Mixed-Up Mother Goose

The Good
Very simple interface that doesn't require any reading once you've started the game. My 3 year old daughter loves playing this on my IBM 5150 from 1987, and she can use a joystick to play the whole game. She can pick out her name but she can't really read, so she knows when characters are talking to her, but since the game uses pictures and music to explain what you need to do, a kid can rely on their memory and ability to navigate to play the game without needing much help.

This is WONDERFUL, and I wish there were more games like this available for my daughter to play on vintage computers. It seems like the majority require reading abilities even though they are seemingly for really young kids (Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh,

The Bad
The music obviously isn't as good from a PC speaker as it is in the later versions with MIDI music, and the latest versions with high quality recorded music with spoken lyrics. Also there's just less animation than the later versions... but lets face it, this is a really old game from a time when DOS was not the most common computer gaming platform.

The Bottom Line
A great adventure game for young kids that has memorable scenery and characters, and is accessible for all ages and rewarding.

It also refreshingly does not contain any magic, ghosts or fighting. Its astounding that so few game developers over the years could figure out how to make a game without stuffing those things down our throats, even for young kids' games.

I highly recommend this game, but mostly if you're planning to play it on vintage hardware and are interested in helping a kid to appreciate the early days of computer games. The graphics and music of later versions are much more appealing for the majority of kids, but since they are mouse oriented they probably aren't as easy for really young kids to play.