''JumpStart Preschool'' is a 1995 educational video game and third installment of the ''

JumpStart ''JumpStart'' (known as ''Jump Ahead'' in the United Kingdom) is an educational media franchise for children, consisting mostly of educational games, produced by JumpStart Games. The series originally consisted of a series of educational PC ga ...

'' franchise by

Knowledge Adventure JumpStart Games, Inc., formerly Knowledge Adventure, Inc., is an American edutainment video game company based in Torrance, California. Founded in 1991, it owns the ''Neopets'' virtual pet website, and is itself owned by Chinese holding company ...

, after ''

JumpStart Kindergarten ''JumpStart Kindergarten'' (known as ''Jump Ahead Classic Kindergarten'' in the UK) is an educational video game developed by Fanfare Software and released by Knowledge Adventure on the MS-DOS platform in 1994 (v1.0). It was the first product re ...

'' (1994) and ''

JumpStart 1st Grade ''JumpStart 1st Grade'' (known as ''Jump Ahead Year 1'' in the United Kingdom) is a personal computer game created by Knowledge Adventure in 1995 intended to teach a first grade curriculum. It was reissued in 1999 with new box art, was updated sig ...

'' (1995). It would later be re-released as ''JumpStart Preschool'' in August 1998 and superseded by a new title ''JumpStart Advanced Preschool'' in 2002. It is also known as ''Jump Ahead Preschool'' in Europe.

Development and release

The game, which was "researched and developed under the direction of preschool teachers and parents", was shipped on August 28, 1995. Bill Gross, founder and chairman of Knowledge Adventure, noted that it was the company's first educational software program that "includes the full preschool curriculum". ''JumpStart Preschool'' was made available through computer software stores, mass merchants, computer superstores, book stores and computer specialty stores. A three-title bundle called ''JumpStart Preschool Deluxe'' was released on September 3, 1996, featuring ''JumpStart Preschool'', ''JumpStart Pre-K'' and an ''Activity Discovery Book''. Of the 1998 re-release, Peter Doctorow, vice president of product development at Knowledge Adventure noted that it was the first ''JumpStart'' program to include the company's new Kid's Assessment Technology (where players complete a cross-curricular assessment test and difficulty levels are automatically determined) and Parent Resource Center (which links progress reports between ''JumpStart'' titles). It was adapted as the 1999 direct-to-video animated film ''JumpStart Preschool: Who Left the Juice in the Caboose''?.

Plot and gameplay

The title focuses on educational concepts for preschoolers, specifically covering: reading readiness, memory development, numeral recognition, and auditory discrimination. Preschool teachers and caregivers could track the player's improvement via a Progress Report, while JumpStart's Adaptive Learning Technology tracked the player's success-to-attempt ratio and modified the difficulty accordingly.

Critical reception

''SuperKids'' praised the game's "cute characters, amusing activities, and magical worlds". ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' noted the surreptitious learning opportunity of the game, which had a façade of fun. ''Cyber-Reviews'' deemed the re-release superior due to the "improved graphics, motivational rewards (this is important information for the parents) an assessment technology that customizes for a child's individual needs". ''Young kids and computers'' deemed it a "solid program with well-designed activities". ''Child Care Information Exchange'' noted that while it contained more activities than '' Millie & Bailey Preschool'', they "lack the range of concepts and the skilful embedding" offered by the latter. ''MacUser'' suggested that players were meant to 'graduate' from '' JumpStart Toddlers'' to ''JumpStart Preschool'', then to ''

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

'',

1st Grade First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by re ...

, and ''

2nd Grade Second grade (also called grade two, corresponding to Year 3 in the United Kingdom) is a year of primary education in Canada and the United States. Second grade is the second year of primary school. Children are usually aged 7–8 at this grade ...

''.

Commercial performance

According to ''PC Data Interactive'', in the period of January 1996 through March 1998, in aggregate dollars ''JumpStart Preschool'' was the best selling preschool software program.

Awards

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, ''JumpStart Preschool'' ,

Interactive Achievement Award The D.I.C.E. Awards (formerly the Interactive Achievement Awards) is an award show in the video game industry started in 1998 and commonly referred to in the industry as the "video games Oscar". The awards are arranged by the Academy of Inte ...

for Computer Educational Title of the Year (0–8 years) ,

References

{{JumpStart 1995 video games Classic Mac OS games Children's educational video games Video games developed in the United States Windows games JumpStart