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Puzz3D CD Victorian Mansion By Pam Gleichman Tribune Media Services With Puzz3D Victorian Mansion is a program that is part puzzle and part mystery game. You are asked to assemble a 3-D puzzle of the old, Richmond Mansion, a perfect example of classic Victorian architecture. The puzzle, depending on the level of difficulty you choose, can have anywhere from 150 to 700 pieces in it. The mystery portion of the game revolves around the 30-year-old murder of a member of the Richmond family. You can begin to investigate the murder when you receive the mansion's key. And you only get the key, when your puzzle has been completed. As you explore the rooms of Richmond Mansion, you are looking for clues that will assist your investigation. Along the way, you will learn, through informative video clips, about the history and architecture of the mansion from the people who built it. You will also learn, through stories and mini-games, about the historic events that shaped the Victorian era. Don’t worry. You can save your puzzle. You'd have a hard time completing it in one sitting anyway. You can also print it out when you're done, which is a nice feature. There are also construction tips offered at critical junctures in the game, multi-view references, a stopwatch that tracks building time and a performance graph that charts used and unused pieces. Puzz3D CD Victorian Mansion is quite challenging. I spent four hours putting the puzzle together at the easy level and still had a few 3-D pieces to place. Our testers (myself included) enjoyed the challenge of putting the puzzle together more than actually exploring the finished mansion. One complaint from our testers (age 12 and 13) was that you only got a key to explore parts of the mansion after you complete each difficulty level. The challenging and super-challenging levels were too difficult for kids. Another downside is that, unlike a traditional puzzle, several people cannot sit around a table and work together. The program does, however, provide challenging entertainment and doesn’t make a mess. Publisher : Wrebbit, 400, rue Stinson, Saint-Laurent (Quebec) Canada H4N 2E9, (514) 744-8444, http://www.wrebbit.com Category : Problem-solving. Age : 12 to adult. Installation : Easy. Use : Very easy. Graphics : Very good. Written Materials : Written materials are included on the CD jacket. System Requirements : Windows 95 or 98, 100 MHz Pentium Processor (200 recommended), 16 MB RAM (24 recommended), 45 MB free hard disk space, 640 X480, 16-bit colors, 2X CD-ROM, Direct X certified video driver, 1MB of cache video memory is recommended. Mac OS 7.5 or higher, PowerPC 80Mhz (200 MHz recommended) 20 MB memory (32 recommended), 32 MB free hard disk space, 640X 480, 16 bit colors, 2X CD-ROM. Tested Version : Windows 95/98/Mac. Cost : $24.99. Rating : Three stars. If you are a jigsaw puzzle enthusiast and want a new way to challenge yourself, Puzz3D will not disappoint. DEAR PAM : I have four children in elementary school and I am looking for some good activities that they can do this summer on the Internet. Do you know of any good sites that have educational and entertaining activities? DEAR READER : Silver Burdett Mathematics (http://sbgmath.com/) is a great site. It has activities for kindergarten through 6th grade. Each grade has about 10 interesting activities that incorporate mathematics through research on the Internet. WEB SITE OF THE WEEK ANIMAL SAFARI http://www.atas.k12.ca.us/learning/library/animals/index.html This site is filled with information on many animals from Angel Sharks to Zebras. RATING KEY : ***** — Outstanding; **** — Very Good; *** — Good; ** — Fair; * — Not Worth Purchasing. Pam Gleichman welcomes questions/comments from readers. Write to Pam at Tribune Media Services, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1400, Chicago, Ill. 60611. Send e-mail to [email protected] . � 1999 Tribune Media Services, Inc. Techno file index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA