Big Thinkers (video game series)
| Company type | Educational video game series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games, Educational software |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | Jonathan Maier |
| Products | Big Thinkers! Kindergarten, Big Thinkers! 1st Grade |
| Parent | Humongous Entertainment |
Big Thinkers is an educational game series developed by Humongous Entertainment, featuring the sibling duo Ben and Becky Brightly (voiced by Mike Shapiro and Karen Kay Cody). These characters possess the unique ability to transform into different objects. The collection consists of two releases: Big Thinkers! Kindergarten and Big Thinkers! 1st Grade, both focusing on the goal of star collection. Jonathan Maier was responsible for the creation and development of this series.
A third title, Big Thinkers! 2nd Grade, was intended for release in 1998 and was initially developed concurrently with the first two games. Nevertheless, it was ultimately discontinued due to the difficulties associated with overseeing three projects simultaneously, coupled with underwhelming sales figures from the earlier entries.
Production
The Big Thinkers! series was conceived as a "grade-specific educational program".
Gameplay
Users engage with Ben and Becky as they navigate through a house environment, participating in sixteen mini-games designed to earn stars across five distinct colors: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Each color corresponds to a particular academic category:
- Red Smart Stars: English/Reading
- Yellow Smart Stars: Creativity/Art
- Green Smart Stars: Spatial Recognition/Thinking Skills
- Blue Smart Stars: Computation/Math
- Purple Smart Stars: Social Science/Physical Science
Accumulating a sufficient number of stars in each category grants access to extended mini-games where players can win larger dull orange stars adorned with a square academic cap (or alternatively sunglasses and skateboard in First Grade). Many mini-games are present in both editions but vary between them. The house's design remains largely consistent; however, Big Thinkers! 1st Grade substitutes the woods area with a garage.
The focus of Big Thinkers! Kindergarten lies in developing abilities such as letter recognition, spelling, and measurement. Its content aligns with national standards for kindergarten education across subjects including math, language arts, science/social studies, creative arts, and additional competencies.
Critical reception
Critical response to the series was mixed. The Boston Herald remarked that the launch was met with indifference, especially when compared to more successful Humongous franchises like Putt-Putt and Freddi Fish. They criticized the main characters Ben and Becky for lacking charisma and described some activities as either tedious or impossible to complete, although certain games were deemed suitable and enjoyable for the target age group. Meanwhile, The Rocky Mountain News acknowledged the educational intent but found the series confusing and frustrating due to navigation difficulties.
On the other hand, The Washington Times referred to Kindergarten as effective in enhancing skills, while Humpty Dumpty Magazine commended it for offering "many great games." ReviewCorner highlighted that Kindergarten presented more complexity and activity than its competitors. However, according to Discovery Education, the difficulty level of 1st Grade might exceed what is appropriate for many first-grade students.