Training begins, unsurprisingly, in the mailroom, where new trainees fill in for the Octopus by placing mail into the proper mailboxes. They need to pay attention to each mail item's color and shape, and must mail out packages with correct postage. After a short session, kids earn a card key for their next job in this "high-security" company, whose motto is "We Scare Because We Care". Players can continue to sort mail and face the gradually increasing challenges of the job (there are 30 levels to the game altogether), or move right along to the newly opened position.

Other jobs include playing parking valet, matching flags with countries (since Monsters, Inc. is an international company), tending to monster-kids in the daycare center, and serving up made-to-order lunches for monsters in the lunchroom. Virtually all of the "jobs" are fun, and many are set against a timer, emphasize sorting skills, and require some hand-eye coordination skills. One activity that stands out takes place in the company's Tryout Room. Here, monster trainees need to work their way through a toy-littered darkened room toward a robot-kid's bed. Since toys and socks are toxic for monsters, the challenge is to avoid the assorted hazards, given mere glimpses of the floor plan in lit conditions. Another fun activity involves collecting screams and laughs in color-coded canisters. Players need to carefully watch the maze of pipes as the "noises" travel through them and quickly maneuver their canisters in order to catch them.

If kids stick with the games longer than the minimum required time, the activities become more challenging. For example, the flag activity begins with four flags shown on a map, and three countries that need to be matched with the flags. As levels progress, more flags and countries are added. Later, players need to match the word "hello" spoken in a foreign language with a corresponding flag.

The ESRB rating for this game is "for everyone", with mild comic mischief noted. It is probably safe to say that if parents didn't object to the "comic mischief" in the movie, this CD-ROM will not offend.

Technically Speaking
Minimum system requirements are Windows 95/98/ME, Pentium 200, 32 MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM, 16-bit DirectX-compatible sound card, 16-bit color DirectX-compatible 2 MB video card, and 60 MB free hard disk space. Mac users require an iMac or G3 processor 233 MHz, System 8.6 through X, 32 MB RAM, and 8X CD-ROM. This product carries disclaimers for both Windows 2000 and Mac OS X users ­ Disney cannot guarantee compatibility with either operating system.

Skills Covered
Kids practice eye-hand coordination and sorting skills, and draw upon logical and strategic thinking skills.

Educational Value
Though this program is designed to be a fun extension of an entertaining movie, it does have some educational merit. Players exercise strategic thinking and sorting skills, and learn to associate flags with countries.

Entertainment Value
Both kids and parents who found the humor of the movie charming will enjoy the premise of the game and the humorous goals of each job. The activities are not the most exciting ones on the market, but most are quite enjoyable. All in all, this title makes a fun souvenir of the movie.

Design
The program boasts a well thought out design. Many of the instructions and chatter can be interrupted with a simple click of the mouse. Navigation is quite clear, but kids may need to refer to the program's help files in order to survive in some of the games' higher levels.

Replayability
This game features plenty of variety and large content (each of the ten activities in the program is multilevel). Before all activities and levels are accessible, children will need to "open" them up--a challenge that proved to be very motivating for child testers.

Dollar Value
This CD-ROM carries a suggested retail price of $29.99 US.