Zoombinis
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| Zoombinis | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Educational, puzzle |
| Developer(s) | Brøderbund Software (1996) The Learning Company (2001-2) TERC, FableVision, and Learning Games Network (2015+) |
| Publisher(s) | Brøderbund Software (1996) The Learning Company (2001-2) TERC (2015+) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, OS X, iOS, Android |
| First release | Logical Journey of the Zoombinis March 1996 |
| Latest release | Zoombinis August 2015 |
Zoombinis are a series of educational puzzle computer games that were originally developed by TERC and published by Brøderbund Software until The Learning Company bought Brøderbund in 1998 and took over developing and publishing the series in 2001. The series consists of 3 games: "Logical Journey of the Zoombinis" (1996), "Zoombinis: Mountain Rescue" (2001), and "Zoombinis: Island Odyssey" (2002). A new version of the original Zoombinis game (Logical Journey), updated for tablets and modern operating systems, was released by TERC, FableVision, and Learning Games Network on August 6, 2015.[1][2]
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis (1996)
Zoombinis—small blue creatures, each with distinct personalities and appearances—are escaping imprisonment by the evil Bloats, who have taken over the Zoombinis' homeland in Zoombini Isle. Players take on the role of guide and help the Zoombinis reach the safety of Zoombiniville. Throughout the Zoombinis' journey, the player has to solve puzzles, such as having to figure out which pizza toppings Arno and his fellow trolls want on their pizzas in order to let the Zoombinis pass, or figuring out which "mudballs" to launch at a grid-covered wall in order to catapult the Zoombinis up a cliff. The player helps them across many challenges, eventually getting the Zoombinis to Zoombiniville (or Zoombiniton in some countries), a town where it is safe from danger and the Zoombinis can prosper.
The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro wrote that the game was less insipid than he expected, and that the pattern and deductive logic puzzles teach "how to think" rather than a specific skill.[3] Karney said the game was fun and praised its audio cues for children with little reading skills. The game was made in 1995, and released in 1996.[4] In 1997, the game won "Best Home Education for Pre-Teens" at the 12th Codie awards.[5]
Gameplay
The player starts at Zoombini Isle, where they assemble a team of 16 Zoombinis, picking from 5 options each in haircut, eyes, nose color, and footwear, as shown above. Each combination can be used twice in the game, so not all 625 possible combinations are necessary to get all of the required Zoombinis across to Zoombiniville.
Zoombini Isle to Shelter Rock-- "The Big, The Bad, And the Hungry"
Allergic Cliffs
There are two bridges hanging over a cliff supported by six wooden pegs. The Zoombinis can only cross one of the bridges, and the bridge they are allowed to cross is determined by their characteristics. If the wrong bridge is selected, the face embedded in the cliff will have an allergic reaction and the Zoombini will be sent tumbling or flying back to the other side. As a result, a peg will spring loose and drop down the cliff. If all six pegs come loose, the bridges will collapse onto the faces and the Zoombinis who did not make it to the other side will be stranded, unable to cross between the cliffs. Assuming the player actually moves the same Zoombini to each of the two bridges (where the first bridge was wrong and the second bridge is the correct one), the player is guaranteed five Zoombinis to the other side.
Stone Cold Caves
The Zoombinis arrive at a stone face divided into four caves, which can be accessed by one path each. Each path is guarded by two stone guardians, who will only let Zoombinis pass if they have the right characteristics, similar to Allergic Cliffs. If the wrong cave is selected, a guardian will release a rock slide, sending the Zoombini tumbling down the path to the bottom. The player has many chances to find the right cave for each Zoombini before a rock slide tumbles down from above and seals the cave paths, leaving behind those who have not entered a cave. There is wise and quiet Onyx, sweet and snobbish Ferrous, grouchy and mean Ignorameous, and cute and beautiful Crystal.
Pizza Pass
The Zoombinis arrive on a dirt road guarded by three tree trolls: Arno, Willa and Shyler. There is a pizza machine to the left which has options for different toppings for a pizza and ice cream. The trolls are hungry, and the player must create a pizza with unique toppings for each of them. If none of the trolls are happy with the toppings on the pizza, it will be thrown into a pit. But if one of the trolls likes all of the toppings present on the pizza, it will be thrown onto the rock behind that troll instead. Once a troll receives a pizza with all of the wanted toppings on it, the troll will move to stand on his or her respective rock and wait for the remaining trolls to be satisfied. If the player is unsuccessful in delivering the correct pizza after 6 tries, the Zoombini delivering the pizza will be whacked back a short distance by the nearest troll that is present. If there are more incorrect deliveries, the Zoombini will be whacked back to Zoombini Isle. The more incorrect deliveries, the more Zoombinis will be whacked away. Once all trolls are satisfied, they will finish their pizzas until their tummies are full and the remaining Zoombinis will then be allowed to continue their journey. Arno is grouchy and naive, Willa is beautiful, witty and bossy, and Shyler is very shy, quiet, sweet, and cute.
