Davka Classic Game Pack II
Davka Corporation, (2002) www.davka.com
A CD-ROM for Windows
Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - February 25, 2003
Bundled together in The Davka Classic Game Pack II CD-Rom are four fantastic games: Hebrew Game Time, Jerusalem Stones, Search for Your Israeli Cousin II, and the Hanukkah Activity Center. All the games in this collection are contained on one CD. This collection provides hours of fun and instructive entertainment for both children and adults.
In addition to the games contained on the CD, this collection also ships with Hebrew keyboard stickers and a 'cheat sheet' showing the layout of the Hebrew keyboard. If you don't already know how to use the Hebrew keyboard, this cheat sheet will come in handy should you choose to use the game editor that comes with some of the word games.
A detailed instruction manual is also included as part of the program. The manual is found on the CD-Rom, and is offered as a PDF file. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this file. For those who don't already have this program, you will find a copy of this program on the CD-Rom, along with the games. In addition to the manual, this program also comes with a "Quick Installation Guide" that will help you install the games onto your computer.
The Games:
Hebrew Game Time
The Hebrew Game Time program is actually three games in one, Hebrew Hangman, Hebrew Word Zapper, and Hebrew Word Attack. All three of these games are fun to play, and extremely educational - especially for those just learning Hebrew.
Hebrew Hangman is a 'fill' in the blank guessing game. In this game you pick a category, such as family, clothing, or verbs. You are then presented with a number of blank spaces equal to the number of letters in the word you are trying to guess. At the bottom of the screen you will find the Hebrew alphabet. To select a letter you simply click on it. If you choose correctly, the letter will fill in the corresponding blank. If you are wrong however, you will add a feature to the 'hangman'. Guess wrong too many times and you will hang your man, sans the rope. There is however a 'hanging' stand that the hangman appears in. This may sound sort of icky, but the hangman is innocuous and is not scary or gross.
This game is scored, and can be played in either a timed or untimed mode. There are also two difficulty levels, easy and hard. In the easy level you are allowed 10 incorrect guesses before your man is hanged, and in the hard level you only get 6 incorrect guesses. If you are having difficulty guessing a word, you can also ask the game to give you a hint to help you along. Asking for a hint, however, does cost you a few points off of your grand total.
One of the best features of this game is that it comes with game editor that allow you to easily add words and categories, allowing the games to grow as the players language skills develop.
Hebrew Word Zapper
In this game you are presented with a grid filled with English words. Once you select a category, such as animals or food, a word from that category will appear at bottom of your screen. This word is in Hebrew, and your job is to match the Hebrew word with its English equivalent by clicking on it as quickly as possible. The trick is to run through each level as fast a possible as you will receive a bonus if you finish a level in under one minute. There is another catch to the game - a zapper (it looks like a lighting bolt) is jumping around the grid, and if he lands on you, your score is severely penalized.
This game is timed, and the score is kept. Hints are also available, if needed. You can also easily add new words or categories to the game using the game editor that is included. This is a fast paced, enjoyable game that has bright graphics that will be especially pleasing to younger players.
Hebrew Word Attack
This is another great learning game that is also a tremendous amount of fun to play. In this game you a presented with ten words in Hebrew, arrayed across the bottom of your screen. When you start the game, words, in English, will fall from the top of the screen toward the bottom. You have to click on the Hebrew equivalent of the word before the English word hits the bottom of the screen. There are nine levels of play in this game, and it can be played at a variety of speeds.
Jerusalem Stones
This is a fun game that will be of special interest to adults. Be forewarned however, it is addictive. Jerusalem Stones is a tetris-like game that can be played with colored stones, or blocks containing Hebrew letters. If you choose this option, you can select the letters used, or allow the computer to randomly generate the letters.
The game is played on a rectangular shaped board that overlays various pictures of Jerusalem. On the board itself, blocks fall from the top of the board in groups of threes, and you must stack the groupings in such a way that you match up three or more like blocks. Every time you make such a match, the matched blocks will disappear from the board and you will score points. As your score moves up, the scenes being displayed behind the board change. The object of the game is to make as many matches as possible. You will loose the game if the blocks fill up the board.
This may sound like an easy game, but it is quit challenging. Especially as the longer you play, the faster the stones fall!
Search for Your Israeli Cousin II - Global Quest
This is a delightful game that lets players explore Jewish communities around the world. If you've played Search for Your Israeli Cousin I - you will find that this game is very similar. However, rather than just searching for your relatives in Israel, you have to search the world for them. This game is resplendent with graphics, sound, and music, and it provides information on twenty different Jewish communities around the world. This game can take a long time to play from beginning to end, and it does have a 'save game' feature so that you can take a break and come back an continue the game at another time. This game is a fabulous means of learning and exploring Jewish geography, while at the same time playing a fascinating game!
Hanukkah Activity Center
The Hanukkah Activity Center consists of eight different Hanukkah related activities and games, including:
Hanukkah Jukebox - which allows you to listen to various Hanukkah songs. As the songs play, you can elect to see the words of the song printed in Hebrew, English, or in transliteration.
Dreidel Game - gives you a change to play the traditional, albeit virtual, dreidel games! You can either bet on each spin, or play based upon the
Gematria value of each letter to win points.
Hanukkah Coloring Book - color the picture with one of sixteen virtual crayons. You can then print out the colored picture and use it to decorate your house.
Menorah Magic will help you learn the blessing for the lighting the Hanukkah menorah. You can see the words of the blessing, plus hear the blessing recited in either the Ashkenazic or Sephardic dialect.
44 Candles This is a strategy game in which you must spin the dreidel to see where you can move across the board as you try to collect 44 candles.
Memory Challenge is a card matching game, where you flip over two cards (tiles) at a time as you try to match the pictures on each card.
Nes-Scape is a virtual Hanukkah web browser (you do not have to be connected to the Internet to use it). This virtual browser contains a wealth of information about Hanukkah, as well as links to 'real' websites that you can visit, via your real web browser, for more information on Hanukkah.
Who Am I? Using the clues given, can you guess the names of 10 Hanukkah celebrities?
In Conclusion
As you can see from the above information, the
Davka Classic Game Pack II contains a wealth of games for 'players' of any age. This game pack is easy to install, and you will be up and playing the games in a matter of minutes. The games are inventive and varied, ensuring that there is at least one game, if not several, to delight every member of your family. The games feature a variety of graphic styles that will delight the eye, and a variety of musical and sound elements that will delight the ear. Without exception, all the games are entertaining and fun to play. In addition, each has an educational element that teaches without lecturing. These educational elements will also help assuage any guilt you have over spending so much time playing the games :)
System Requirements
PC
with Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP
CD-Rom drive
8 MB RAM
Sound Card and Speakers
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