Customer Reviews

Tonka Dig'n Rigs Playset

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

We have Tonka Contruction 2, Tonka Workshop, and Fisher Price Big Action Construction -- all good toys. We just got Dig 'n Rigs the other day and I'd have to say that this toy is an order of magnitude better than the others. The user interface is excellent - everything is in 3D, yet it's easy to navigate. It allows kids to actually drive the trucks from the truck lot to various construction sites, then operate the fairly realistic controls. The game has more degrees of freedom than Tonka Workshop. My son (not quite 3 years old yet) would easily sit at the computer and play this game for hours if I let him.

I just recently purchased this for my 4 year old son and it's a huge success. It's hard finding software for him. Some kids still have trouble using the keyboard to play games and this is definetely not hard to use. If your child is very much into trucks, cars and all that, he/she will love this game. Jessy

My son is at this game for hours. I have to drag him away from it kicking and screaming just to get a turn at my computer! I thought hooking it up would be more involved, but you just strap it to your keyboard. Very simple to use. My little guy plays unassisted while I do my housework. He learned basic mouse function from other great programs like jumpstart toddler so he has no problem getting around this game. GREAT purchase- I highly recommend it.

My little boy absolutely LOVES this toy!...Avynn is able to doall the different truck things all by himself and it's great to just sit him in front of the computer for a while. I highly recommend this toy/software.

My son has just turned 3 and he really enjoys playing this game. The dashboard fits nicely over a standard keyboard and the strap holds it in place nicely. The only thing that is a down side is the keyboard does move around a little when he uses the controls. There is one activity that is too difficult for him to master and that is the activity at the gas station. That is just a small part of this game. My son loves the 4 vehicles used and has a couple favorite activities he likes to do in the game. He loves feeding the animals with the end-loader and loves knocking down buildings with the crane and wrecking ball. I would highly recommend this game for any child that enjoys computer games.

This is an excellent computer game, from the graphics, realistic sounds and the control console. My 4 year old son and 7 year old daughter love playing the game. I admit, I do also on occation. If you happen to have a good computer speaker system with a subwoofer and surround sound, you get the feeling that the machines sound are realistic, plus the subwoofer also add vibration to the floor (that much more fun). The console controls are actually close to the real thing, though more forgiving. I had a natural keyboard, so I had to purchase a standard keyboard for the console. But it was no problem the natural key board was USB and the standard keyboard was a serial connection, so I just connected them both.

After reading all the outstanding reviews this product received, we just had to give it a try! IT IS EXTRAORDINARY! I was a little concerned that our son was a bit young (Just 2 years old), but figured we could enjoy it with him until he was old enough! We bought it for his second birthday and in one month he has mastered about 1/2 of the activities! He is matching colors, working his fine motor skills and logic, all while having a blast! A MUST FOR EVERY LITTLE BOY!

In short: You are wasting precious child-development time (not to mention precious adult-relaxation time). Stop reading these reviews already and get it!

OK, since you insist... This is about as close to perfect as a toy can get. The robust little "dashboard" can be installed on a standard keyboard, by a standard 4 year-old, in ten seconds flat. Tonka Joe, the walking 'n talking cartoon guide, deserves a special Oscar for helpfulness, clarity, and his cheery, ungrating voice. That last is very important, because you will be listening to him for hours (and hours :-) on end.

Watch your children's faces closely when they first realize they can actually DRIVE these on-screen earthmovers, SCOOP the on-screen dung, SWING the on-screen wrecking ball... Be prepared to catch their eyeballs.

Also be prepared for some serious time to yourself. The game designers got EVERYTHING right on this one. It is almost impossible for your kid to get lost or confused. Using the clearly explained mouse commands, they can bail out of one activity and go to another instantly, or they can choose to drive from place to place (the rigs respond to accurate steering input, but they'll get where they're going even if your kid is just spinning the wheel or blowing the horn). Interspersed with the construction activities are a series of games, some educational, some just fun, and some very funny indeed. My boy was delighted when he discovered that he could drop the shipping containers in the water, instead of loading them on the waiting barge. But here too, the designers were way ahead - if a container is loaded onto the wrong-colored cradle, it gets catapulted way out into the ocean, accompanied by Tonka Joe yelling: "Air freight!"

When I reluctantly turned my old Pentium 200 machine over to my 4 year-old, I couldn't imagine him making any real use of it for a couple of years (other than his usual "domsdfijkAKm.doc" creations). Wrong! He paints, plays pinball, golf ... but this program is by far the best.

Technical stuff: Installation is a snap. Every time it starts up, Tonka Joe gives very clear instructions for attaching the dashboard. The dashboard communicates with the computer by using rods that press the keys - an ingenious way to convert imprecise toddler hand motions into precise computer commands. However, with enthusiastic play, the dashboard can occasionally get out of alignment - my 4 year-old tells me: "It's OK, daddy, I relign it myself." A Pentium 200 doesn't quite have enough oomph to run the game, but that suits my purposes just fine, because my boy then also gets a lesson in patience, waiting for the occasional hourglass to go away. Another nice point: unlike most games that take over the whole screen, this one will co-exist happily with other running programs - you don't need to shut everything else down, and you can leave it running while you do other computer work. A final technical point: in 30+ hours of play so far, it has never glitched or crashed.

So, surely by now you have wasted enough time, no?

We bought Digs N Rigs last Christmas for our then-3-1/2 year old son. A year later it is still a top favorite. The activities are definitely of interest to a boy--feeding zoo animals, digging for dinosaur bones, building (and knocking down) buildings, loading up ships. Each time you pick a different piece of heavy equipment and location, the game is new--very well designed. The steering panel is a cinch to strap on each time. We highly recommend this game.

I bought this for my son (4 years old) last year for Christmas. I can tell you he loves it. My daughter is three and really enjoys it also. We have 23 kids on our block alone. So we have children over all the time. They always want to play Tonka's Dig'n Rigs when they come over. We have to have a timer so everyone gets a turn.