Giant Joy Stick Get Kids Moving
Designed to get kids moving and learning, the Zippity is an educational video game system that preschool-age children play by stepping, dancing, and jumping, and moving their arms. The system consists of a main unit, which the child uses to control the onscreen game, and a console that plugs into any television with a standard video/audio input. Both the main unit and the console require four "C" batteries each, as well as a Phillips screwdriver to install them.

The main unit, which requires minimal assembly, is essentially an oversized joy stick--so instead of sitting sedately with a game controller in hand, kids play the Zippity game with their whole body and get plenty of gross motor coordination practice. It consists of a large activity mat with different colored sections, and the "bopper," which is a joystick-like pole that requires big arm movements for moving backward, forward, and side to side.

Giant Joy Stick Get Kids Moving
Designed to get kids moving and learning, the Zippity is an educational video game system that preschool-age children play by stepping, dancing, and jumping, and moving their arms. The system consists of a main unit, which the child uses to control the onscreen game, and a console that plugs into any television with a standard video/audio input. Both the main unit and the console require four "C" batteries each, as well as a Phillips screwdriver to install them.

The main unit, which requires minimal assembly, is essentially an oversized joy stick--so instead of sitting sedately with a game controller in hand, kids play the Zippity game with their whole body and get plenty of gross motor coordination practice. It consists of a large activity mat with different colored sections, and the "bopper," which is a joystick-like pole that requires big arm movements for moving backward, forward, and side to side.

Different Learning Levels Customize to Child's Ability
Each game features two levels of difficulty, and at each level the game calibrates itself to the child's level of advancement, so the games can grow with your child. We found that our three-year-old toy tester is just old enough to start using this toy. She required an adult to reinforce the directions given by the game--more practice would make the process easier, and older children would also be able to catch on more quickly.

Be warned: although the picture on the box shows a child energetically leaping on the interactive mat, the pace of the games is much slower, especially at Level 1. But the slower pace and the level of challenge doesn't make them any less enjoyable. Although our toy tester found the games challenging, she had a lot of fun trying-- and she would only get better with practice. And once the included games are mastered, other game cartridges are available for separate purchase.

What's in the Box
Zippity main unit with "bopper" and interactive mat; console with attached AV cable