The ClueFinders series of educational games takes children through several years of development, so they can learn as they get older following the adventures of familiar characters. ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures is aimed at the youngest age group, and is suitable for children aged 7 to 9 years.

The game scenario is easy to follow. Dr. Pythagoras, the uncle of one of the ClueFinders, has disappeared from the rain forest. Animals are going missing, too. The young adventurers need to find the keys to an ancient city to work out what is going on, and to free Dr. Pythagoras. The keys are hidden in puzzles in two corners of the rain forest.

As our adventurers progress through the rain forest, they encounter these puzzles and more, which they must solve if they are to be successful. ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures teaches skills in math, logic, language arts, science, and geography, though it firmly wraps its educational content in these puzzles so you hardly notice that you are learning while you play.

There are four difficulty levels, and a document for parents explains how each of the puzzles works at each difficulty level. As an added bonus, a second CD, the Adventure Kit, provides a range of additional software, including a kit for setting up your own friends’ adventuring club. –Sandra Vogel