Customer Reviews

ITZABITZA

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

ItzaBitza is a terrific game - I've been a game developer since 1994 and I've made and played many games for kids, and there are very few titles with the innovation and craftsmanship of ItzaBitza. I have three kids aged 13, 9 and 6 and all three of them played the game through to the end and enjoyed every minute of it. It's refreshing to see a game that is built on a genuine understanding of how a kid thinks.

My five-year-old daughter loves this game. It is so sweet and simple. She draws pictures for each scene and they come to life. For example, she draws the barn and door for the farmyard scene, and then chickens come running out. The drawings don't have to be good, but they are HERS. The best thing about this game is the instructions!! As she goes to each area, the words appear and she clicks on the ones she doesn't know. A child's voice pronounces them. She knows exactly what to do without coming to get me every two minutes (THANK YOU!!!), without sitting through the same instructions over and over, and she learns about words, reading and word order.

I waited to write this review because she seemed to finish the game so quickly, and I was afraid she wouldn't use it any more. But she keeps coming back to it every few weeks. I think the game is very appropriate for 3-7 year olds, with reading abilities from clueless (they'll learn that sentences read left to right and each word has its own sound) to reading on their own. Clever, and cute!

(disclaimer: a friend who works at the company gave us this game. I am thrilled to be honestly able to write a good review!)

As my daughter has grown, I've become more open to the idea of allowing her more time on the computer--provided I can find high-quality educational games that will also be fun for her. My real problem with electronics for children has been that I feel they are either too stifling of creativity or try to masquerade as "educational" when they, in fact, have no real educational value. I'm glad to say that Itza Bitza falls into neither of these categories.

The game itself is very simple. Your child begins by choosing a "Sketchy"--either male or female--and then is asked to draw various objects for the Sketchy using the mouse. The game helps not only with mouse-handling skills but it also allows children to refine their technique. Regardless of how the objects look, the Sketchy will adapt them to his or her own use, either growing or shrinking in order to fit properly into the house your child has drawn, for example.

In addition to the artistic aspects of the game, it also encourages problem-solving skills. Sketchy will issue simple instructions to your child and then it's up to your child to figure out how to complete the task that Sketchy has set. The directions that Sketchy issues are not always explicit and I've even found that I occasionally have a hard time figuring out what Sketchy wants done. For example, once your child has drawn a tree for Sketchy, the child will be asked to find ten baby birds. It may take a few tries until your child learns that the baby birds can be created by clicking on the birds flitting around the tree, which causes them to drop eggs that then hatch into baby birds. This can lead to some frustration but it also encourage persistence. When my daughter is finally able to figure out how to complete a task, she feels a real sense of accomplishment and victory. I'm especially pleased with this aspect of the game because my daughter has a tendency to get frustrated with things and give up too easily. Sometimes she does have to walk away from the game and won't come back to it until weeks later but she ultimately has figured out how to complete every task.

With each task the child completes, they will be awarded a star. Once they have accumulated enough stars, a new area will be unlocked. It's always exciting for my daughter to be able to explore a new area with her Sketchy and to find new tasks but that doesn't stop her from going back to the old areas and trying new things. There are plenty of areas to appeal to a wide variety of interests--everything from a camping area to a space adventure to a haunted house.

The game also helps with some basic reading skills. The Sketchy has several bubbles that pop up and as your child points at the words, the Sketchy will say them. Once an option is picked (for example, "House" in the starting area), a larger bubble appears with instructions. As your child moves the finger-shaped cursor over each word, the Sketchy says it. This encourages your child to look at the words as Sketchy is saying them and will help your child identify simple and high-frequency words. This also helps your child understand that in order to read, they need to follow the words from top to bottom, left to right.

Itza Bitza is not only interesting for my daughter, it's also fascinating for me and my husband. In fact, I've considered installing it on my own PC and playing it. It's fun to watch the Sketchy interact with the objects your child draws and it's fascinating to try to figure out how to complete the various tasks given.

My daughter has played a variety of educational games from companies like Jump Start and, while I like several of these, Itza Bitza is my favorite because of the sheer variety of skills it helps teach and because it's simply so well put together. Hopefully more software publishers will take note and create more high-quality children's software in the vein of this wonderful game.

We're enjoying ItzaBitza quite a bit!

I made the purchase for my 6.9 year old daughter who is in first grade because she needs some extra practice in learning to read. She's quickly figured out how to click words in the bubbles to speak the words aloud and is already getting better at recognizing words.

My older daughter is 9 years old and in third grade. She's a VERY strong reader having read all 7 Harry Potter books already. She's also enjoying the game, more from the perspective of working on the puzzles within the game like figuring out that you have to complete one task and then start another to complete a task to earn a star.

I wasn't sure what to think at first since i guess this is new, but I have to say my kid (5 y.o.) is rather addicted. She doesn't always get the words or what things mean right away, but she's stayed engaged enough to where I feel like she actually might someday...looking forward to seeing if this game is sticky enough to have long term effects on her comprehension. At $20 it's worth her fun either way :)

I wanted to share how much our family is enjoying ItzaBitza - It's perfect for us! I have two children - a 5 year old daughter who is in Kindergarten and a 3 ½ year old son. My 3 ½ year old has autism and this game is fantastic for him - it really brings out the imaginative play for him as well as direction following - both are key development areas for autistic children - I've recommended it to his ABA therapist who loves it! My daughter is also learning to read and it has been really great to watch her progress - to "play" and learn at the same time! It's not uncommon to hear fantastic hearty laughter coming out of the computer room!

Thanks for this innovative and great new tool to connect with and enable both of our children!

Kristina

We got this gift for our 7 year old who loves to draw. It took about 10 minutes for her to get the hang of it and now she does not want to do anything else (and she loves the catchy name) It is unique in that you create/draw different pictures and then they come to life. For example, you choose a scene , like "at home" and then draw a dog house (the game adds the dogs), then it asks you to draw a dog bowl (since the dogs are hungry). It just keeps building on the scene that you are creating. It also has some great learning (especially reading). If your child is not yet a reader, they can point to the words and the program reads the words to you. Kudos to a great new game (and just in time for the holidays!).

This is a fun game but my 4-year old cannot control the mouse well enough to draw many of the items that are requested. I'm sure that he will figure it out as he gets older but this may be a concern for younger players.

The first minutes that my daughter played was sufficient to score this wonderful game. She is loving this game where she has been discovering every time more when start the game besides the increase your perceptions, curiosity and creativity.
We are from Brazil and English is our second language. My daughter Fernanda (6 years old) didn't find any difficult to understand this game. For me, this game is also an excellent way to introduce in the English language.

I bought this for our 4 year-old daughter because she's very creative and is showing an interest in the computer.
This "game" is phenomenal. She gets to draw things, which are maintained on the screen as-is...no one there to show her the "right way" or force her to make it perfect. She can be her own judge. For example, it asked her to draw a house. she drew this lopsided, 'looks like a 4 year-old drew it' house...or a box...or beanbag. In the next step, it asked her to draw a door, which looked more like a triangle. The software made it come to life and the character opened the door and walked inside this beautifully crafted home that was just as my daughter designed. She's self-directed and doesn't need me to show her anything, although I like watching (and it's hard not to want to take my turn). Even her brainiac 9-year-old brother likes to play this thing. It's a brilliant piece of work. She's gaining confidence while playing this. I hope they make more stuff like this!