Minimum Age: 4 years Rating: Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Aimed at 4- to 10-year-olds, the 6-by-4-inch Leapster is sized for little hands and comfortably shaped with safe, rounded edges. The 2-1/4-inch touch screen is ample for most of the gaming activities; although a little cluttered when used for the art and drawing modules. Buttons are suitably placed on either side of the unit for thumb-operated control. The right side features "A" and "B" buttons for selecting settings and answers while the left has a multi-directional gamepad for game play. A pen is also attached for drawing, selecting tools and settings, and dragging and placing objects. The 3-inch backlit display makes games visible in the dark (although parents will prefer that the Leapster is shut off at bedtime) and the animated graphics, while not completely state-of-the-art are well done and suitable for this age range.

The Leapster Learning Game System takes the brain-building principles that Leapfrog laid out in its earlier electronic learning devices (which have an interactive book format) and applies them to a video-game format.

As with the manufacturer's LeapPad products, the Leapster does require the purchase of additional cartridges to expand its capabilities. Kids can choose titles with their favorite characters to play educational games with. The star-studded list of celebrity narrators includes TV personalities, such as SpongeBob Squarepants, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Dora the Explorer; and movie stars, such as Nemo, Cinderella, Ariel (The Little Mermaid), and Batman. Leapfrog's own cartoon star, Tad, is narrates a few as well. While stocking up on the extra software titles can get expensive, it also gives parents some control and input on which characters they'd like their kids to learn from. And, characters for these titles are appropriately matched to the maturity of the targeted grade level (pre-K through 4th grade).

Starting up or hitting the Home button takes players to the main menu. There is one staple pre-loaded game that children will likely come back to again and again. Rabbit River is based on the Frogger game format, but with an additional learning element. In letters mode, kids guide their bunny to hop floating logs to the other side of the river while jumping on specific letters to identify them or spell out a requested 3- or 4-letter word. In numbers mode, the bunny must land on specific numbers on the logs to skip count by twos or form a correct equation. The other pre-loaded activity is Color Corral, an interactive coloring book designed to boost creative problem-solving skills. This module is like a kid's version of Photoshop and offers a variety of scenic templates, colors, tools, and moving icons that kids can combine for an infinite number of possibilities. The included manual gives suggestions on how to reinforce these math, reading, and art concepts in the real world. .

Each game offers multiple skill levels so kids can ease into new territory at the beginner level and challenge themselves with more advanced learning problems as they understand the concept. If kids are stumped at any point during a game, they can hit the Hint button and receive a friendly push in the right direction from an animated tutor, Edison the firefly. Edison also appears automatically if kids answer a question incorrectly several times in a row and coaches the child to reach the correct answer. The Pause button lets kids stop the game for a snack break and pick back up again where they left off.

Designed for portability, the Leapster fits easily in a backpack or tote bag and is ideal for more purposeful edutainment on the go, whether it's a quick game on the bus ride to school or hours of playtime during vacation travel. This learning system runs on four AA batteries or on a rechargeable battery pack when combined with the Leapster L-Max Recharging System (sold separately). Leapster covers this handheld device under a 3-month warranty. --Cristina Vaamonde



Customer Reviews

No complaints. Posted 10 September 2008
We bought this for my son's third birthday, and almost two years later he still loves playing with it. It has been very durable, and most importantly doesn't drain batteries at a ridiculous pace. Some of the games available for this system are better than others, but overall we've been extremely happy with our purchase.

Birthday present Posted 30 August 2008
Just received it, got here late but one day before i needed it for a birthday.

Leapster Family Posted 28 August 2008
When my daughter was four, my husband brought her home a Leapster for Christmas. It's the older, larger Leapster. She absolutely LOVED it. Then her younger brother kept borrowing, so we decided to buy him his own when HE turned four. Hubby came home with the L-Max for him. I have to be honest and say that we've never even once plugged it into the tv. He doesn't know it has that feature and I'm not going to tell him. Now the three year old is always borrowing a Leapster. Since both of the older kids *still* play with theirs regularly, we'll be buying the three year old his own this Christmas. My daughter has had hers almost 3 years and we've had no problems with it at all. My son has had the L-Max for a year and we've had no problems with it either. My children are NOT gentle with this toy. They swing it around by the stylus, they drop it on the ground, they've even been known to hurl it across the room in a dramatic temper tantrum. (I'm not proud of that but I'll be honest at least!) Anyway, we think these are great products. They are worth every single penny in my house.

I like the fact that all the games we already own are interchangeable among all the machines so we don't have to buy the same age range of games for each new machine that comes out. I would highly recommend this product as one for your child. I am delighted that for once in my life, we spent money on a toy that could grow with our child that is actually growing with our children! It's still a desireable toy even 3 years later. AND it hasn't been discontinued early. Unlike all the other Leapfrog products we've purchased, this one is a major winner!

Great learning console. Posted 27 August 2008
I've been wanting to buy this for a while for my 3 year old boy but decided to wait until christmas, until I was able to find an used Leapster for half the price on craighslist. The system that I have is the old version but it still plays the same games as this version, also it comes with more integrated games. I am very please with this system, some of the games that comes with it are hard for my 3 year old so I need to help him along. He really enjoys playing with this. Great system for the price. Extra games are a little pricey though, $20-$25 each.

Kid approved!! Posted 26 August 2008
My little boy who turned 4 on 08/26/08 LOVES this toy. I also got him some games but he seems pretty happy with the games that come pre-loaded. If there was 1 thing that I wish was different - it's the location of the on/off button. It's way to easy to turn it on and off. My 2 year old can turn it off while my 4 year old is playing. This is probably more of a discipline issue but still, if it were a switch (instead of a red button that looks very inviting to 2 year olds) then she couldn't turn it off easily.