little more direction