sloving's Full Review: Parker Connect Four Electronic Hand-Held Game by H...
At Adam’s last birthday party, be acquired about a half dozen of these little hand-held games. It’s a good thing he got so many, because within a couple of days, our family was fighting over them. Adam seemed to latch onto the Electronic Hand-Held Connect Four game first. I personally think he likes it so much, because he can beat the computer at it, and I can’t.
Electronic Hand-Held Connect Four is basically a tic-tac-to game on a 6x7 grid, where the object is to get 4 in a row, either diagonally, horizontally, or vertically, by dropping your chips into the top of the grid. You play against the computer, and move your chips from side to side using the arrow keys. You make your chip drop by pressing the center key. The computer then takes it’s turn automatically. Play continues until either you or the computer place 4 chips in a row. The computer’s chips have an open center, and your chips are solid.
The entire screen of Connect Four is small – about 1 x 2 inches, but it’s plenty big to hold the grid, and the game statistics at the bottom. The screen is set inside a translucent yellow plastic case, which is about 3 x 5 inches. You can sort of see through the case to the computer guts and the battery (a AA which is included).
The game has three skill levels. On the first level, the computer is a complete moron and drops chips randomly with out considering your move. I can actually win on this level! You can also get a “hint” at this level if you find you really need it. The next two levels get progressively harder. In find level two the most fun because I can occasionally outsmart the computer by setting myself up to get 4 in a row in two different directions therefore assuring a win. It’s usually a draw on this level however. Adam and my husband delight in showing me their occasional wins on Level 3 that I can only rarely manage to accomplish.
The buttons on Connect Four are located at the bottom of the screen and are made of a soft rubber. Besides the arrow and drops keys, there is a Hint/Demo button, and High Score button which shows the number of sins, losses and ties out of the number of games that you have played, and the New Game button which, obviously, starts a new game. Strangely, there is no Off button, but the game turns off automatically when it’s left alone for a few minutes. If you lease it in the middle of a game, it will pick up where you left off the next time.
The most important button, in my opinion, is the Sound button. You can actually turn the sound off, which is very fortunate for my son on our frequent 6-hour car trips! With the sound option on, there is an electronic bleep each time a chip is dropped and some kind of song plays at the end of the game depending on the outcome.
Our Connect Four has held up well. The case is a bit scratched form being thrown around the car and being stuffed into pocket frequently for the last year. And the battery was only recently replaced. We knew it was time when the screen suddenly started going blank in the middle of a game, we were unable to change the skill level, and the sound option began to sound like an electronic funeral dirge.
Basically, there is nothing not to love about Electronic Hand-Held Connect Four. The whole family will love it! Frequently, Target has this gizmo, and other similar games, on sale for $8.88, so they are cheap entertainment! They would fit perfectly in a Christmas stocking and I’ve found that they make perfect inexpensive birthday gift for 6 year old boys. These little hand-helds don’t exactly rival Gameboy, but they staved off that purchase in our house for a couple of months. And I don’t stress out about Connect Four being left somewhere when it accompanies my son on our errands (there is nothing like searching the mall for a neglected Gameboy!). But beware that Electronic Hand-Held Connect Four can be addictive, and can eat up an hour of your time faster than surfing Epinions!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 8.88 Type of Toy: Game
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
Available only in stores Style and color assortment may vary For ages 7 yrs. and up For 1-2 People Batteries Included: 1 AA Battery, Manufacturer: Has...More at Amazon Marketplace
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