Serious Game Classification

This game takes place in the fictional world of Busytown, originally created by author/illustrator Richard Scarry for his educational picture books. Busytown is populated by cartoonish animals many of whom have typical and specific jobs in Busytown: policeman, fireman, schoolteacher, etc.

Huckle Cat and his friend Lowly Worm star in this point and click game, often taking the place of the cursor during game play. From the main page - the town map - the player can select any location in the Busytown neighborhood to participate in an activity appropriate for that location. These include:The See-Saw - balance characters on a see-saw according to the numbers they are labeled with; an 8 on one end and a 5 and 3 on the other, for instance
The Fire Station - follow the instructions and a star-shaped "gleam" to load the fire truck, then put out a house fire
Bruno's Deli - find and serve the food each customer is asking for
Building a House - lay bricks and shingles and put other items into place at this construction site
Mr. Fixit - help Mr. Fixit build his latest invention by placing parts on his machine
The Delivery Truck - drive around Busytown delivering specific items, avoiding road construction and garbage cans
Dr. Diane - help Dr. Diane treat Norbert the Elephant's many ailments by placing bandaids and bandages on the named body parts
BusyTunes - play the jingles and songs and watch animation from each neighborhood location on the jukeboxThe educational focus of Richard Scarry's Busytown is primarily on reading, as words for many objects in the game are given whether or not the activity on screen actually involves reading. Other early childhood skills covered are counting, shapes, adding and subtracting and following directions. [source:mobygames]

Distribution : Retail - Commercial
Platform(s) : Macintosh - PC (Windows)

Links

• http://www.mobygames.com/game/richard-scarrys-busytown/