BabyGames README FILE
BabyGames Version 2.1
(C) Copyright 1999. Danny Stoll.
All rights reserved.

Danny Stoll
dstoll@dannystoll.com
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Thank you for your interest in BabyGames.  This file includes information on licensing, BabyGames features, and information on contacting the author Danny Stoll.

Introducing BabyGames
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Baby Games is the perfect computer introduction for children aged 18 months to 4 years.  The program helps young children learn to recognize the alphabet, numbers 1-20, basic geometric shapes, colors, and animals with accompanying sounds.  Baby Games is non-competitive 
and encouraging as well as fun to play and educational. The program makes it fun and easy for the young child to interact with the computer 
while engaged in learning.  The buttons are large for small fingers and the instructions are very clear for young children to understand.  Version 2.1 allows for the creation and installation of Plug-ins which expands the capabilities of BabyGames as new plug-ins become available.

Minimum System Requirements
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Windows 3x; 486 processor ; 4MB of available RAM; 7.5MB available disk space; 
sound card; color display of 256 colors.

License Terms
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BabyGames is distributed as trial software.  This means that it is OK to download and evaluate the program for free, but continued use requires a license.  Your registration and payment means I can continue development and free distribution of the program.  You are allowed 30 minutes of cumulative play or 3 program start-ups (whichever comes first) prior to registration.

Registration entitles you to e-mail support and program upgrades. Single user copies are $15.00.

See http://www.dannystoll.com for additional information and on-line ordering options.

Commercial use of the program (use within a business) absolutelyrequires registration.

Program Features
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The games are designed to foster educational interaction between parents and children.  Parents may want to sit with their child during the first couple of play sessions to explain the buttons and how to use the mouse.  The level of difficulty within the English  plug-in (included with version 2.1) is generally as follows (lowest to highest):
(1) Animals game
(2) Colors game
(3) Shapes game
(4) Numbers game
(5) Alphabet game

Children will most likely master animals, colors, and shapes first and then need more help with numbers and letters.  Future plug-ins will expand the program game options and language choices.

How are the games played?
Each game consists of two exercises.  They are as follows:
(1) Identification exercise:  Each game will open to this exercise by default.  Your child will know that the exercise is active by the verbal cue "Click on one of the squares" and by the color (white) of the middle control button (sound icon).  In this exercise, 
your child can click on any of the squares to hear a verbal identification of the contents (i.e. "This is a tiger.").  This is designed to build your child's base of information for use in the finding exercise.  You can return to the game selection window by clicking on the left control button indicated by the arrow. 
(2) Finding exercise:  The finding exercise can be activated by clicking on the right control button (indicated by a "?").  A verbal cue will indicate "Find ...".  Each correct answer is greeted with an encouraging response.  Each incorrect answer is greeted with a gentle "No.  Try again".  Once all items in a game have been identified, the child is notified and instructed to click on the button to play again. You can return to the game selection window by clicking on the left control button indicated by the arrow.

These games are non-competitive and are intended to be fun and educational.  They will also help your child become familiar with the use of a computer. 

INSTALLATION
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Double click on BabyGame.EXE to run the extraction and setup program.  BabyGames icons will be placed in a progam manager group for easy access.  Win95 users will have a BabyGames folder in the Start Menu.

Please check my web site occasionally for updates. Addtional plug-ins will be added over time.  Licensed users will have access to future version upgrades at no additional cost.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
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THIS SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.

In no event shall the author be held liable for any damages whatsoever,including without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or any other loss arising from the use or inability to use  the software.

HOW TO CONTACT the author, Danny Stoll
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Danny Stoll
WWW Site: http://www.dannystoll.com
email: dstoll@dannystoll.com

Support Requests, Bug Reports, and Requests for Enhancements
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e-mail dstoll@dannystoll.com
