Roman Town Review

Mommy Parties sent me a box a few weeks ago, with some knit caps, water bottles and a computer game called Roman Town.  It came just in time for Little Man's birthday, which was great for him, because he has always wanted to be an archaeologist or a paleontologist.  Bottom line:  He likes to explore and dig.  How much does he like to dig?  Exhibit #1: 

Remember the fort?  It's getting bigger every day!  Look at how he and Big Bro dug holes into the side to put important pieces of equipment. 

Back to Roman Town.  We had a computer game party last week to show off our new game and the kids really liked it. (Pics coming soon, having problems downloading them!) I wish I could have had the game going on more than one computer, because all the kids were hovered around it trying to take a turn. 

So what is Roman Town?  It's an educational game that lets kids explore ancient ruins as an archaeologist would.  The game starts with a professor giving you information and instructions, so the kids have some guidance as to what to do next until they get the hang of things.  They get to place diggers in various spots to try to unearth Roman Ruins.   They can choose the tools the diggers use and as an artifact is unearthe,d then they have to use a different tool to gently brush the dirt away to expose what they found.  Once all the pieces to an artifact are found, the kids categorize them and then they can do things like put the pieces together to see what exactly what they found.  

There are tests throughout the game that ask the kids questions about ancient Rome to see if they are paying attention to the facts that are being taught during their exploration.  Little Man and I both found it very interesting and it held the interest of about 3/4 of the kids that were here for the party.  I think had we had more computers the other few may have stuck around a few minutes longer. 

I really think this would be a fantastic game for teachers to use in class! Little Man hasn't finished the game yet, so he is excited to have some time over Christmas break to delve into it even more.  He is definitely a little "treasure hunter" and this game has sparked his interest in ancient civilizations all over again.

After our computer time we had some snacks (Mummy Juice and King Tut's Fingers - Drinks colored green and pigs in a blanket) and had our own treasure hunt out in the desert, where the kids looked for their own buried treasure.  They received water bottles and knit caps as party favors, courtesy of Dig It, so they looked like quite an expedition heading out into the desert!  They came home with a broken scooter, some kind of jawbone from something or other and a snake skin that some snake had recently shed.  Nice.  I was kind of hoping for some pottery or an arrowhead, but I didn't want to be a buzz kill so I thanked them for their lovely artifacts and sent them on their way.  It was a good day and we all learned a lot about Rome!  Thanks Mommy Parties and Dig It for a chance to try out Roman Town.