"Hello there! How are you? It's great to see you here! I'm Ben… " And I'm Becky; let's start off with a cheer!"
Big Thinkers Kindergarten is an educational game for toddlers and young kids. You follow the two hosts (Ben and Becky Brightly) as you play mini-games and learn things like colors, numbers, spelling, etc.
I loooooved this game in elementary school, so in the name of nostalgia, I'm going to write an unnecessarily long review of each mini-game. Hopefully it helps parents or teachers who want to buy the game and doesn't just take up half of people's Steam activity page. Alright, let's go!
[b]Time Telling:[/b] In this game, you learn how to tell time. Ben's head will turn into a clock, and the player has to turn the hands to match the time that Ben gives the player. Do this three times, and you win! This game actually made me wonder: will telling time be a useful skill to learn in the future when most clocks are digital?
[b]Measurement and Estimation:[/b] You and Becky warp to the kitchen fridge, where Becky will turn into objects and ask you to stack food items next to her to match her height. Ex: How many olives match Becky's height as a rocket? The game isn't as educational as it could be since Becky tells you what to stack and has you stack the items next to her instead of the player having to visually imagine what the items stacked would look like.
[b]Thinking Skills:[/b] A puzzle where the picture is jumbled up and you have to move the tiles around to fix the image When the picture looks as it was intended to, you win!
[b]Art Creativity:[/b] Ben jumps into a painting and allows you to use him as an art experiment. You can drag different facial features on him, like different mouths, noses, and eyes. You can paint on him and change colors. It's your basic art mini-game. This is probably a favorite among kids because who doesn't love arts and crafts!
[b]First Letter Identification:[/b] We've moved onto the playroom now and are jumping headfirst into the fish tank. Ben and Becky turn into fish and ask you to finish the word at the bottom of the screen. You have to choose the first letter that will finish the word. For example, the word is -at. You can choose either an "L" to make the word "Lat" or an "H" to make the word "Hat."This game is great at teaching spelling quickly and efficiently.
[b]Spelling and Phonics:[/b] We're finally heading outdoors and into the isolated forest. It doesn't sound like the safest idea, but no worries! We've run into some friendly, talking squirrels living in a big tree. This is the perfect time for Ben to empty his never-ending Tardis pockets, which contained 12 items. He throws the items onto the tree and asks you to pick which items begin with the letter he gives you. For example: which items begin with the letter Z? You would click on Zebra and Zipper. The animation in this game is fun. You pick the correct item, and the squirrels vacuum up the rest. It's very cute.
[b]Geography and Directions:[/b] We were back in the safety of our backyard when Ben decided he wanted to play hide and seek. Ben, we just got back in one piece! A map will appear with locations you can click on. Becky will give you clues, and you have to choose where you think Ben is hiding. The clues in this game can feel vague, and it's definitely not my terrible directional skills that confused me on this one.
[b]Garden Maze:[/b] A maze game with a twist. You're objective is to lead Ben out of the garden maze. Then in the next maze, there is food blocking the path. What are we gonna do?!? Luckily, we know Ben can shapeshift. You are given a choice of two different animals, and you must match the animal to the food. For example: a horse eats hay or a monkey eats bananas. This is like a two for one game. You solve the maze while also learning about animals.
[b]Alphabet Skills:[/b] You're soaring in the sky now. Becky presents you with three letters and asks you to put them in the order that they appear in the alphabet. Upon clicking on a letter, Becky will inform you what the letter is, then turn into something that starts with the letter. For example, if you click on a B, she'll turn into a balloon.
[b]Reading and Sentences:[/b] We excitedly run to the library and find books! So many books! You open a book that contains a beginner-level story. There are some words in the story that are highlighted in green. If you click on the green word, you can change it to a different word! Changing the word also changes the image in the book to match. Each time you play, it's a different story with a different title and image. You can create your own stories, which makes this a very creative game!
[b]Counting and Computation:[/b] We're in space on top of a board game setting where you can move your pieces forward. Each space on this path is a different color, and Becky wants to get to the end of the path. Ben will spin and give you two random colors. You have to choose which color will get Becky farther along the path. So if the path has a red, blue, grey, and yellow spot and Ben spins a grey and blue, you would choose grey since it is farther than the blue on the path. You are basically picking the color that will get Becky farther along the path. Once you win with colors, the same game is played with letters. The letters are not in alphabetical order, so it takes some thinking. The way the game is set up is pretty advanced for young kids, which makes it one of the better games.
[b]Environmental Science:[/b] We're back in the forest to do some good! Some nasty people left a bunch of trash in the forest, so Becky and Ben turn into a trash can and a recycling bin. You then just have to figure out which pieces are trash and which you can recycle.
[b]Music Creativity:[/b] We head into the music room. Yes, they have a music room… There is still so much to learn about Becky and Ben's past and present lives. Do they have parents, jobs, or school? Are they from this world...? Anyway, the three of us have a jam session. You pick an instrument for them to play, and then you can choose how fast or slow they play it. You can have them both play at the same time to mix and match your music. There is a concerning moment where, if you pick the violin, Becky fuses with the violin. She stretches her upper half, and her neck becomes the neck of the violin. They do this with other instruments as well, but it's not nearly as creepy. I'm still trying to get the human-violin hybrid out of my head.
[b]Sequencing and Patterning:[/b] A Standard Pattern Game Ben has a pattern above his head like (orange square, blue triangle, red circle), and then you have to finish the pattern with the choices you have. This is the only game that feels more like work than an actual game.
[b]Counting and Computation:[/b] Birds will land on Ben and Becky's arms, and you have to count how many birds there are in total. This game is all about adding or counting; there is no subtraction. It's easy, straight to the point, and there are cute birds (unlike the pattern game).
We just completed all 15 games… That can only mean one thing….
[b]WE ARE A BIG THINKER![/b]
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TLDR: It will probably take you longer to read this review than to beat the game, but if you are a teacher, parent, babysitter, etc., I think this is a good learning tool. There are probably more up-to-date educational games out there, but this still holds up with memorable hosts and wholesome education. If they make a version for adults, I'm all in!
