After “mastering” the installed game in his Leapster 2, our son has moved on and is discovering the world of Dinosaurs!

This game is quite fascinating — even for grown-ups.  With various skills and information to learn such as:

• Dinosaur facts
• Fossil facts
• Scientific process
• Map skills
• Logic and reasoning skills
• Spatial relationships
• Matching skills

There are three skill levels to explore, each one progressively more difficult (but not impossible for a 3 year old) to play.  The graphics of the leapster is by no means cutting edge but clear enough to play and responsive enough to enjoy.  The controls are pretty simple: arrow keys + “A” button for specific action.  There are activities were you also get to use the stylus — such as when they go digging and cleaning for fossil bones.  I sometime find myself wanting to play it myself. But I have to hold myself back as it could ruin the progress tracker (Leapster is equipped with this so parents can see how their child handles a game).  There are also “rewards” for when a set task/activity or goal is complete.  I think I saw postcards, coloring pages, certificates and other printable documents in our”Leap Frog Connect” program — this is were game achievements are tracked.

We’re happy we got this. Our son is happy because he’s having fun.

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