kids software

[Gene Dascher]

Here is part of an article from March 2000 issue of Linux Journal about some
educational programs (games) out there for Linux:
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For instance,. . . Reversi is a classic strategy game that requires some
planning. In this case, the GNOME version (known as Iagno) is more appealing
to me for its animation and graphics. The only drawback (and the KDE
version's plus) is the lack of board lines. For the younger set, it might
require a few tries to get the hang of token placement.

In terms of strategy and logic, I am still a big fan of Sokoban, the
Japanese ``warehouse keeper'' game. You will find this one among your KDE
games. The object is to move large gems into their proper storage in an
increasingly crowded warehouse. Sokoban takes patience, but does wonders for
the analytical process.

Eventually, you will want to try something not included with your Linux
distribution. While the excitement of Linux hasn't yet generated the vast
amount of educational titles stocking the shelves for that other operating
system, the selection is growing and will continue to do so. If you want to
track what is happening in the world of children's games specifically, try
the Linux for Kids web site. For the bigger kids, keep an eye on the Linux
Game Tome and Linuxberg to name just a couple. Move your desks a little
closer together, and sample what I found in my initial search.

To not only challenge, but twist and turn a young mind, I recommend
Groundhog. This is a wonderful little puzzle where you manipulate tubes (or
groundhog tunnels, I presume) to move little colored balls into their
corresponding little colored pockets. So far, I have managed the two-ball by
two-ball level, but I think I will graduate soon.

Codebreaker is a GPL'ed version of Mastermind, an old favorite of mine. This
``guess the color code'' game is still a great exercise in logic. For those
who consider themselves experts at the game, I suggest trying it with eight
different colors.

There are times when I really don't need to learn much. I just want to save
the world from an evil empire, say a large multinational software empire
bent on world domination. Enter XTux, a great little game that teaches some
interesting lessons. For starters, CD-ROMs make great weapons with which to
destroy mindless droids, and coffee is all you really need to keep you
going. Several characters are provided to help you get the job done: Tux,
Gown, BSD Daemon, Emacs and Vi. What can I tell you? It's silly, but fun.

Probably the most fun I had while putting this together was a little
something called the Sticker Book. The concept is so simple, it's brilliant.
Like the sticker books you had as a kid, this one comes with a variety of
images and a handful of different backgrounds. You pick up the stickers by
clicking on the various images, then simply paste them onto your background
with another click. You can also increase the size of images, shrink them
and rotate them. If you don't like the way it is turning out, you can erase
everything and start over. In the process of writing this article, I had a
couple of adults watching over my shoulder, and they were captivated. The
only downside (and I hope the developers read this) is that the tabs which
let you flip between series of stickers are a bit small for the large arrow
pointer they supply. If it wasn't for the adult response, I would've said
this was a game for the very young. Try this one. It's deceptively
addictive.

Another selection for the very young is Linux Letters and Numbers.
Essentially, this is a board with large tiles representing the numbers 0
through 9 and the letters of the alphabet. Clicking on a tile brings up a
picture of something starting with that letter, or a collection of little
pictures representing the number (4 apples, for instance). Letters and
Numbers comes with a collection of tiles, but you can create your own when
the kids start anticipating the image that follows the letter. ``P'' is for
Penguin!

For a slightly older audience, try lolit Math Literature. This is a math
training program that helps teach addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division. The interface is fairly slick-looking and the questions go from
very simple to fairly complex. Just what is 87+54,
anyway? --------------------------------------------------------------------
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Gene