There are significant changes to the puzzle as the level of difficulty increases:
- Not So Easy: Only Arno is present, and there are five pizza toppings.
- Oh, So Hard: Willa is added, giving a total of two trolls. There are now four pizza toppings, and ice cream is added with a total of 2 toppings.
- Very Hard: Shyler is now added, so all trolls are present. Ice cream toppings remain the same as the preceding level, but all five pizza toppings can now be used.
- Very, Very Hard: Same as Very Hard, but now with three ice cream toppings.
Shelter Rock to Shade Tree
At the Shelter Rock checkpoint, there are two different paths to take the Zoombinis along on their trek to Zoombiniville, a north path through "Who's Bayou", and a south path through the "Deep, Dark Forest".
North Trail-- "Who's Bayou"
Captain Cajun's Ferry Boat
The Zoombinis must be placed on Captain Cajon's boat so that every Zoombini has at least 1 feature in common with the Zoombini sitting next to them. Captain Cajun will throw any Zoombini placed incorrectly off the boat and back onto the dock. In Not so Easy, each Zoombini will be next to 1 or 2 Zoombinis. In Oh So Hard, it is a 2 x 8, where each Zoombini will be next to 2 or 3 Zoombinis. Very Hard is a 4 x 4, where there are 3 or 4 Zoombinis next to each one. Very, Very Hard is a 4 x 4 but with the rows slightly shifted, so that there are up to 6 Zoombinis next to each one.
Tattooed Toads
The Zoombinis arrive at a pond with lily pads that are of different shapes and color icons as well as toads with tattoos of said icons/colors for which the obstacle is named. The Zoombinis must trust the toads to guide them through the maze of lily pads. Memorization of the paths is key, as picking an incorrect path will cause the toad to be stuck in an infinite loop as well as the Zoombini being left behind. Once all the Zoombinis are through the maze of lily pads, they may continue traversing the Marshy Trail.
Stone Rise
The Zoombinis happen upon a stone hex grid in which if they match up correctly with each other, it'll rise. The Zoombinis can only stand in certain spots or else they will be electrocuted and forced to pick a spot again. The Zoombinis must be matched up with each other according to symbols in the grid. Once all the Zoombinis match up with each other, some of the hex grid tiles will rise and allow them to leave the Marshy Trail.
South Trail--"Deep, Dark Forest"
Fleens!
The Zoombinis arrive at a clearing in the forest, where they encounter sixteen fleens on rock formation and a tree branch. Each fleen has four distinct features, hair, nose color, eyes, and feet, which correspond to features on each of the sixteen Zoombinis. In the Not So Easy level, each feature directly corresponds to the feature of the Zoombinis, while later levels may use a transitive function or randomize the correlation. The goal of the level is to remove all three fleens from the tree branch, while using as few Zoombinis as possible, since there is only room for 6 Zoombinis to stand out of the way before they fall off of their branch and are chased by their matching fleens back to Shelter Rock. When all three fleens are removed from the branch, a swarm of hornets emerges from their nest and chases the fleens away, allowing the Zoombinis to continue through the forest.
Hotel Dimensia
As the Zoombinis venture deeper into the Deep, Dark Forest, they happen upon a hotel, with the number of rooms and what the owner greets the Zoombinis with depending on which difficulty the player is playing on. The owner is strict on which Zoombinis can stay in which room. An incorrect pick for a room will cause the platform in front of the door to pull itself in and make the Zoombini fall down and have to pick again (and for some difficulties time may pass). When all the Zoombinis are sorted into the correct rooms, they may continue venturing along the forest.
Mudball Wall
This is the last obstacle the Zoombinis happen upon in the Deep, Dark Forest. Mudballs must be fired at the correct sections of the wall (with dots) to allow the Zoombinis onto the ledge above. An incorrect section; nothing happens; however, a correct section and boulders will drop down and launch Zoombinis onto the ledge from the wood platforms depending on how many dots were on the section fired at. How many columns and rows there are on the wall varies by difficulty, as well as what's available as options to fire as a mudball on the wall. There's a limited amount of mud so the machine must be used with caution. Once all the Zoombinis are on the ledge, they may venture out of the forest.
