Donald Duck’s Playground is a single player edutainment title that was originally created for the Commodore 64 but was successfully converted to several other formats, including DOS for the personal computer. It is a middle eighties offering from U.S. Gold Limited that was developed by adventure gaming gurus, Sierra On-Line, Incorporated. The game plays from the third person perspective and focuses on basic skills, primarily in math. It is based on the adventures of Walt Disney cartoon favorite, Donald Duck, and is a fully licensed title.
Donald Duck’s Playground is a single player edutainment title that was originally created for the Commodore 64 but was successfully converted to several other formats, including DOS for the personal computer. It is a middle eighties offering from U.S. Gold Limited that was developed by adventure gaming gurus, Sierra On-Line, Incorporated. The game plays from the third person perspective and focuses on basic skills, primarily in math. It is based on the adventures of Walt Disney cartoon favorite, Donald Duck, and is a fully licensed title.
The goal of this game is all about money. The gamer has to help Donald Duck to earn as much money as possible through a variety of business ventures. Donald can get a job in a variety of fields,
including an airport, a green grocer’s store, a toy store and a railroad. The shift at each occupation lasts for a predetermined length of time, set by the player, and is from one to eight minutes long. The wages that Donald Duck will earn directly reflects the difficulty level that the gamer selects.
The tasks that Donald will have to perform at each of the companies he is employed with will vary. For example, at the airport, he will have to sort luggage and cargo to be delivered to several other airports across the world. Each area has a three letter code for an abbreviation and Donald earns a whopping three cents for each piece of correctly sorted cargo. At the green grocers, Donald will have to perform a similar task, only he has to sort produce into three boxes as it is unloaded off a truck. He will be handling cantaloupes, watermelons and pumpkins. He gets a penny for each piece of fruit put in the right crate. At the toy store, Donald has to shelve toys that reach him by way of a conveyor belt. He earns five cents for each toy. The big money maker is the railroad. He has to correctly order switches on the track so that deliveries are routed to the appropriate cities. He earns fifteen cents for each successful delivery.
And what does Donald Duck do with his money? Everyone is likely familiar with his precocious little nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. Uncle Donald uses his earnings to buy playground equipment such as ladders and swings for the boys.
This is a nice little game to help youngsters learn the value of a dollar, the benefits of hard work, and some strategies for managing their money and budgeting successfully. It is a good game for kids.
