Putt-Putt Joins the Circus

box shot Putt-Putt Joins the Circus

"Fun Under the Big Top From Humongous"

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Putt-Putt Joins the Circus, the sixth CD-ROM adventure from Humongous Entertainment, features Putt-Putt, that loveable little purple convertible with huge headlight eyes, and his faithful dog, Pep. It takes kids to B. J. Sweeney's Big Top to interact with engaging circus performers and animals, while helping Putt-Putt save the circus from mishap. Key features are: (1) a wide variety of hand-drawn locations and revolving puzzle solutions that enable children to discover something new each time they play; (2) kids learn to play and play to learn, developing important logical thinking, problem-solving, and memory skills as they take an active, and interactive, role in the game; (3) entertaining circus characters abound, including Honko the Clown, Phillipe the Flea, The Flying Porkowskis, and Ivan the Semi-Strong Van; and (4) puzzles, musical surprises, mini arcade-style games and click points offers hours of additional fun. This CD is part of the Junior Adventure Series for kids 3-8. See our reviews of two other Putt-Putt adventures: Putt-Putt Travels Through Time and Putt-Putt Enters the Race. The product is available on a CD-ROM that can be used with a PC with Windows or a Macintosh. Price $24.99. The Humongous Entertainment Web site is a great place for both parents and kids to visit. There is all sorts of information, games and such. http://www.humongous.com

Junior Adventures help children, ages 3 to 8, to develop critical thinking, problem solving, memory and spatial relations skills. Easy-to-maneuver controls make this game easy even for the younger players.

Storyline. The circus has finally arrived in Apple Valley. Putt-Putt can't wait to see The Flying Porkowskis up in the air on the trapeze or the famous French entertainer, Phillipe the Flea and his Flea troupe. Shortly after Putt-Putt arrives, he finds that Mr. B. J. Sweeney needs help. The circus is in a state of disarray. When B. J. Sweeney's Big Top Circus was set up, nothing was put in the right place and the five main acts are refusing to perform without their props. In Putt-Putt Joins the Circus, kids help Putt-Putt sort out the circus and get everyone back into the right in time for the evening performance. If they succeed, they get to star with Putt-Putt in the opening act of the circus. Some of the challenges are:

Problem Solving--Help Putt-Putt aid Ivan the Semi-Strong Van in piecing together his recipe card so he can lift an antenna.

Kindness--Help Putt-Putt patch Francine the high-diving hippo's swimming pool.

Teamwork--Help Eunice get a larger umbrella so she can safely cross the high wire.

Friendship--Putt-Putt sings under the big top with his new circus friends.

Installation. One excellent feature of Humongous products for users who have limited disk space is that you don't install anything or just minimal files. The program runs off the CD.

Mini-Games. Mini-games are games within a larger game. They offer additional fun. There are five mini-games in Putt-Putt Joins the Circus:

Clown Table--Kids can create their own clown face with funny noses, ears, eyes, and hats.

Marvin's Magic Cards--Kids can test their skills at magic card concentration. After Marvin the Marvelous conjures up Sebastian the Seal's juggling club, children can click on the cards again and play as many rounds of Marvin's Magic Cards as they like.

Peanut Challenge--Bart the Peanut Cart provides children with 10 peanuts to toss to hungry tin cards as they drive by. If they win the first round, they will get their own bag of peanuts. Each level is increases in difficulty, with more peanuts to toss.

Pie Toss Arena--This mini-game is just plain fun. No scores are kept and there are no levels to be reached. Children just toss their pies at the awaiting clowns.

Titanic Trampoline--Like the Pie Toss Arena, there are no scores to be kept and no levels to be reached. Children just bounce and burst balloons.

The new Putt-Putt Joins the Circus will not disappoint children who are already familiar with the loveable character, and it is also a great choice for those who have never played any of the Humongous Entertainment games. It is fun, but it also teaches children a variety of skills. Putt-Putt Joins the Circus does not have the random element to the games so they are different each time they are played, like many of Humongous Entertainment Junior Adventures. But it still should provide children with hours of delightful play. It would be a good choice to CD games for very young children who need repetition or as an introduction to individuals new to this type of CD.

Windows: Pentium 90, Windows 98/95 with 16MB RAM.
Macintosh: 80Mhz Power PC, System 7.5.3 with 16MB RAM.

Putt-Putt Joins the Circus has a Parent/Teacher Guide located in the help file on the game disc. It contains extension activities and discussion topics that reinforce concepts and lessons kids learn in this game.

