Discovery Games for Kids

"The Big Bug Blast"

• "Grossology" brother-and-sister crime-fighting team Ty and Abby blast as many bugs as possible in this Discovery Kids game. After choosing to play as Ty or Abby, kids press the "Up" and "Down" arrow keys to move and the space bar to fire the "Goopshooter" weapon. Players lose energy from their "Shield" meter upon coming into contact with enemies. When the "Shield" meter drops to zero, players lose one "Shied," or life. Players advance to the next level after blasting the required number of bugs. The game ends when players lose all three lives.

  "The Big Bug Blast"

  kids.discovery.com/fansites/grossology/games/game.html

"Chomp and the Temple of Puzzles"

• Chomping their way through an ancient temple of puzzles, kids try uncovering hidden mysteries in this Discovery Kids game. Players must pass through five secret passageways, each with its own set of goals and rules. To refresh their understanding of the rules at any time during a level, players click the question mark appearing at the top of the screen.

  "Chomp and the Temple of Puzzles"

  kids.discovery.com/games/chomp/chomp.html

"The Great Bug Off"

• Discovery insects fans try making their way back to their hole as quickly as possible in "The Great Bug Off." Kids choose a bug from among the "Basic beetle," "Rhino beetle," "Caterpillar" and "Water bug." Each bug has its own strengths and weaknesses in terms of walking on dirt, grass, pebbles, rock, sand, stone and water. To move their bug through the map, players press the directional arrow keys.

  "The Great Bug Off"

  kids.discovery.com/games/bugoff/bugoff.html

"Mummy Maker"

• In this Discovery Kids interactive game focusing on Ancient Egyptian mummification, players assist in preparing an officer's body for his funeral. If players need help during the embalming process, they click the cat that appears at the bottom right of the screen. If players make less than three errors, the officer's soul reunites with his body; if players make three errors, the game ends and the soul will not have a home.

  "Mummy Maker"

  kids.discovery.com/fansites/tutenstein/mummymaker/mummymaker.html

Nintendo DS Games

• Kids raise various animals and insects in 505 Games' series of Discovery Kids games for the Nintendo DS console. Geared toward kids aged 6 to 12, titles include "Kitten Corner," "Parrot Pals," "Pony Paradise," Puppy Playtime" and "Spider Quest." With their virtual pets, players perform the following functions: choose a breed or type; care for, feed, name, train and play games with their pets; buy accessories and toys; and explore global environments.

"Real Toons Challenge"

• "Shark Smarts" and "Mummy Mania" questions comprise this "Tic-Tac-Toe"-format Discovery Kids game. Players click a square and then select Kenny the Shark or Tutenstein, who provide them with questions from their respective categories. If players answer correctly, they earn that category symbol on the selected square. If players answer incorrectly, the opposing category blocks the square. Players must match three like symbols in a row to advance to the next round; a match of three symbols in three tries gives players the opportunity to play in the "Speed Round," in which players try answering as many questions as possible in 10 seconds.

  "Real Toons Challenge"

  kids.discovery.com/games/challenge/challenge.html

"Wild Wild Match"

• Kids test their knowledge of animal social units in this Discovery Kids game, matching pictures of group terms with pictures of animals. For instance, kids match a picture of a barrel with a picture of monkeys to represent the phrase "a barrel of monkeys." The game includes three levels of difficulty, with two levels having no time limit and letting players view the words on the pictures. The hardest level omits all words from the pictures and imposes a time limit.

  "Wild Wild Match Game"

  kids.discovery.com/games/wildwildmatch/wildwildmatch.html