Can we build it? Yes we can! 

For anyone who has a preschooler at home (and even for those of us that don’t) know that these are the infamous words of the character "Bob the Builder" whom preschoolers everywhere have all come to know and love.

In this game, Bob the Builder Can-Do Zoo, just released this month by Brighter Minds Media, LLC and Gamelab, kids are in charge of cleaning up tools and building homes for the animals at the zoo that need them. Since the game is designed for younger children, there are simply three areas to the game, Free Play, Sticker Book and Story.

The first section of the game is the Story section, in which Bob tells the story of how he has to plan and build the Bobland Bay Zoo for all of the animals, otherwise they will just run around free! This part of the game intertwines Bob’s storytelling, clips from the Bob the Builder show, and games from the Free Play section.

In the Free Play section, there are seven different games to choose from that all center around the theme of cleaning up the zoo and making sure that the animals all have a proper home. The games are called: Here to There, Leaf Pile, Bob’s Blueprint, Tool Shed, Packer’s Delivery, Street Signs, and Paint it with Flex.

In the game Here to There, you have to put a crate with an animal in it onto a truck and deliver the animal to its correct home. This is done by matching two shapes of the same color. Leaf Pile is also a matching game where you have to help Bob find his tools under the pile of leaves. This is a great game for kids to learn how to use and maneuver the mouse on screen, as well as learn their colors and names of tools, as Bob says both of these aloud for kids to hear and internalize.  Bob’s Blueprint is a little more difficult as it focuses on sequencing. In the easy level, however, it is strictly a game of matching numbers. In the higher two levels, kids are required to put the blueprint pictures in order so that Bob can follow the directions to build the animals’ cages. In the game Tool Shed, Spud forgot to put away all of Bob’s tools, so the kids have to pick them up and put them in the proper bins matching both the shape and the color of the tools. Packer’s Delivery and Paint it with Flex are fantastic introductions to patterns. In the first game, the kids need to choose which item is to go on Packer the truck’s trailer, and in the second game they have to choose which color comes next so that Bob can paint the fence. In the easy levels, the pattern is all the same item/color and they just have to find the matching one. With the higher difficulties, the kids have to figure out the pattern and choose the correct item/color. Patterns may be as difficult as an “abcd” pattern. Street Signs is a game that stresses listening and color skills, as the kids have to listen to Bob for which sign to choose. The higher difficulty levels require kids to not only choose the signs by color, but also by shape.

The third section of the game is the sticker book section in which kids are allowed to play with the stickers that they have earned by successfully completing the different games. They are able to choose the stickers from their collection and drag them into one of the background choices to create pictures – what fun for a preschooler!

Some quality features of the game include the verbal directions that are constantly given by Bob.  He talks kids through the game, which is very helpful for younger children that are not capable of reading directions. The game also offers a lot of praise for a correct answer and words of encouragement for an incorrect one. Lastly, there is evidence of Bob the Builder throughout the game with his trucks, friends and tools. Kids will really enjoy seeing all the characters on their computer screens!

Bob the Builder Can-Do Zoo is aimed at 3-6 year olds, and overall I feel that the game does a satisfactory job of catering to those ages by offering three difficulty levels. However, at times, the game may be too difficult for a three-year old to use the mouse and maneuver the game as well as listen to the multistep directions given by Bob. A three and four-year old will need the guidance of an adult or older child to help them play the game. On the flipside, the game may be too easy for a six-year old as they impatiently wait for the truck to move or for Bob to paint the fence. Kids of that age are accustomed to the fast-paced play of games on various gaming consoles, and are already thinking about what they are going to do next while Bob is still completing his task on screen. Five and six-year olds are quite capable of exploring and playing the game on their own.

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