Shade Tree to Zoombiniville-- "The Mountains of Despair"
Lion's Lair
The Zoombinis arrive in a lair with a lion statue that only lets bypassers pass if they complete it's puzzle, which is to sort the Zoombinis on the tiles in a specific order according to the instructions on on the wall. Later difficulties remove most of the instructions meaning the rest of the order is only a guess. An incorrect pick for a tile will cause the tile to initiate a trapdoor sequence during which the Zoombini is dropped through the wrong tile and flung through the right tile into the right spot. Each time this happens, the door loses a peg, and if all the pegs are lost, the door will drop shut on the remaining Zoombinis leaving them behind. Once all the Zoombinis have found a spot on the right tiles, the lion statue will lift it's paw and allow the Zoombinis to pass.
Crystal Mirror Level
Stumbling into a mine, the Zoombinis find another obstacle, which requires that the images on the mirrors on both ends match up with each other on the center mirror in order for a Zoombini to pass. Correct matches and the center mirror will lift up and let the Zoombini through on the cart. An incorrect match, however, will result in the mirror falling down and letting the cart by on it's own while the Zoombini itself crashes into it and falls into a void below, resulting in it being left behind. Once all the Zoombinis are lined up on carts, they may exit the mine and continue.
Bubble Wonder Abyss
The Zoombinis arrive at an abyss with a bubble machine they must use to cross it by getting into bubbles. Instructions are laid out on a grid so as to give the Zoombinis ease at crossing the abyss. Later difficulties feature more difficult instructions. If a Zoombini is sucked into a whirlpool, it will be left behind. Once all the Zoombinis have crossed the abyss, they may continue on to Zoombiniville.
Zoombiniville
Zoombiniville is where the Zoombinis form a new society after having to leave Zoombini Isle. For each leg of the journey completed at each of the four difficulties, a new monument is added to the town, for a total of 16.
| Monument | Section | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Band Shell | The Big, The Bad, and The Hungry | Not So Easy |
| The Big, The Bad, and The Hungry | Oh So Hard | |
| The Big, The Bad, and The Hungry | Very Hard | |
| The Big, The Bad, and The Hungry | Very Very Hard | |
| Who's Bayou | Not So Easy | |
| Courthouse | Who's Bayou | Oh So Hard |
| Who's Bayou | Very Hard | |
| Who's Bayou | Very Very Hard | |
| Windmill | Deep, Dark Forest | Not So Easy |
| Deep, Dark Forest | Oh So Hard | |
| Deep, Dark Forest | Very Hard | |
| Deep, Dark Forest | Very Very Hard | |
| Mountains of Despair | Not So Easy | |
| Mountains of Despair | Oh So Hard | |
| Mountains of Despair | Very Hard | |
| Mountains of Despair | Very Very Hard |
Zoombinis Mountain Rescue (2001)
After the foundation of Zoombiniville, the Zoombinis find peace once more, until a small group of them get trapped inside a cave seeking shelter from a storm. They meet up with strange creatures called Boolies who occupy a city known as Booliewood. As a result of the storm, the Boolies have been scattered across the land, and their leader, the Grand Boolie Boolie, has disappeared. The goal of the game is to recruit a total of 400 Boolies to Booliewood to resurrect the Grand Boolie Boolie.
Gameplay
The player begins in Zoombiniville, where they assemble a team of 16 Zoombinis. There are two "Rescue Site" checkpoints between Zoombiniville and Booliewood, where Zoombinis that do not make it through challenges return to.
Zoombiniville to Rescue Site 1
Turtles
Similar to the "Lion's Lair" level in "Logical Journey of the Zoombinis", the 16 Zoombinis must be arranged in a specific order across the shells of 16 turtles that form a bridge across a river, based on a guide engraved on a log along the bank. misplaced Zoombinis are tossed to the correct turtle, and a leg is removed from the pier. When all of the legs fall away from the pier, it falls into the water and any remaining Zoombinis are sent back to Zoombiniville.
Pipes of Paloo
Similar to "Stone Rise" from "Logical Journey", the Zoombinis must be matched together across a network of platforms, with each pair of Zoombinis having a given feature (hair, nose color, foot, or eye) in common. The plumbing networks range from simple pairings in "Not so Easy" to a single interconnected network of all 16 Zoombinis in "Very Hard". When all connections are made, or the player gives up and leaves Zoombinis behind, they turn a master valve with the click of their mouse, and the Zoombinis are sucked down into the plumbing system.
