Players get help from the store helpers, Billy Bagger and Paula Pushcart. Billy teaches kids how to work the cash and Paula explains the store’s departments – Snack Bar, Electronics, Clothing, Pets, Groceries, and Toys.

Kid testers enjoyed "playing pretend" by scanning products’ bar codes and "processing" credit card purchases, just like real-world cashiers. Customers’ items roll along the conveyor belt one at a time. An item will stop for processing, and one of five different tags is displayed. Depending on the type of tag, kids will have to either punch in a given one or two-digit price on their cash register, scan in the price by cranking their Playset scanner, or enter their own made-up price.

Once all items are tallied, it’s time for the customer to pay – either with cash (requiring some imagination on the part of players), or with a credit card. Swiping the credit card on the Playset activates the onscreen swiper.

To add some spice to the game, players get to watch for the featured "super sale item" to show up on the conveyor belt, deal with customers requesting change for the arcade, and handle shoppers returning bottles for deposit. Also, the Snack Bar activity plays a little differently than those found in the other departments, with customers making orders for food.

The games include a cash register "training" program in which kids practice pressing sequences of keys on their cash register, a free-play music activity, a game of dress-up with the store window mannequins, a toy race, and more. These games generally are fast-paced and they help kids identify and match numbers.

For extra incentive, kids earn Gold Stars and even receive printable pay checks for their hard "work". There are printable accessories like name badges, play money, and bar code tags that kids might want to use during play or for away-from-the-computer games of make-believe.

One complaint with the program is similar to a real-life shopping pet peeve – enduring those unprepared shoppers who wait until they’re told how much they owe before they start fishing for their wallets. The program’s unprepared and chatty customers slow down the game, but it should be noted that testers didn’t seem overly bothered. As well, though there are a number of activities available, there’s not a whole lot of variety. The program quickly becomes repetitive as a result.

On the up side, the game automatically adjusts to children’s abilities to recognize numbers.

Technically Speaking
Minimum requirements are Windows 95/98, a Pentium 166 processor, 32 Mb RAM, and 8X CD ROM. DirectX version 7.0a or higher is required (and included). This requires 60 MB of hard drive space.

Skills Covered
number recognition, memory, one and two-digit numbers, hand-eye coordination, mouse skills.

Educational Value
Though children work with numbers, the program missed some obvious opportunities to incorporate more educational elements into game-play. However, the packaging doesn’t make any loud claims to be any more educational than it is.

Entertainment Value
Kids who enjoy playing "pretend store" should have some fun with this Playset. What’s missing, of course, is the physical handling of "real" play items and money. It does, however, offer more than the Playskool toy on which it is based – onscreen customers and extra games to play.

Design
The Playset is very easy to attach to most standard computer keyboards and is entirely intuitive to use. Automatically adjusting levels are featured so that children work at a comfortable pace. As well, children can use only the Playset to play the activities, or a combination of the mouse and the Playset – whichever they feel most comfortable with.

Replayability
Repetitive activities cut the long-term value of the program. However, there are reasonable incentives to play the game.

Dollar Value
This playset retails for approximately $34.95 US.