Wild Board Games

Wild Board Games was introduced in 1995 by edutainment expert Corel, and was the fifth game in a series of games geared for children. The collection includes five classic games: checkers, chess, snakes and ladders, reversi and a switch puzzle. In each of the five games playable, the user faces an opponent in the form of a wild animal, hence the title Wild Board Games. Checkers features a monkey, chess offers a rabbit, reversi plays a dog, and snakes and ladders pits the user against a cute little cartoon chicken.

In the switch puzzle, there is no animated opposition because it is a single player game.
The games themselves are classical adaptations of the original games in which we are all familiar. There are, however, different levels of difficulty to help tailor the games to the appropriate age and skill level of the child playing. There are on screen tutorials to help teach the game, which is especially useful for the more complex strategy game of chess, which requires some forethought and knowledge of playing moves etc. To keep the game somewhat more interesting, the user is allowed to pick between four basic venues for the match, in whatever game is being played. Games can take place in the attic, the backyard, the kitchen and the basement.
There are other bonus games and features that are readily available in this series that can keep kids entertained. The first is a nice paint editor for playing around with graphics. Coming from Corel, who went on to concentrate solely on the area of graphic design, this is not surprising and it is a pretty good editor for children. There is also a game of tic tac toe, a dressmaker activity, a cake maker activity, and a video game that runs similar to Space Invaders. The collection also includes a basic video viewer.
The game’s format is easy to understand. Children will have no problem finding the game or activity they want and selecting a difficulty level. The silly cartoon animals are also nicely coloured and funny and will draw interest right away. The sound effects are not right up front, but are still present, and will add to the game play. Overall, this is a good game for kids, and a great tutorial for classic games children may just be learning to play.