LeapFrog Leapster L Max Handheld Learning Game System Review

Overall 4.63 of 5 view all 35 reviews

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Writer

AWESOMEMOM88
Montgomery, IL

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The only video game allowed in our house

buying for a preschooler, buying educational toys, buying for 6-10 year olds, value conscious, not rich, practical

Pros

durable, withstands abuse, entertains no matter what age, Portable, Perfect for preschoolers, Holds their attention, kids have fun while learning

Cons

Games can get expensive, Uses up batteries fast, not too many games for older kids

MAY

2008

My daughter has had this since before starting kindergarten and we have loved the availability of games a differing skill levels and age appropriate content. The games are actually pretty fun, because of course, Mom and Dad had to try it out to demonstrate how to do things when she was smaller. She will play with it when we are travelling in the car and it really cuts down on "Are we there yet?" It doesn't take the place of reading stories and books, but it helps set the foundation for skills like sounding out letters, counting, basic math skills. The adapter is great for saving on batteries when playing at home. It is compact and portable, easy for little hands to manipulate. They make good use of popular cartoon characters to attract the kids interest, but the games are what keeps them coming back for more. The only disappointment I have is that the games designed for older school age kids are getting harder to find, and the price per game has gone up about 25% since they first started offering the system. Rumor has it that you can go to their website for a comprehensive list of all games that they manufacture currently, but I think that shipping and handling costs would only increase the per game charges. Right now, the Leapster seems to cater primarily to pre-school/kindergarten audiences, which is a shame, because when we made the decision to buy it, it was specifically because we could get more challenging materials as our daughter progressed.