The computer is in high demand around here. C. wants to check out the latest Garfield comic; Chad’s hoping to read the progress of the Tour of Flanders or whatever the latest bicycle race happens to be; and L. would like to complete an activity over at the Word World site.  The kids are learning to take turns, while still making sure Dad gets his time at the cycling websites computer.

(Oh, and what about me, you ask? I’ve been known to sneak away with my laptop. I’m also guilty of not teaching L. how to do fun stuff on my laptop. Self-preservation, I claim. It’s best for everyone if Mommy can check her email at will.)

The bottom line is, we’re all fans of the computer, so I was quick to say yes when the creator of the computer game ItzaBitza asked me to give it a try and share my thoughts.  Though my kids are both outside the recommended age range (C.’s too old and L.’s too young), we were all happy to try it out anyway.

Curious?

Here’s what the game’s website says about ItzaBitza:

ItzaBitza is a simulation game in which your child’s creativity powers the construction of the game world. This might sound daunting, but the game handles it easily. The main characters are called Sketchies and they have interesting wants and needs. Your child provides for them by drawing new objects into the game world. The creativity comes in when your child discovers this freedom to explore interactions and push boundaries. A whimsical dance of cause and effect plays out.

And here are our thoughts:

ItzaBitza is a fun, unique game for pre-readers and early readers. The concept is fairly simple: Kids choose a “setting” (camping, space, etc.), and follow directions to draw things on the screen and then complete special activities in order to earn “stars” and progress through the game. The game takes players’ drawings and animates them, uses them in future activities, and truly makes them a part of the ongoing story.

Playing ItzaBitza is sure to encourage creativity and improve kids’ word recognition.

Here’s what we love about the game:

• It’s very generous and forgiving when it comes to kids’ drawings. L. (age 2) likes to start the game and give it a try, and the game is quick to accept his oddly-shaped tents, gigantic flies, and triangular suns. There are times when his lack of drawing skills keeps him from going further (it’s hard to draw a door on your tent when the tent is only 2 millimeters wide), but for the most part, he can play and have fun, and isn’t told, “Try Again” over and over.
• Every single written word is accessible to little ones — when they hold the mouse pointer over a speech bubble, word by word, the game reads the words to them. So L., who obviously cannot read, can still figure out that he’s supposed to “Make the sun shine to grow lots of flowers.”  SO many kids’ computer games fail in this area (or used to, back when C. was a pre-reader). Little kids can’t read instructions, so they’re stuck doing things that are very simplistic or yelling, “Mom!! What does this say?” every time they move to a new activity. With ItzaBitza, this isn’t a problem. And as kids play, they’re improving their language and reading skills without even realizing it.
• The game provides a wide variety of drawing activities for the kids. They’re not drawing a circle over and over, but instead are drawing shovels and caves and rockets and barns and scarecrows. There are even activities that particularly delight little boys (such as making a frog burp), which has gone over well at our house.
• I really do think the game is a perfect fit for early readers and almost-readers. It’s interesting enough to keep them engaged, but completely accessible for them, even if they’re not reading yet. Kids will love that their drawings are not just completed and then ignored, but are instead brought to life and used as the game goes on.

A few drawbacks:

• When you first start the game, there’s only one location or setting kids can choose (on second thought, there might be two — I honestly can’t remember). As they complete activities, they can unlock more. Personally, I would have preferred to start with more options for the kids to explore, or maybe have a parental setting to adjust how many sections are open at the beginning. That’s probably just me being picky, though.
• A few of the activities didn’t seem completely intuitive. It took me a while, for instance, to figure out how to get the frog to eat more flies. I know that I’m clueless sometimes, but if I got stuck, I could see kids occasionally reaching a road block. [And don't tell anyone, but I caught Chad playing the game one night -- "opening up more levels for L." -- and he got momentarily stumped too.] But as long as parents are willing to join in and help figure things out now and then, this won’t be a problem.
• It is for PCs only, so doesn’t work on my Mac. However, this is actually a plus for me since I can say, “Oh sorry, honey, you’ll have to use the other computer” while I hold on to my little Macbook.

Overall, I’m a fan of ItzaBitza. Its icon now has a permanent home on our PC’s desktop. And even though L. is still a little young for it, he enjoys playing it every now and then, and I know that as he gets older and “gets it” a little more, he’ll continue to enjoy it for years.

Now for some exciting news. The folks at ItzaBitza have given me 2 activation codes to pass on to two of my readers! If you’re interested, here’s all you have to do:

Visit the ItzaBitza website, look around, and then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which feature of the game seems most cool to you. (While you’re there, you can even download a 2-day trial, to check it out for yourself.)

I’ll leave comments open until Thursday evening, and will announce the two winners here Friday morning (April 10th).