THIS GAME IS GOOD FOR KIDS WHO NEED HELP WITH:

Organization

Arranging and coordinating materials in order to complete a task.

Goosebumps: The Game is a solid example of classic point-and-click adventure. As players move through the game they encounter a number of obstacles, and collect a variety of items with which to move past those obstacles. This is textbook problem solving using the organization thinking skill -- the ability to examine a complex task and collect all of the materials necessary to complete it. The problems in Goosebumps: The Game often require some pretty creative solutions. The protagonist’s whole world has been turned upside down, and the quest back to normalcy means creating order out of all of that disorder.

Additional organization practice -- organization in the more literal sense -- comes from the fact that a player’s inventory grows exponentially over the course of the game. One never knows which of the items they pick up will actually come in handy. In fact, it’s best practice for a player to pick up whatever they can (there’s even an achievement for it).

Working Memory

Recalling and retaining information in our minds while working.

Goosebumps: The Game exercises working memory in two major ways: reading and navigation. The entire adventure is text-based, meaning players must read all of the dialogue, narration, and item descriptions in order to know what is going on. Reading is, by its very nature, an exercise in working memory; We must recall what was just read in order for the text that comes next to make sense.

Navigation practices working memory in much the same way. The game is two-dimensional, and each screen looks like an illustration, but there are often two or three directions a player can move away from a given screen. Remembering where you have been and where you are going is imperative, especially since danger lurks at every turn. There are a couple instances of maze-like areas where it is easy to go in circles, and at one point in the game the player will be shadowed by a menacing character. Taking notes is not a bad idea.

See more about how the game helps players exercise reading comprehension in the Reading tab.