Aqua Cube
The Aqua Cube consists of a pod in each of its 8 (or 16 for Very Hard, with 2 interconnected cubes) corners, which contain either a Zoombini or a Fleen. The player operates a control panel with 3 (or 4 in Very Hard to jump between inner and outer cubes) levers to move around the cube in each of the 3 dimensions and save the Zoombinis while avoiding the Fleen(s). If the player catches a Fleen, it chases any saved Zoombinis back to Zoombiniville. In the Oh So Hard and Very Hard levels, there is also a "Warp" button, which allows the player to pull multiple levers in a short amount of time to move across multiple sections of the cube in a single turn and reach stranded Zoombinis while avoiding Fleens.
Rescue Site 1 to Rescue Site 2
After exiting the Aqua Cube, the Zoombinis reach the first "Rescue Site" checkpoint, where the player can store their Zoombinis and go to other bases on the map before continuing their rescue mission. The second leg of the journey only requires 8 Zoombinis instead of 16, so it is more likely that a player can continue on without having to go back to Zoombiniville and send more Zoombinis before moving on. From Rescue Site 1 there are 2 different routes through the cave network, a left (north on map) and right (south) tunnel.
North Tunnel
Scarab Hall
The Zoombinis enter a cave with a series of Scarab Beetles on the wall in varying colors, each with a corresponding curcle of the same color on the wall. The player must use buttons on the base of the wall to rotate the beetles in various patterns until they are all on the correct circles. For each time a player gets all of the beetles arranged properly, a set of doors opens in the cave, allowing up to four Zoombinis to pass through at a time. For a player to get all 8 Zoombinis through the cave, they must match all of the beetles in 2 different arrangements.
Chez Norf
South Tunnel
Rescue Site 2 to Booliewood
Ski Slopes
Boolie Pinball
Booliewood
Zoombinis Island Odyssey (2002)
In this game, the Zoombinis discover that they left the native moths to die in their former homeland of Zoombini Isle, and return to the Isle, which is now empty of the colonist Bloats who earlier enslaved the Zoombinis. A group of 12 Zoombinis, which can be customized, are each carrying a caterpillar in order to restore the island life. The player must then complete different puzzles, such as growing berries and breeding butterflies, to eventually restore the ecosystem of the island. This is the first game of the series to incorporate science in the puzzles, which include intersection of rates, decoding, astronomical time, Venn diagrams, and Punnett squares, as well as some reincarnations of puzzles from Logical Journey. The graphics have again changed, and the Zoombinis' features are no longer important to gameplay. Here, they are fully 3-D. When the Zoombinis release 224 Zerbles (native wildlife) into the wild, the Zoombinis return to Zoombiniville, and the game is won.
Gameplay
Catapult
In Catapult, the player must determine which slot in the wheel will fall onto the net that allows the catapult to hurl the Zoombini and caterpillar over the cliff. Some of the slots will miss and fall in the water. There are stones and mud balls. Stones are limited but only they can get the Zoombini over the cliff. Mud balls are used to determine which slots will send the Zoombinis flying. If a stone falls in the water, a Zoombini can't get over and the player will have to start over to get the Zoombini on the cliff.
Hieroglyphics
There is a wall with slots and various bricks with pictures on it. Without a key, the player must determine which symbols match. For each correct brick put in, the door opens allowing a Zoombini to enter. If too many wrong tries are done, the door will be sealed and the remaining Zoombinis can't get inside.
Planetarium
There are two dioramas, one of a tree on earth from space and one of the same tree with the sun setting. The players job is to insert coins into the dioramas so that they match the clock in the middle. When the player is successful, the caterpillars will hatch from their cocoons into moths.
Greenhouse
The player must put each moth on a path of flowers that will lead them to the other side.
Arno's Garden
A tree stump named Arno returns from the first Zoombini game. Here, he is a gardener helping plant berries. The player's job is to put the each of the plants that match in either the same leave, roots, buds, etc. But if two or three plants completely opposite are put together, Arno immediately digs it out and the sun sets a little. If the sun is gone then it's game over.
