By Dale Farris, Secretary
Golden Triangle PC Club
November 2002

Game Overview

Alphabet: A Fantastic Game About the Alphabet is being re-released by TIVOLA, now under their SmartPLay label. The game was first released by TIVOLA in 2001, and has received enormous praise from educators, owners of the game, as well as the software industry.

In this new release, the game is in a new package design that reflects some of the success the game has enjoyed. The new box tells you that Alphabet won the coveted Platinum Award for Best Software for Kids in 2002 from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, as well as that it was featured on NBC's Today Show.

Alphabet is one of the most amazing games for pre-schoolers you will ever find. The focus of the game, as indicated by its title, is on helping early readers learn the alphabet, but it does this in a way only possible in a computer game. From the moment the game begins, you are immersed in a sea of moving letters, captivating sounds, and vibrant colors. As you play Alphabet, your computer is literally transformed into a multi-media playground, filled with vibrant and dazzling letters that morph and dance wildly across your screen.

Alphabet is a colorful and creative celebration of the alphabet, and is unique in the computer software market. Letters dance, laugh, fly, and are full of surprises with each click of the mouse, press of a key, or a blow into a microphone. There are countless animated screens, lovingly devised details, and bewitching sounds that await you at each letter. You will be surprised at each step of the game, as these cleverly designed sounds and images come to life on the screen.

Most of all, playing Alphabet is great fun. I bet once your rug rats start Alphabet, you will find it difficult to get them away from the computer, especially when you find yourself wanting to play this joyous game.

This CD ROM game is based on the book of same name by Kveta Pacovska, renowned Czech artist and illustrator, whose art is simple but sophisticated, while ingeniously capable of captivating all pre-readers. The emphasis is on vibrant colors, clever sounds, and masterful sound effects, all seamlessly timed to coincide with the child's movement of the mouse, pressing of a key, or blowing or speaking into their microphone.

If you can imagine those wonderful short animations on Sesame Street that are designed to help children learn the alphabet, then you have some sense of what happens in this marvelous interactive game that takes this concept to an entirely new level.

Without a doubt, all families with a computer and young children just beginning to learn to read will definitely want to add this vital tool to their library of resources.

Game Play

Alphabet is an acrobatic circus that challenges every possible sound and shape of the 26 letters. The player has total control over how to play the game.

You move and change the screen by using the mouse, keyboard, or by speaking into a microphone. When you do, sit back and watch how letters develop as the voices of children from different countries, sounds of nature, and wonderful music add creative changes to the letters. See what happens by clicking on the letters. There are lots of amazing things to discover as you conduct the fascinating action in the game.

Awards

2002 - Platinum Award - Oppenheim Toy Portfolio
2002 - Top Pick - Child Magazine
2001 - Silver Honor - Parents' Choice
2001 - Award of Excellence - Discovery.com
2001 - Software Magic Award - Parenting Magazine
2001 - All Star Award - Children's Software Review
2001 - Best Pick - Choosing Children's Software
2001 - Best Software Pick - EdutainingKids.com
2000 - Bologna New Media Prize

Games Built Into Alphabet

As you begin Alphabet, you are immediately thrown into the amazing world of letters and sounds and movement. The game presents you with a random presentation of the alphabet, and you can decide to click on a letter to open up the levels of fun with each letter.

Once you begin the letters, there are 3 different levels of play for each letter. This means there are different things that happen as the game sounds out the letter, animates movement of the letter, and joins intriguing and fun music to these energetic movements. This presents hours and hours of fun with little chance of repetition, something that will certainly appeal to the young target audience.

Age Group

The game box states the game is relevant for ages from 3 to 102, and I think Alphabet is the best choice for a CD ROM approach to alphabet skills now on the market. Adults will also likely have a great deal of fun watching and listening to this marvelous game, while especially enjoying playing Alphabet with their young children.

Game Design

The design and layout of the game is simply amazing. Playing Alphabet is like diving into the colorful world of Kveta Pacovska, and living inside his wonderfully imagined alphabet land. There has been no expense spared in the development of this unique game that enlivens the already amazing paper book, Alphabet, by Kveta Pacovska. The CD ROM game provides an opportunity to see this book come alive before your eyes.

You see the letters move and bounce around the screen, and while using the mouse, keyboard, or microphone, stimulate countless hours of fun-filled action that is always a delight to watch and hear. Each letter has a different array of effects, which are all quite fun to work with.

Educational Value

Alphabet is the most enchanting, delightful approach to learning the alphabet you will ever experience. The game is soundly built on learning the alphabet, as well as recognition of shapes and patterns.

In addition, players can sound along with the game, strengthening their phonics skills.

