Buddy Brush and the Painted Circus

Reviewed by Carol Welch
Published by Ideas That Play

Age Group: Age 2 to 5
Type: Art/Creativity
Price: $30

PC version requires:
Windows 95/98, P100 MHz, 16 MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM Drive, 20 MB HD, 16 Bit PCM Sound Card

Mac version requires:
Macintosh OS System 7.5, 120 MHz PowerPC, 16 MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM Drive, 20 MB HD, Apple Sound Manger 3.0

Description:

Buddy Brush returns for his second adventure - this time as a circus performer. Children can choose from one of five circus wagons, where they will find many ways to help Buddy Brush put on his big show:

  • The Prop Wagon features a musical/coloring activity where each new color added to a scene also causes a new instrument to play.
  • In the Clown Wagon, Children can choose and paint costumes for Buddy Brush, build and paint a clown face for him and play a costume matching game.
  • The Juggling Tent allows children to assist Buddy Brush the juggler by dragging and dropping different items to juggle in order to create a fun animation.
  • Similarly, the Acrobat Tent gives children the opportunity to assist one of three Buddy Brush acrobats with different props.
  • Finally, The Big Top allows children to build an entire circus performance and watch the animation.

Features:

  • Bright colors and simple graphics
  • Activity book
  • 3-D pop-up circus
  • Circus music (CD can also be played as audio)

Technical Aspects:

This title installed easily on our Celeron 533. The interface is very straightforward, requires no reading and is easy for young players to master alone. Graphics are simple, but colorful and we experienced no printing problems. The music is of the typical circus/calliope type that will most likely try Mom and Dad's nerves after awhile (it did ours).

Report and Conclusions:

My first impression of Buddy Brush and the Painted Circus was that the targeted age range of 2 to 6 was a bit optimistic. The program seemed too simplistic to hold the attention of 5 or 6 year olds. Then I turned my own 6-year-old loose with it. After about an hour on the computer, he proclaimed the program to be "pretty fun." He especially enjoyed the animations that rewarded him at the end of each activity. The 3-D pop-up circus that was included in the package has fascinated him as well. He is now busy cutting out the Buddy Brush juggler that we printed on card stock to go with his circus playset. His class is studying the letter "C" next week and he has big plans to share his circus with his classmates.

I believe that the program's appeal lies in its simplicity - large areas of bright colors, easy navigation, and short activities rewarded with a charming animation. I don't think that it will hold the interest of 5 or 6 year olds for very long because of the limited number and variety of activities, but I do feel that it is a good beginning program for very young children.




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