Kids become contestants after creating their own wacky avatars. Then, it's time to think fast, and answer questions about geography, history, and language arts. The game can be played alone (against the computer), with a friend, or with an online opponent.

While there are some quiz-style CD-ROMs on the market, this one stands out for a few reasons. For one, the game does not require children to "buzz in" their answers, except in the final round. In fact, all players get a chance to answer the questions within a given time period, and if everyone gets it correct, scores reflect it. Competitive edge does play a part in the game — players can "hex" their opponents and steal their points if the opponent then answers incorrectly, and players do get higher points when they respond more quickly than their opponents. Additionally, though the humor is slightly irreverent, you won't find any stinging fun-poking when children make errors.

A nice variety of question styles keeps the game fresh — there's multiple choice, sequencing questions (for example, putting cities in order from east to west), "word soup" that requires making as many words as possible from a given group of letters, and more. The game is fast-paced — if kids snooze, they lose, as there are penalties for not answering questions.

Code Head succeeds at disguising educational content with its cheeky attitude (perfect for tweeners) and stimulating game-show format. No question about it, the host is chatty. Fortunately, his jokes are very entertaining. This game of knowledge is especially educational with excellent feedback in the form of explanations for answers to the questions, whether the contestants' responses are correct or not. This means children learn new facts and receive extra details that reinforce facts they already know.

Drawbacks are few — there's no way to pause the game, and category headings are hard to figure out. However, neither of these are serious problems. All things considered, this is our favorite program for tweeners in the quiz show genre. It's funny, fast-paced, and the educational content is neither too easy nor too challenging for the target age group. Choose this title for your 10-12 year old over Who Wants to Be a Millionaire — it's entertaining and the questions are definitely more educational and age-appropriate.

Note: Geography and history questions are predominantly U.S.-focused, so children from other countries will find many questions too difficult. Another title in the series, Code Head Calculated Risk, features math, science, and technology questions.

Technically Speaking
Minimum requirements are Windows 95/98, Pentium 166, 32 MB RAM, 12X CD-ROM. Mac users require a Power PC 180 MHz iMac, G3 or higher, with 32 MB RAM, 16 MB RAM free, System 8.1, and a 12X CD-ROM. This program requires 50 MB of hard drive space. An Internet connection, 56K modem or better for Internet Play.

Skills Covered
history, geography, language arts facts

Educational Value
The game challenges kids to think fast. Educational value is increased with the program's excellent feedback — answers and explanations are given once many of the questions have played out, and often extra details are offered.

Entertainment Value
An excellent variety of questions are featured, along with a slightly irreverent attitude from the host that kept kid testers engaged. Off-the-wall graphics and characters help hold interest.

Design
Kids use hot keys on the computer keyboard to answer questions and to "hex" their opponent. Unfortunately, games cannot be paused, though they can easily be restarted.

Replayability
The length of each game is ideal for holding attention and keeping children coming back for more — each game consists of 3 rounds of 5 questions each.

Dollar Value
This CD-ROM sells for $20 US.