Ellie is a young girl who has discovered a magical garden where her stuffed animal friends come to life and become her playmates. This garden is filled with magical and beautiful things -- a lovely gazebo, flowers, a beautiful creek flowing under a bridge, and even a magical transporter.

There are 7 play pieces that come with the playset -- 3 characters and 4 magic objects: Ellie is the main character -- she is curious and fun; Bingo is Ellie's monkey friend; Lily is a talented and smart giraffe. The Magic Orb transforms characters and objects, the Crystal Viewer reveals hidden secrets in the grass or stones, a Flower Tree is full of "popping up" surprises, and the Water Sprinkler keeps the garden growing.

Each of the 3 characters has a favorite game -- and each is accessed by placing that character on the tree stump in the playset. There are 3 levels (or versions) of play for the activities:

• If Ellie is placed on the tree stump, a Jump Rope game is activated. Individual characters jump rope on level 1; and on levels 2 and 3, any number of characters can jump! Kids actually make the characters jump in rhythm, and see how far they can go. Everyone cheers when they get as far as 10.
• Hopscotch is Lily's favorite. Each stone along the path has a unique musical sound and note. On level 1, kids can make their own musical compositions by making a character jump on the different stones. Levels 2 and 3 involve repeating musical patterns at different degrees of difficulty.
• Bingo's favorite is Dancing Fun. Placing the characters anywhere in the playset will prompt their on-screen counterparts to dance. Different combinations of characters produce different dances, and each level contains different songs, dances, and surprises.

• Hide and Seek can be activated by any character, and is played by moving the characters around the garden, searching for hidden Garden Creatures. The Crystal Viewer comes in handy by providing a special "x-ray" view of the garden. There are 3 levels of play, and the 3rd level provides an extra challenge.
• Kids can play Changing Worlds by sliding the Clouds of Change in their playset to a new scene. Kids will travel to an English Garden, a Castle Garden with a fairy tale theme, and the Giant Garden where everything is huge. Playing the activities in these worlds will be a different experience.
• One of the nicest features of this product is the multi-player capabilities. Without the restriction of using a mouse, 2 or more children can enjoy the program while being actively involved, moving the characters around.

Kid testers were clamoring to play with this original game. It is definitely a novelty with its unique spin on interactivity. The playset itself is very attractive, and the different "worlds" to explore are magical indeed.

Technically Speaking
Minimum requirements are Windows 95/98, a Pentium 166 processor recommended), 32 Mb RAM, and 4X CD ROM. You will need an available Serial Communications (COM) Port, PS/2 Keyboard Port. It takes up 40 Mb of hard drive space.

Installing the Playset was rather straightforward. The set comes with a hookup cable. When a child is finished playing with the game, it is not necessary to unplug the playset -- leaving it attached to the computer will not affect other computer functions.

The Playset comes with small play pieces that can be replaced by ordering from the publisher.

Skills Covered
problem solving, logic skills, creativity, imagination, repeating musical patterns, memory.

Educational Value
There is very little in terms of concrete educational content in this product's offerings -- except the intrinsic educational value in learning through free play and exploration.

Entertainment Value
Kids are naturally drawn to this game! Besides the sheer novelty of game play, the characters and activities are fun, and the playset itself is colorful and inviting.

Design
Because playing with the playset elicits rather natural reactions onscreen, game play is, to a certain degree, intuitive. However, in order to ensure that kids get the most out of the program, it might be a good idea to read the manual and show them how to activate all of the activities. Because the playset doesn't interfere with other computer functions, it is not necessary to always unhook the set after playing the program, which makes it easy to use.

Replayability
Although there is not a huge amount of content in the program, the playset is attractive and kid testers returned to the program often during the test period.

Dollar Value
The suggested retail price is $50-60 US.