Download Mixed-Up Mother Goose VGA

Mixed-Up Mother Goose - Enhanced is an upgraded version of Mixed-Up Mother Goose (1987), created in 1991 by Sierra On-Line, Inc. The game revolves around solving mixed-up nursery rhymes, none of which are very difficult for an adult -- but for children, this game's target market, it's a fun and enjoyable adventure. Of course, this doesn't stop an adult turning it on and having a bit of fun; just don’t expect this game to take more than half an hour to solve. The only thing a child may have trouble with is that some items are inside buildings, not all of which have an obvious entrance. Unlike in other Sierra adventures, saving the game is not required, as every time you solve a rhyme, the game autosaves for the player.

The beginning of the game allows you to choose your player’s avatar, which is a nice touch. After that, you see the player character getting ready for bed. Clicking on objects in the room causes some cool little animations to play out. Clicking on the book on the shelf starts the game.

The gameplay is simple, and due to the fact that this is a children’s game, the controls are also simple - in fact, the only control needed is from the mouse. Clicking on the screen moves your character to where you clicked, and clicking on a character will let you talk to them; otherwise you can click on the mouth icon on the bottom of the screen to talk to people on the screen. If there is no one on the screen, clicking the mouth icon causes your character to talk out loud.

Down on the bottom of the screen, besides the mouth icon, are three more areas to pay attention to: The first area on the left side of the screen is a group of indents, and every time you complete a mixed-up nursery rhyme, one of the indents fills up with a golden ball. The second is a blue square, and when you pick up an item or a person who wants to follow you, an image fills this square. The last button before the mouth icon is the map button, and pressing this brings up the map. It's simple, really. On the map, any unsolved rhyme will be shown as a gold dot; once solved, the dot becomes a portrait of the people in the rhyme. On the right of the screen are three more areas of importance: two sliders, one for controlling the volume of the game, the other the speed. The top button is a Stop button - pressing it allows you to quit the game.

The graphics for this game are not the best that Sierra has ever produced. The backgrounds are very nice and detailed, and they make it easy to understand where the objects are that can be picked up. However, the characters are not as well drawn as usual, although their animations are very well done. Solving some of the rhymes leads the characters to perform some very amusing antics.

The sound for this game is great: The music fits perfectly with the game's style and adds a nice mood. While there is no talking in the game, solving a rhyme leads to its being sung to the player. These are well done, and are in different voices appropriate for each character.

Overall, I find this game to be mildly enjoyable, although I'm not the target audience; for a child this game would be a lot funnier and take a lot longer. If you have children or just want to feel like one again, grab this game and give it a go.