''Big Thinkers'' is a short line series of educational games from

Humongous Entertainment Humongous, Inc. (formerly Humongous Entertainment, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Bothell, Washington. Founded in 1992, the company developed multiple edutainment franchises, most prominently ''Putt-Putt (series), Putt-Putt' ...

, which revolved around siblings Ben and Becky Brightly (voiced by Mike Shapiro and Karen Kay Cody respectively), two characters with the ability to

shape-shift In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existen ...

into any object they desire. The series contains two games: ''Big Thinkers! Kindergarten'' and ''Big Thinkers! 1st Grade''. Both titles feature the same goal of collecting stars. The title was conceived and developed by Jonathan Maier. There were plans to release a third game in the series, ''Big Thinkers! 2nd Grade'', which would have been released in 1998. It was initially developed in parallel with the other two games but was abandoned when working on three games at once proved to be too ambitious and due to poor sales for the first two titles.

Production

''Big Thinkers!'' was designed to consist of "a grade-specific learning program".

Gameplay

The player interacts with Ben and Becky as objects, while exploring the house and playing sixteen mini-games to earn stars of one of five colors: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Each color represents a different category of education: * Red Smart Stars: Reading/English * Yellow Smart Stars: Art/Creativity * Green Smart Stars: Thinking Skills/Spatial Recognition * Blue Smart Stars: Math/Computation * Purple Smart Stars: Physical Science/Social Science Upon collecting a large amount of each color, the player then has a chance to attempt a longer mini-game to obtain a larger dull orange-colored star wearing a

square academic cap The square academic cap, graduate cap, cap, mortarboard (because of its similarity in appearance to the mortarboard used by brickmasons to hold mortar) or Oxford cap is an item of academic dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upo ...

(sunglasses and a skateboard in ''First Grade''). Many mini games are available in both games, but in each game they are different. The house lay-out is the same except in ''Big Thinkers 1st Grade'' the woods is replaced with a garage. ''Big Thinkers! Kindergarten'' taught skills such as measurements, spelling, and letter identification. In teaching math, language arts, science / social science, creative arts and skills, the game built upon the national curriculum standards for kindergarten students.

Critical reception

The series had a mixed reception. ''

The Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

'' wrote that the series was released to a "universal yawn", as opposed to other Humongous series such as '' Putt-Putt'' and ''

Freddi Fish ''Freddi Fish'' is a series of point and click games from Humongous Entertainment. The series began in 1994. Freddi Fish is an anthropomorphic yellow fish who takes on detective investigations throughout the series. Her best friend, a green fish ...

'', which were popular, fun, rewarding, and replayable, according to the site. They added that the series'

protagonists A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

Ben and Becky "fail to ignite sympathy" and some activities were not well-designed, dull, and insoluble, but they thought that other activities were "both age-appropriate and amusing". ''

The Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. the Monday–Friday ...

'' wrote that while the series in theory "includes all the elements that should make for a successful program", in reality it was uncaptivating, confusing, and frustrating, with navigation being a significant issue. ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

'' deemed ''Kindergarten'' "skill-sharpening", while '' Humpty Dumpty Magazine'' thought ''Kindergarten'' had "many great games to play". ''ReviewCorner'' said ''Kindergarten'' was "busier" and more challenging than its competitors in the market. ''

Discovery Education Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chan ...

'' reviewed ''1st Grade'' by noting that many first-graders may find the program too challenging.

References

External links

Humongous Entertainment press news with regard to ''Big Thinkers''
* {{Humongous 1997 video games Children's educational video games Humongous Entertainment games Point-and-click adventure games SCUMM games ScummVM-supported games Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring female protagonists Windows games