The most important feature of Alphabet is its fascinating, creative mix of animations and sounds that greatly enhance the creativity of players. Also, players get many opportunities to see what happens as they click or move the mouse, press keys on the keyboard, or speak into the microphone. The musical creativity also adds still greater value to this rich, dynamic game that is a must-have for all families and libraries.

Targeted Customers

TIVOLA's marvelous game Alphabet is a sure bet for the preschooler crowd in the specified age group. Parents will also have great fun playing with their younger children as they help their rug rats play with this marvelous game.

This title also presents super value to public libraries as a wonderful title to be added to their collection. The game could be made available on workstations for children and their parents to play, or it would represent a super tool for use in Little Bookwork programs that would reach more children.

Price

$19.99 (super bargain!)
$29.99 (Canada)

Minimum System Configuration Requirements

Windows
P-166 MHz processor
Win 95, 98, 98 SE, 98 ME, NT 4, 2000, XP
16MB RAM
SVGA graphics card (16 bit high color display)
Sound card, speakers
4x CD-ROM drive

Mac Machines
Power PC
OS 7.1 - 9.1
16MB RAM
32,768 colors graphics card
Sound card, speakers
4x CD-ROM drive

Installation and Setup

Note that the game does not install onto a system. Instead, you play the game from the CD ROM disc. This means you may want to consider running this on as fast a CD ROM drive you can, to maximize its performance and eliminate delay as the files are loaded into memory from the disc.

About TIVOLA

TIVOLA Publishing creates and publishes a wide range of award-winning multimedia products designed to open up a world of interactive fun and learning to children and young people. The German based company has offices in New York, London, and Berlin, and produces a wide range of innovative interactive CD ROMs that stimulate a child's curiosity, while encouraging smart play. In 1995, TIVOLA published its first title, and has developed six distinct categories of software.

These include Play and Learn, The World Around Us, Quest for Knowledge, Stories and Adventures, Crimes and Clues, and Games for Fun. The company has a commitment to producing high-quality, multilingual CD ROMs that tell exciting, entertaining stories through beautiful graphics, witty animation and original games. TIVOLA titles are currently in more than 49 countries worldwide.

TIVOLA began in 1995, when founding partners, Karsten Voelker, Mil Thierig, and Barbara Landbeck founded the Berlin office to fill the need for original CD ROM games that are clever but also promote learning. In 2000, TIVOLA was named "Company of the Year" by the Berlin Association of Self-Employed Entrepreneurs, who recognized the company's fast development into an internationally successful multimedia company with an innovative brand building strategy.

The TIVOLA UK offices opened in 1998, and with the launch of 10 new titles in 2001, the company continues to grow in the UK children's software publishing market. The TIVOLA US offices opened in 1999, and the company signed a contract with the Navarre Corporation to distribute their products in the US and Canada. 

The company develops books and story games on CD ROM, and all titles are simultaneously produced in English so that they can be understood by potential international licensees. The software is also produced for the PC and the Apple platform.

TIVOLA also buys and sells license for different products. For these purposes, the company has developed optimal localization standards. With this new system, TIVOLA titles are obtainable in countries all over the world.

The TIVOLA line of CD ROM programs are products parents can depend on to provide a fun and educational computer experience for their children. Teachers can also feel secure in integrating the educational lineup of TIVOLA products into their curriculum, especially those teaching entry level classes. TIVOLA's series of learning CD ROMs for children that include the many Oscar the Balloonist titles, the many Max adventures, the super Chemicus science-based program, and of course The Little Prince, all assure a solid worthwhile computer experience for all ages, especially young learners.

With the worldwide notoriety of TIVOLA products, the company has also ventured into a new online interactive arena. Companies can now rent online games from TIVOLA to make available at their Web site for their own customers. This new portfolio of online games for rent expands still further the success of the company.

Recent news has also revealed that TIVOLA has been granted worldwide licensing rights to develop and publish educational discovery games based on the legendary comic strip icon, PEANUTS, through United Media. The most widely syndicated comic strip in history, PEANUTS reaches over 350 million readers in 75 countries, appealing to adults as well as children. The first TIVOLA PEANUTS CD ROM will be introduced at the 2002 Toy Fair, and will combine PEANUTS humor with the suspense of a discovery game. As would be expected from any TIVOLA title, the game will integrate educational elements into the distinctive humor of the PEANUTS world. 

Contact Information

Linda Weal, Media Coordinator
Tivola Publishing
580 Broadway, Suite 604
New York, NY 10012
212-431-4420, ext. 201
212-431-4420
FAX 212-431-4537
linda@tivola.com
mail@tivola.com
www.tivola.com

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.