...worked for my daughter Anna, age 6 1/2, who proudly announced (and remembered days later) her exact scores. Bottom line: Pixie dust works its magic again. Details: Win 95 or newer/Win XP/Mac OS 8.6 or newer, $20, ages 5 and up.

...grab some runaway balloons when the only reward is a printable certificate with their name on it. Bottom line: You might go bananas trying to figure out this one. Win 98 or newer/Win 2000 or newer/Mac OS 8.6 or newer, $20, ages 3-6

...text and images was excellent, and the paper tray held a generous 250 sheets. The Brother HL-1440 (Win 95 or newer/Mac OS 8.5.1 or newer, $180) includes both USB and parallel ports, plus a 250-sheet tray.

...program's central lesson, however, is timeless: Every decision has consequences. Bottom line: Not a pioneering game design, but still a good trip. Details: Windows 95 or newer/Win 2000 or newer/Mac OS 8.6 or newer, $25; ages 9 and up.

...but doesn't perform much better in other areas. The 1315, which works with Windows 98 and later editions and with Mac OS 8.6 and above, smoothly installs in minutes, thanks to the ubiquitous "walk-through" diagrams that come with most...

...cars. And a third works on consonants by challenging players to match letters to sounds. Details: Win 95 or newer/Mac OS 8.6 or newer/Mac OS X, $20, ages 4 to 6. Star Wars' Jedi Academy LucasArts This lightsaber-fest starts by handing...

...more capable Windows Media Player 10 -- both require XP. Mac OS 8 and 8.5: These 1997 and 1998 releases are as dead as...even more complete abandonment by software developers. Mac OS 8.6-9.2: These releases are slightly better in terms...