This third Scooby Doo title from the Learning Company once again has the gang--Shaggy, Daphne, Fred, Velma, and, of course, Scooby Doo--solving a mystery. This time around, the gang is off to Egypt to visit Velma's Egyptologist cousin, Thelma, only to find that Thelma is missing and a "Mummy" is scaring away the town's tourists.
After signing in to the adventure, children are prompted to select a difficulty level--Spooky (Easy), Spookier (Medium), or Spooktacular (Hard). Then, after a charming cartoon introduction, players explore places like Papyrus Pizza, the "creepy" corridors of the Great Pyramid, and more. Each meeting with a character (who, of course, becomes a suspect) involves a puzzle to solve. Players gather clues and collect useful items (such as a pyramid-shaped flashlight and Thelma's diary) that will help them on their quest.
Although the ultimate goal of the game is to determine who is the mastermind behind the Mummy scares, simply getting around requires special attention to the easily-spooked Shaggy and Scooby Doo. This duo needs to be convinced to enter an area they've deemed too "creepy", and Scooby Snacks will provide the motivation! These snacks need to be earned by playing two games. One requires players to maneuver Scooby so that he catches falling fruit, and the other plays much like a casino game in which players win useful items. Each game is a pleasant diversion from the more difficult problem-solving of the adventure itself.
In order to make progress in the adventure, children must collect useful items in different areas of the game, store them in their inventory bar, and then use them to solve problems. For example, players discover a large, heavy map of an archaeological site that Fred and Daphne think might come in handy. Merely clicking on the item will not do the trick--players will need to find a tool in another area of the game in order to get hold of the map.
The puzzles of the game are exercises in logic and include playing a matching game, sorting landmarks by their size, recreating a tune, and more. Clues are rewards for completing the puzzles.
Once all of the clues have been collected, an unmasking sequence begins! Players are asked to examine the clues, some of which are "red herrings", in order to pinpoint a suspect. Each time children play a new game, the mastermind is different!
The difficulty levels, which can only be set at the beginning of a new game, determine the level of challenge of the games and activities, the number of "red herrings" in the batch of clues, and the number of Scooby Snacks needed to move forward. Even on the easiest level, however, kids will find themselves "stuck" from time to time. For this reason, the game is more appropriate for children ages 8-11 when attempted independently. Although the box says ages 5-10, children less than 8 or 9 will need plenty of help.
