TOS Crew Review: Dig It! Games: Roman Town

It's not often that I can find a computer game that not only educates my boys but also fits their broad age range of seven, nine, and 14. Dig It! Games accomplished it with Roman Town hands down! It's not often that I gush over a computer game, but I'm really in love with this one. 

Dig It! Games was created by a former teacher turned archeologist, Suzi Wilczynski. The game was created to give children the feeling that they were participating in a real archeological dig and finding real "treasure." This isn't a fluff game though. As the artifacts are excavated, the player has the ability to L.E.A.R.N. more about it. L.E.A.R.N. stands for "Locate Engrossing And Remarkable Knowledge." I know I certainly learned some when I took a chance to play!

Playing the game was simple enough that all of my kids (and myself!) could manage it. The game was originally intended for grades 5-8. However, while there is a lot of reading involved, that did not deter my emerging seven year old reader from begging to play.

Each player is given a number of diggers, tools, and flagged areas to excavate.

When your "diggers" find something for you to take a look at, a green speech bubble pops up. Clicking on that allows you - as the lead archeologist - to excavate the piece found. Once it's found you can then L.E.A.R.N. about the piece.

All of those new facts will come in handy at the end of your dig. That's when some of the real fun starts. You get the chance to show off your knowledge by going to the lab to learn even more about what was found, why it was there, and more about ancient life in Rome.

Each dig also ends with a "report" where you are "quizzed" on what you learned. There is a number of words and report with blanks in it. Your job is to fill in the blanks to finish writing your report on your dig. Even I only managed 9/12 the first time I did the report. However, I was given the chance to change around a few questions (which I really like) in order to get 100%.

There are also a number of "mini-games" that you can choose to play instead of doing a dig. They include: 

• 2D reconstruction (like a puzzle)
• 3D reconstruction (again like a puzzle)
• Play Calculi (sort of like tic-tac-toe)
• Find what "Doesn't Belong"
• Memory Match
• Compare Old & New items

There are also six digs that you can participate in. However, once you are done, you might want to go back through and try again as different artifacts will show up each time you participate in a dig.

I asked each of the boys for their opinions on it. They all agreed that it was a lot of fun. What I loved? They didn't realize they were learning. They just knew they were getting computer time and having fun while playing.

Check out the video below to see how Roman Town works.

SALE ALERT!! You can use the coupon code TOS2011 to get Roman Town for $19.96!  This coupon expires on February 21, 2011.  The usual price for Roman Town is $39.95, so this TOS2011 coupon for $19.96 is a really great deal!

System Requirements

• Windows Vista/XP/2000
• CPU 800 Mhz; RAM 412MB; Hard Drive 350MB

Click here to go to the FAQ page.

Be sure to head over to the TOS Crew Homeschool blog to see what other Crew members had to say about Roman Town.



Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. TOS Crew Members are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.