Review of Rolie Polie Olie: The Search for Spot by Playhouse Disney

Windows: Windows 95/98/Me/XP; Pentium class processor 166 MHz or faster; 32MB or RAM or greater; 50MB free uncompressed hard disk space; 8X speed CD-ROM drive; 16 bit Windows compatible sound card: 16-bit color, Windows-compatible video card; Java-compatible web browser

Macintosh: Operating System 8.6 through OS X (classic mode); G# processor, 233 MHz or faster; 64MB Ram or greater; 50MB free hard disk space; 8X CD-Rom Drive: Thousands or Millions of Colors video display

There I was in the store with two boys and enough money for one new software title. Would I ever get them to agree on one?

Yes I did, and it was a pretty quick decision since both are Rolie Polie Olie fans. And at ages 2 and 5 my boys exactly fit the age recommendation range.

Naturally, being an astute software reviewer I had done my homework beforehand looking up reviews. However, a review of Rolie Polie was not to be found.

All the better reason to buy it I thought. I won't be writing a review of something that has already been reviewed a dozen times. Besides, I was drawn in by Disney's money back guarantee.

With the attitude of "What do I have to lose?" I purchased the CD-ROM and headed home. Honestly , if I were a more organized person and kept up with my receipts better I would have already used the money back guarantee policy. Good thing I'm a disorganized mess, because this CD-ROM eventually grew on my kids---and me, too.

Spot, Olie's dog, needs a bath and he's on the run. Players must follow him through the house, straighten up what he's knocked over, and play a game. The games in the living room, kitchen, and Olie's room must be completed before getting to do the diving game in the bathroom.

In the living room, children play the Telly Builder Game. There are nine things to build with Telly and three difficulty levels. I wish there had been more randomization in this activity and more things to build. The game delighted my two year old, but quickly bored the five year old.

My five year old's favorite activity was the Canister Can-Can Game in the kitchen. Eight blue canisters play a scale, each green cupboard plays a different background tune, and the pots and kettles on the stove each make a funny musical noise. In addition the water faucets makes a wonderful swoosh, swoosh percussion sound. Up to five different songs can be recorded and played back. Clicking on the clock changes the tempo of the music. This is a wonderful composition activity for young children.

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