I love the I Spy books. I didn’t have very many of them when my children were small, but I have several of them now. Recently I have been collecting children’s activity books like pop-ups and play-a-sound, and also have lots of search-and-find type books. I have been able to share these with some young children lately, through church and friends, and have been surprised at the enjoyment that these kids have had with them. Despite the dire warnings lately from people that kids don’t like books anymore and would rather play video games, I’ve found that lots of kids of all ages really do enjoy good books.

However, it is also true that even the very young all are playing electronic games now, too. Whether on a Leapster or on a NDS or PSP, just about every kid I know has some type of portable game system. The gaming business knows this as well, which is why there are a ton of movie- and TV-themed games on the market currently. Along with these media entertainment variations, every now and then they try to recreate a classic children’s game or book into an electronic version. Some work, some don’t. I Spy Funhouse falls in the middle somewhere in judging the success of this type of crossover; it works well in some ways, but overall it doesn’t really match up to the excellence of the original books, let alone improve or expand on them.

I Spy Funhouse is an electronic version of the I Spy books on the DS. The basic premise is the same; players will have to search and find objects scattered around a picture full of items. To mix things up a bit, there are also several mini-games included.

This is classic I Spy material, and the game is based on the book of the same name. There are six pictures with three riddles per picture, for a total of 18 picture riddles for each Funhouse adventure. The pictures are larger than the DS screen, and can be scrolled. Each riddle has several items that have to be found, just as in the I Spy books. The pictures are small and cramped, so it’s a little tricky finding some of these items.

As the pictures are necessarily smaller than in the book, they don’t quite capture the dreamy beauty of the originals. The colors aren’t as vibrant, either. But even with these minor differences in photo quality, they are still attractive and fun to view.

There are also three mini-games in the main game, and one mini-game that is played after 10 tickets have been earned through playing several rounds of the other games. These mini-games are Pop-n-Drop, a Dr. Mario clone; Hoop Shot, an arcade version of a Venn Diagram; and Listen Up!, a version of Simon.

Pop-n-Drop begins simply enough, but the difficulty advances quickly. This is a children’s game, but I had a hard time clearing some of these! Shapes and colors can be matched. This game was pretty fun. The Venn Diagram is again a tad bit difficult for a kid’s game, as the pace and number of objects to sort really pick up quickly. The objects scroll across the bottom of the screen while the Venn Circles scroll across the top. Players have to choose an object, then shoot it into the correct circle. Not all that easy.

Listen Up! is pure Simon, and players just have to listen and pay attention carefully. There are three toys that make sounds and each one has a small animation when chosen. The levels increase in the number of times the toys play sounds in order.

After the players earn ten tickets, it’s off to the Prize Popper. This is a simple arcade game that resembles shuffleboard more than anything else. Surprisingly for the end game, it’s the lamest mini-game in this collection. It’s hard to use the stylus to shoot the toy toward the correct match, and there’s just not much to the overall game. Once the items have been matched, it’s over. Winning this game allows players to end the Funhouse game and begin again.

While the pictures and their objects remain the same, the riddles change for each new Funhouse adventure. The riddles will feature many of the same items to be found, but in a different grouping for the new riddle. The mini-games are randomized fairly well.

If this game was considered solely as a stand-alone game, it would receive a slightly above average rating. The picture riddles and mini-games are designed nicely and are fun to play. The same pictures and objects are used each time, but everyone knows that small children don’t mind repetition. However, I do think that there could have been more than just six pictures included. Also, on the other hand, the mini-games are really too difficult for small children, after they have played them a few times. The difficulty level goes up too quickly.

However, the I Spy books do exist, and frankly, are a better bargain. They cost less, have more pictures and are more fun. Plus, several children can “play” at the same time. More bang for your buck! This electronic game isn’t worth plunking down $30. A price of $20 would have been much more reasonable.

The bottom line is that this while this isn’t a bad game, it’s not anything that really stands out from the crowd of puzzle and arcade games for kids. Best for families with multiple young children.

Gameplay: 6.5
The picture puzzles and the mini-games are fun and interesting. However, there aren’t very many pictures, and only a few mini-games. More content and variety would have helped in this area.

Graphics: 7.0
The pictures are straight from the book, and the objects in the mini-games are all from the book, too. Cute animations!

Sound: 6.0
The sound is wholly average.

Difficulty: Medium
The game isn’t difficult overall, but the mini-games become difficult too early. Having difficulty levels for the mini-games would have alleviated this problem.

Concept: 6.0
This is a straight port of the book with a few mini-games added in. The implementation is good, though.

Overall: 6.5
This is a basic and simple puzzle game for young children. It is fun, and young children will enjoy it. However, it needs more variety and content, and is priced too high for what it is.