Disney's Beauty & The Beast Activity Center - PC Games

A gorgeous opening leads to the foyer of the Beast's castle where Belle and Cogsworth, the worrywart clock, and Lumiere, the candle with the Maurice Chevalier accent, are preparing a surprise party for the Beast. Visitors must help the castle's denizens prepare for the party in four different areas. Mrs. Pott's Teatime Table is in the kitchen, where guests must help set the table for three different meals; a rotating table gives this mundane-sounding task a fun spin. It takes good timing and hand-eye coordination to drop scoops of ice cream from high up on the shelf to the dishes spinning dizzily below.

In the ballroom, visitors can pick music, decorations, and a gown for Belle, as well as choreograph dance steps in an activity that teaches sequencing and programming skills. Cogsworth's Library Mystery is another smart activity; players must use descriptive clues to eliminate books, then decide which of the remaining tomes hides part of a key that's necessary to unlock the Beast's lair. Belle's Writing Desk is a non-structured activity in which kids can create stained-glass windows, cards, party invitations, and other masterpieces. The Teatime Table and the Library Mystery have three levels of difficulty, all of which must be mastered in order to adequately prepare for the big payoff--the surprise party for the Beast.

Interestingly, the Beast doesn't make an appearance until it's time for the party. He sleeps in the West Wing, and the castle gang gives explicit instructions not to disturb him. Clicking on his door earns a gentle reprimand as you hear him snore in the background. This patriarchal bit of ominousness may be irksome to parents who seek to teach kids non-stereotypical gender roles.

The lavish graphics slow progress somewhat, and it wouldn't have hurt Disney to include a few more activities; maybe they should have made the Beast get off his couch and go get something nice for Belle. (Ages 5 and older) --Anne Erickson