Customer Reviews

Spelling Challenges and More

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am an adult gamer who likes vocabulary & spelling. They were my favorite subjects in school. I was excited to see they made a game out of it!!

There are variety of word games. Pick the one that's misspelled, the one that's correct, unscramble the words, & spell the word they flash at you quickly. Real neat. I really enjoyed it. The games are timed and you collect coins depending on how well you did. It keeps track of your points and you can try to beat others with the score or beat your own score. You enter your age and they'll give you your skill according to your age. If it's a 9 year old, they'll give 9 year old's reading level. If you enter an adult's age, the words get harder. You also unlock some new games once you beat certain games or level.

I've played with it for 40 minutes and I like it. I can't wait to go back and play some more. Everything is done with the stylus and there is no problems with it's usage. The only downside is that it does not use a QWERTY as a way to find the letters. It's in alphabet order. I am a typist and I know where the letters are in QWERTY way but since it's in alphabet order, I learned pretty quickly where the letters are and became faster in finding the letters I wanted eventually. I don't know how this game is long term but so far it's a great word game.

My son, who is 9 was hesitant at first because he is a pokemon fan, but the game show style of this game drew him in and now he loves to play! He likes collecting money for each challenge that he completes. His 5 year old sister and I have also played and enjoyed it. Highly recommended for parents!

It is a spelling game where they flash the words to you before you type them, and the words are never read out load to the player. Then they make everything timed, so there is pressure to go fast. For someone who is learning a new word and learning to spell it, actually hearing the word is pretty critical. This is what spelling is about...you hear the word and then write it down, but in this case the developers took a few short cuts. My 7 year old son reads at a very high level, but I wanted him to recognize words he hears, so this game really falls for me.

Graphics are pretty weak, games aren't horrible, but nothing to write home about. Overall, I think it might be good for someone with a good vocabulary trying to refine their spelling and just have fun playing a game, but I bought this as a educational game for my kids. It might be fun, but I don't see much or any educational value in this game.

I think Spelling Challenges should be on every kid's game shelf, even though some hardcore gamers knock it for low production values and quick display of the words during the spelling bee.

First, how did we learn to spell as kids? We read the words in a book or followed along as a parent read to us. We studied the words on a spelling list (remember the dreaded SAT word-a-day sheet?) and copied them multiple times. We called out to a parent or older sibling, "How do you spell 'where'; the kind that means a place, not the kind that means what you do with clothes?" We learned to spell by seeing, hearing and writing the correct spelling of a word. Sure Spelling Challenges flashes the word momentarily and gives the word's definition -- when my ten year old son processes what he sees on the screen to type the letters himself, he's learning to spell. Some adult gamers claim that seeing the word before you spell it is a fundamental flaw in a game to test one's spelling knowledge, but it may actually be a key attribute in the game's teaching ability.

Second, the spelling game is terrific for expanding a kid's vocabulary, especially where there's general familiarity with a word. MishMash, my son's favorite mini-game in Spelling Challenges, gives a word's definition, shows blanks to indicate the number of letters and then provides a jumble of the letters that are used to spell the word. Our Spelling Challenges game has some thirty hours of play time since we purchased it last month; at 75 cents an hour for a spelling tutor, I consider that to be quite a bargain.

Competing to unlock new games or trying to beat a personal best score, encourages my son to be involved on a regular basis with spelling, vocabulary and recognition of word forms ('noun' or 'verb', for instance). Spelling Challenges is not a perfect game, but it provides the regular practice and repetition that's key to becoming a good speller and reader.

What should be improved on the next version of this game? Spelling Challenges could (of course) use the addition of a spelling bee game where the word is given orally, rather than flashed on the screen. Since Mr. Niceguy, the game host, likes to talk, he should explain spelling rules (e.g. "'i' before 'e', except after 'c' "), which could be illustrated by words in different games such as the Odd One Out game (pick the one of four words that is spelled incorrectly) or the Right One game (pick which of two words is spelled correctly). Also, the alphabetical (versus QWERTY) layout of the letters fails to reinforce a kid's emerging typing skills, although it's almost certainly easier for the youngest users to find letters alphabetically, so an option between the two would be a plus.

Is the current game worth buying? My son would not pick Spelling Challenges over Mario, but he's delighted to play the game while we're waiting in the car, when he gets to stay up an extra fifteen minutes before bedtime to `do his spelling' or when the choice is between dishes and the DS. Spelling Challenges fights the SpellCheck mentality that many kids have developed. The game is so far superior to the alternatives of spelling lists and rote learning (or a lifetime of poor spelling when a word processor isn't handy), that I don't see why folks aren't lining up to buy this game for their child, grandchild or as a donation to a local after-school program.

I agree that the game is fun. It is fairly fast-paced. It tries pretty well to adapt to the user's skill level. It asked me my age, and at 38 years old, it put me on level 31. Seemed a little too easy, but who knows where it can go from here. Lots of games that I haven't unlocked.
I agree that the qwerty configuration would be good for two reasons. First, for those of us who type, that is how we look for letters. Second, for kids, that is how they SHOULD be learning to look for letters. It's a skill that everyone needs in the 21st century. Maybe 5-year old players should have the option to have it in alphabetical order, but they should include qwerty as an option.
nonetheless, great game, great fun.
more people need to understand that spelling correctly can be fun!

This is a fun game that my kids enjoy playing. There are a variety of games and 100 levels. Unfortunately, I have found that there are some words misspelled. One example is a middle eastern bread that the game spells "pitta." I looked it up in a dictionary at home and on line, and a "pitta" is a bird, but "pita" is a middle eastern bread. It just seems like a spelling program could be a little better edited.

I bought my 60-year-old father a Nintendo DS Lite along with a brain exercise game pack that included Spelling Challenges and More, Brain Age 2, and My Spanish Coach. We have enjoyed the different word games, especially Mishmash (similar to the newspaper Jumble puzzle) and Fill It In (similar to Wheel of Fortune). Unfortunately, Spelling Challenges includes only 100 levels. This may seem like a lot, but after just 5 days of playing, I reached Level 100. Now I keep seeing the same words over and over. Argh! If you are buying this gift for a child, then it's wonderful. My 2 young nephews love it. However, if you are an adult with a good vocabulary and a passing familiarity with French (many of the words in Levels 90-100 are French words in English), this game may be too easy for you.

Okay so this game doesn't sound as exciting as the other DS games. I bought this game for myself because I like word games. It is fun to quiz yourself on different levels. A nice alternative to those other brain games. I enjoy those games but always prefer the word game sections over the sudoku or music memory games. This game is also great for my 7 yr old twins. They can play at their level and it will advance them as their skill grows. This is great for their vocabulary and they are learning new words.

I bought this game for my 7 year old son only to find out its fun for every one. It has 100 levels of spelling challenges. There are also challenges on what is a noun, adjective, verb etc. Its a great game.

I got this for my first grader and it's just to hard. It's not helpful for those just learning because
1) It doesn't say the word. No audible to go with the visual.
2) No matter what age you input, it starts you at a 2nd or even 3rd grade level. Yet it offers age 1. Stupid.
3) It doesn't start with simple words (at, pat, bat, it, bit, sit, etc.) that follow how early readers are learning phonetically.
4)The 'host' talks trash (insults and snide remarks) when you don't do so well. This made my 6 yr old son feel bad.

My son actually reads at a third grade level, but isn't so hot at spelling. I thought this would be more fun for him than what we were doing at home. I think he'll be able to use it later, but for now we are going to try another game. I still feel like I wasted my money. If your child is older, it may be fine.