In a world of ultraviolent video games, where dexterity of the thumb and index finger is infinitely more important than the flexing of the cerebrum, there must be a place for children and their parents to interact and actually learn something from that overpriced multimedia computer/gaming system. Take a deep breath and enter the ROMper Room, where learning is a four-letter word - cool.
Parents who remember Anna's melody of "Whistle a Happy Tune" in the movie "The King and I" will take extra delight in introducing their children to the colorful and musical world of the Royal Palace of Siam with The King and I Animated Thinking Adventure (Soundsource Interactive).
Children ages 4 to 7 journey to the Royal Palace, where they team up with on-screen characters. Together they can play eight educational games and work on puzzles that help build critical-thinking skills.
One game, Tusker's Fruit Launch, teaches players the basic physics of force and angle as they guide the elephant mascot in a game of catch with the monkey Moonshee.
Anna, the children's tutor, has her own challenge - the Umbrella Game. In this version of Concentration, played with the royal children, Anna asks players to put a symbol on one of the seven umbrellas before asking them to go back and remember which child has which symbol.
In the Prince's Practice Match, players watch a series of fighting moves and then help Anna's son, Louie, mimic them by clicking buttons. On greater difficulty levels, the patterns are longer and have a time limit.
Problem-solving and quick mouse skills come into play with Rama's Balloon Game. Using the mouse, players make the hot-air balloon fly higher and control the right and left movements.
The goal, while collecting more firewood for fuel, is to rescue as many people as possible without popping the balloon on a building or tree or getting caught in a wind gust.
Finally, the obligatory printout section, the King's Printing Press, allows children to make cards, awards and fliers to share with family and friends.
The King and I Animated Thinking Adventure (Soundsource Interactive, $19.99. For use with Windows 95/98 or Macintosh systems.)
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Tonka Joe returns for some high-speed action in Tonka Raceway (Hasbro Interactive).
Just like big brother's and sister's more complicated driving games, Tonka Raceway allows children 5 and older to design their own racecourses on four terrains and conduct races against another player in more than 30 vehicles.
Before taking to the track, players design, build and customize Tonka vehicles that can be painted and detailed in the Paint Shop. Users then can take them for a test drive at the Proving Grounds.
Once they are ready to race, drivers need to design a course. They can begin with six tracks and add obstacle challenges that will make for some supercrashes.
Each course contains four on-track power-ups that boost racing stats. As children master the raceways, they earn points that allow them to upgrade their vehicles and improve performance.
Cars that are demolished can be recycled at the Junk Yard, and new vehicles can be shown off in the Tonka Show Room.
Digital three-dimensional trading cards of cars can be shared with friends via a disc or sent by e-mail.
Tonka Raceway interacts with the previous release, Tonka Garage. Cars that players have built with Tonka Garage and saved to the hard drive will be located by Tonka Raceway and imported to the course.
After the race, children can stop by the Press Box to print out all kinds of certificates and press headlines about the race.
Tonka Raceway (Hasbro Interactive, $29.95. For use with Windows 95/98 systems).
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From the I Love Learning series, which includes I Love Math and I Love Science, comes I Love Spelling (DK Multimedia). This series combines curriculum-based content with a tracking performance system that allows parents and teachers to monitor the progress of 7- to 11-year-olds.
Children can take part in cool spelling challenges. Play can involve one or two individuals.
In Word Attack, players take the helm of a spaceship with words flying at them. The audio gives the correct word and three possible spellings come forward. Shoot the right spelling the first time and earn 100 points; miss it and lose 50.
A bit deeper into space, Astro Adventure and the Incredible Space Challenge take players to planets where they compete in intergalactic word fun.
On Amphiba, travelers find a Southern-bayou inspired game of "guess the mystery word." On Anagrama, dumb bunnies holding the letter cards have become all mixed up. The goal is to bring the bunnies to the surface and arrange them in the right order.
For those not afraid of bats and spiders, planet Arachna features bees that are trapped on the spider web. The only way to change their fate is to spell the given word correctly - before the spider shows up for lunch.
Throughout the games, the formidable Xtra T, a green alien, is there to play along and add some comedic relief - the little guy really hates spelling and is not very good at it.
All areas offer specific spelling topics such as city names, animals or body parts to help students get ready for exams.
Along with more than 5,000 essential words, I Love Spelling is also packed with silly animations and jokes to keep children interested.
I Love Spelling (DK Multimedia, $29.95. For use with Windows 95/98 systems).
ROMper Room is a column devoted to finding the best of multimedia "edutainment." Calls, letters or faxes about a particular column or suggestions for future columns are always welcome. Write to Joseph Szadkowski, The Washington Times, 3600 New York Ave. NE, Washington, D.C. 20002; call 202/636-3016; or send e-mail (joseph@twtmail.com).
****BOX (COLOR)
DOUBLE DELIGHT
Here are two entertainment games for children 6 and older that will guarantee multiple moments of merriment.
* MLB 2000, by 989 Studios (For Sony PlayStation, $39.95) - America's favorite pastime meets the world of video gaming in this exciting baseball simulation. The game features what I think is a first - progressive dirt. (Players get dirtier as the game continues.)
MLB 2000 offers a load of options and graphics. Create a player to include everything from bat placement to glove color. Added animations abound, such as a pitcher who will pick up the rosin bag. Also, beginners can hold down one button for automatic fielding, which offers bare-hand grabs and charging the ball.
The graphics are so detailed that even the Jumbo Tron reflects the action. Accurately rendered ballparks bring the game alive and range from the fickle winds of Wrigley to the green monster at Fenway. MLB 2000's flexibility and intuitiveness make it a home run for the sports gamer.
* Beetle Adventure Racing by Electronic Arts (For Nintendo 64, $49.95) - When I imagine the meanest machine on wheels, the Volkswagen Beetle is not the first car that comes to mind. Well, my imagination has been altered with a new cross-country racing spectacular featuring the newly updated vehicle.
Offering expansive 3-D environments, the game lets one player roam around six tracks or up to four players competitively race around nine battle arenas. Players need to secure ladybug icons and be the first to cross the finish line. Along the way, drivers run into surprise shortcuts, nitro-bursts and even power-ups that force their opponents to race upside down. This Beetle will not bug the young race-car fan.