Fine kid's fun
The first in a trilogy of children's edutainment titles, and which continued with Playroom and The Backyard, The Treehouse is a decent enough collection that is sure to keep the kids quiet for a wet Sunday afternoon. As you might expect from the title, the game is based around the theme of a treehouse in which can be found a multitude of mini-games, all of which have the intention of teaching kids while they have fun playing. This one is aimed at fairly young children and you'll find games here which focus on the usual suspects of letters, shapes and numbers, with animals also playing a big role in proceedings and with even music making an unexpected but very welcome appearance. There's the typical mix of board game-style minigames, matching puzzles, mazes, colouring and other such activities to explore and on the whole, there's such a nice variety of things that the kids are unlikely to get bored for some time. It's all presented in an appropriately appealing way too, with copious use of bright colours, large sprites and cheerful music and sound effects and which all combine to keep the target audience's attention well and truly held. The controls and interface are simple and intuitive, making it easy for kids to just pick up and play without too much confusion, while the games themselves are entertaining and well designed, with a good range of skills required to complete them successfully. If you've got younger kids who are looking for a bit of computer-based fun and learning, then this makes a fine choice and should be checked out.
