Thomas and Friends Trouble on the Tracks

It's Thomas and Friends to the Rescue!Product InformationJames has derailed and it's up to Thomas and all of his friends to help him get back on track.This affects everyone on the Island of Sodor from the Horrid Lorry who has todo James' work to Sir Topham Hatt who must organize the efforts of the otherengines. Includes eight engaging activities 3D graphics eight jigsaw puzzles. There's a job for everybody to do in this story that proves how useful teamwork can be.Skills Learned Listening Skills Following Directions Spatial Relationships Mouse SkillsProduct Features Eight engaging activities Story line starring your favorite friends Rich 3-D graphics and animations Print certificates and pictures of all the engines 8 jigsaw puzzles to print cut out and color Fly with Harold to find James Fit the gears to make the Breakdown crane work Repair James so he can go back to workWindows Requirements Windows 95 98 Me or XP Vista  Pentium 166MHz or faster 32MB of RAM 40MB free hard drive space 4X speed CD-ROM Drive 2MB Windows 95/98/Me compatible SVGA video card * Windows 95/98/Me compatible 16-bit sound card * DirectX version 7.0a or higher (included) required*Indicates device should be compatible with DirectX version 7.0a or higher

The brightly structured world of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends will appeal to the orderly side of preschoolers as they help rescue a derailed engine, put it back on the tracks, spiff it up, and get it back to work. If your older toddler glows when told he or she is helpful or a hard worker, this CD-ROM will put them in junior train-engineer heaven.

The story begins with an engine named James eagerly heading out to get more coal for the other engines, but things don't go quite as planned; James has an accident on a sharp corner because he's being too hasty. Kids get to help rescue James and restore him to his shiny, bright-red self by completing eight activities that will test their problem-solving skills, spatial abilities, and deductive reasoning. They must find James, properly assemble crane gears to get him lifted back onto the track, collect coal, find the proper parts, and install them on James by listening to whistles, looking at train parts, and then putting everything in its place. Once James has a full tank of water and a full bin of coal, kids get to drive the repaired engine. This is the best part of this friendly CD-ROM, as it demonstrates to little locomotive fans how steam engines work, from shoveling coal to goosing the throttle.

Each activity has three levels, and Trouble on the Track also has clickable surprises interspersed throughout each activity, something that earlier Thomas offerings lacked. Kids can visit Sir Topham Hatt's office to see and print their certificates (they get one for every level of each activity they complete) or various pictures that they can color, turn into puzzles, or simply hang on their walls. Everyone from the Horrid Lorry to the Troublesome Trucks is here, and Thomas the Tank Engine fans will enjoy this program as it gently chugs along. (Ages 3 and older) --Anne Erickson

This CD-ROM allows children to enter the play world of Thomas and his friends, and help them get ready for the big festival on the Island of Sodor. They can get Thomas ready for the journey at the engine shed, clear the tracks, make music on the bandstand, and help bring passengers to the festival. Seven engaging activities, rich 3-D animated graphics, and printable certificates of completion are designed to keep little Thomas fans interested. Opportunities abound to practice color matching, shape sorting, counting, and more. And fans won't want to miss new video sequences featuring Thomas and his friends.