Feeding Corral
Mating Barn
Zoombinis (2015)
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Zoombinis is a remake of the original Zoombinis game (Logical Journey of the Zoombinis).[6][7] The main improvements of the remake are updated graphics (see pictures) and that the game is designed to run on modern operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and others). Zoombinis was officially released on 6 August 2015 for iOS and Android and was released for Windows and Mac, as well as Kindle Fire,[8] on 28 October 2015.[9]
In 2014, TERC, the original creator of Zoombinis, began an internally funded redevelopment of the game. Then, in March 2015, they launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund additional enhancements and releases, including PC and Kindle versions. It was successfully funded.[10] Also in 2015, the National Science Foundation awarded TERC nearly $2 million to study how much "computational thinking" kids do while playing Zoombinis, both at home and in the classroom, and whether teachers can extend the lessons outside the game.[11][12]
Educational Effects
As a computer game, Zoombinis is an entertaining activity for students from elementary to middle school. However, as an educational tool, Zoombinis stands above many other mathematical, analytical, and logical educational methods. The game works with problem solving through mathematics, deduction, and hypothesis testing primarily by clearly stating the goal of the problem at hand, with the option to either deduce for one's self or learn from with gameplay strategies for success.[13]
Mathematical Aspects
The different games a player encounters when trying to get the Zoombinis from Zoombini Isle to Zoombiniville represent many mathematical characteristics. "Pizza Pass", "Allergic Cliffs", and "Stone Cold Caves" exercise the sorting, grouping, and comparing of information. "Captain Cajun's Ferryboat", "Stone Rise", and "Titanic Tattooed Toads" reinforce ordering, linking information, and problem solving. "Fleens!", "Mudball Wall", and "Hotel Dimensia" emphasize graphing and mapping, while "Lions' Lair", "Mirror Machine", and "Bubblewonder Abyss" train the player in sorting, organizing, and algebraic thinking.[14]
Deductive Reasoning
Sub-games such as "Allergic Cliffs" and "Stone Cold Caves" require the player to find patterns and arrangements of the Zoombinis in order to pass the obstacle. Each game also has a select number of attempts which may be failures before a Zoombini is taken back to the beginning of the game at Zoombini Isle, giving an incentive for the player to think critically and not randomly guess answers. As a result, these games enable players' deductive skills while also enforcing strategic efficiency.[14]
Hypothesis Testing
Players also encounter critical thinking with testing and observing different logical outcomes in "Pizza Pass" and "Mudball Wall". By examining the varying characteristics of toppings on a pizza and the number and color of dots on a wall, the player can experiment with the correct patterns to get the Zoombinis to the next level. Similarly, with the deductive reasoning sub-games, these exercises discourage random guessing by giving only a few options to fail before losing a Zoombini.[14] However, with the games that involve more hypothesis testing, the incorrect guesses remain on the screen in a categorized pile so that the player might learn from previous attempts to come to the correct conclusion.
Game Effectivness With Students
With the game's release in the Spring of 1996, through its continued use in the present, observations of the game have shown it to be efficient and useful for students and teachers alike. As a learning tool, the game is fun and interactive for children born into the continuously evolving technological era of 2016. The characters are generalized, but still have a cartoonish look to entice any young person who wants to learn, and the format of the game inspires group work. The communication created between two or more players talking about how to find the right kind of pizza or nose, eyes, and hair matching Zoombini is a simple and effective way that students have fun learning with the game.[15]
References
- ^ Dean Takahashi (2015-02-17). "Nonprofit brings back Zoombinis educational game and launches Kickstarter". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
- ^ Shao, Yiqing (2015-02-18). "Zoombinis App to Be Released for Tablets and Desktop". Boston magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
- ^ Pegoraro, Rob (April 7, 1996). "The Learning Game". The Washington Post – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ "Logical Journey of the Zoombinis.(Broderbund)(The Learning Arcade) (Software Review)(Brief Article)(Evaluation)". Computer Shopper (subscription required) – via HighBeam Research.
- ^ "1997 Codies awarded for best software". Tape-Disc Business – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . April 1, 1997. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ "Zoombinis on the App Store". iTunes App Store. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
- ^ "Zoombinis on Google Play". Google Play. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
- ^ "Zoombinis app page". Amazon app store. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Zoombinis Steam Page". Steam. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Zoombinis". TERC. Kickstarter. February 17, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ Toppo, Greg (2015-08-06). "How a beloved video game came back from the dead 20 years after its improbable birth". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
- ^ "NSF Award Search: Award#1502882 - Zoombinis: The Full Development Implementation Research Study of a Computational Thinking Game for Upper Elementary and Middle School Learners". Nsf.gov. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
- ^ MURRAY, MEGAN; MOKROS, JAN; RUBIN, ANDEE (1999-01-01). "Mathematically Rich, Equitable Game Software". Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. 5 (3): 180–186.
- ^ a b c Moss, Thomas P. (2004-01-01). Playful thoughts: A study of the effects of “Logical Journey of the Zoombinis” on elementary students' mathematical attitudes and reasoning skills (Ed.D. thesis). United States -- New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
- ^ Rubin, Andee et al. What Kind Of Educational Computer Games Would Girls Like?. 1st ed. Massachusetts: TERC, 1997. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.