Spotlight on Viva Media

Tivola, one of my favorite software publishers, isn't Tivola any more. They are now called Viva Media. But they still have the same great software, and you can still find all your favorite Tivola titles. Out of forty titles, thirty of them have won awards. The titles are now divided into these categories: Viva Chess, Viva Astronomy, Viva Kids, Viva Adventure, and Viva Music. Something for everyone.

Check out their website at http://www.viva-media.com/ The first thing you'll notice is the sharp new chess graphics. If you think the graphics are cool, you'll have to check out their new chess titles. Especially for kids is "Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster." I've had a Windows copy for a while, but being a Mac person, I haven't been able to review it. But joy of joys, I just discovered that they now have a Mac version.... and it's especially for Mac OS X. Hurray. Since I have a budding chest enthusiast in the house, I am very excited about getting a chance to review this title soon. So while you are waiting on me, here is what other people have to say about Fritz and Chesster.

Edutaining Kids gives it an A and says, "Children's software really needed a title like this one." The full review can be found here http://www.edutainingkids.com/reviews/le...

Superkids Software Review gives it straight 5's in all categories including educational value, kid appeal, and ease of use. Read the whole review at http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/revi...

The Review Corner gives it the Award of Excellence and scores it as a 9.2 out of 10. Here is the link to their review http://school.discovery.com/parents/revi...

And if that isn't enough praise, this title also won the 2003 Bologna New Media Prize.

Viva Media's current chess titles include both Mac and Windows Versions of "Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster" and Fritz 7 and Fritz 8. The latter two titles are geared toward adults. 7 is for beginners and 8 is for more advanced players.

Also new to Viva Media is Martin Subotnick's "Making Music Series." There are three titles in this series: Making Music, Making More Music, and Hearing Music. I'll let you know more about these when I find out about them.

I have always enjoyed the Tivola titles because they are different. They have a softer, artistic edge, and don't jar parents' senses like Saturday morning cartoons. Look through my previous articles for reviews on Alphabet, Little Raven, Peanuts: Where's the Blanket Charlie Brown, and several Max, and Oscar the Balloonist titles.

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