Graphics: Adobe ImageStyler
Web Page Editor: Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0
Scanner: Hewlett Packard ScanJet 6250C Professional Series

Putt-Putt Joins the Circus "Fun Under the Big Top From Humongous"

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge it. Use your browser's "BACK" button to return to this review when done.


Putt-Putt Joins the Circus, the sixth CD-ROM adventure from Humongous Entertainment, features Putt-Putt, that loveable little purple convertible with huge headlight eyes, and his faithful dog, Pep. It takes kids to B. J. Sweeney's Big Top to interact with engaging circus performers and animals, while helping Putt-Putt save the circus from mishap. Key features are: (1) a wide variety of hand-drawn locations and revolving puzzle solutions that enable children to discover something new each time they play; (2) kids learn to play and play to learn, developing important logical thinking, problem-solving, and memory skills as they take an active, and interactive, role in the game; (3) entertaining circus characters abound, including Honko the Clown, Phillipe the Flea, The Flying Porkowskis, and Ivan the Semi-Strong Van; and (4) puzzles, musical surprises, mini arcade-style games and click points offers hours of additional fun. This CD is part of the Junior Adventure Series for kids 3-8. See our reviews of two other Putt-Putt adventures: Putt-Putt Travels Through Time and Putt-Putt Enters the Race. The product is available on a CD-ROM that can be used with a PC with Windows or a Macintosh. Price $24.99. The Humongous Entertainment Web site is a great place for both parents and kids to visit. There is all sorts of information, games and such. http://www.humongous.com


Junior Adventures help children, ages 3 to 8, to develop critical thinking, problem solving, memory and spatial relations skills. Easy-to-maneuver controls make this game easy even for the younger players.


Storyline. The circus has finally arrived in Apple Valley. Putt-Putt can't wait to see The Flying Porkowskis up in the air on the trapeze or the famous French entertainer, Phillipe the Flea and his Flea troupe. Shortly after Putt-Putt arrives, he finds that Mr. B. J. Sweeney needs help. The circus is in a state of disarray. When B. J. Sweeney's Big Top Circus was set up, nothing was put in the right place and the five main acts are refusing to perform without their props. In Putt-Putt Joins the Circus, kids help Putt-Putt sort out the circus and get everyone back into the right in time for the evening performance. If they succeed, they get to star with Putt-Putt in the opening act of the circus. Some of the challenges are: Problem Solving--Help Putt-Putt aid Ivan the Semi-Strong Van in piecing together his recipe card so he can lift an antenna. Kindness--Help Putt-Putt patch Francine the high-diving hippo's swimming pool. Teamwork--Help Eunice get a larger umbrella so she can safely cross the high wire. Friendship--Putt-Putt sings under the big top with his new circus friends. Installation. One excellent feature of Humongous products for users who have limited disk space is that you don't install anything or just minimal files. The program runs off the CD. Mini-Games. Mini-games are games within a larger game. They offer additional fun. There are five mini-games in Putt-Putt Joins the Circus: Clown Table--Kids can create their own clown face with funny noses, ears, eyes, and hats. Marvin's Magic Cards--Kids can test their skills at magic card concentration. After Marvin the Marvelous conjures up Sebastian the Seal's juggling club, children can click on the cards again and play as many rounds of Marvin's Magic Cards as they like. Peanut Challenge--Bart the Peanut Cart provides children with 10 peanuts to toss to hungry tin cards as they drive by. If they win the first round, they will get their own bag of peanuts. Each level is increases in difficulty, with more peanuts to toss. Pie Toss Arena--This mini-game is just plain fun. No scores are kept and there are no levels to be reached. Children just toss their pies at the awaiting clowns. Titanic Trampoline--Like the Pie Toss Arena, there are no scores to be kept and no levels to be reached. Children just bounce and burst balloons.

The new Putt-Putt Joins the Circus will not disappoint children who are already familiar with the loveable character, and it is also a great choice for those who have never played any of the Humongous Entertainment games. It is fun, but it also teaches children a variety of skills. Putt-Putt Joins the Circus does not have the random element to the games so they are different each time they are played, like many of Humongous Entertainment Junior Adventures. But it still should provide children with hours of delightful play. It would be a good choice to CD games for very young children who need repetition or as an introduction to individuals new to this type of CD.


Windows: Pentium 90, Windows 98/95 with 16MB RAM. Macintosh: 80Mhz Power PC, System 7.5.3 with 16MB RAM.


Putt-Putt Joins the Circus has a Parent/Teacher Guide located in the help file on the game disc. It contains extension activities and discussion topics that reinforce concepts and lessons kids learn in this game.

Graphics: Adobe ImageStyler Web Page Editor: Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0 Scanner: Hewlett Packard ScanJet 6250C Professional Series