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Hard to find English material, but http://www.mini-muenchen.info/index.php?article_id=34 doesn't look too bad.
The one my kids love the most (the Kohl in Glenview, IL) has a play veterinarian's office, day care center, Safeway supermarket, and a miniature Potbelly Sandwich shop:
Reminds me of The Game of Life game (the Milton Bradley version—not the Conway one). That was one of my wife's favorite games growing up, so we got it as wedding present. When we tried to play it once, I found it even more boring than I expected for a kids' game: The prospect of buying a house, getting insurance, etc. is incredibly mundane when you already have the real-life versions. Our kids aren't quite old enough…
And I agree: there's nothing else in that game that has any use to children today.
The tiny buildings and costumes set the mood, but it's really the people who make this park possible.
Reminds me of The Game of Life game (the Milton Bradley version—not the Conway one). That was one of my wife's favorite games growing up, so we got it as wedding present. When we tried to play it once, I found it even more boring than I expected for a kids' game: The prospect of buying a house, getting insurance, etc. is incredibly mundane when you already have the real-life versions. Our kids aren't quite old enough…
I play it once in a while with the kids, but all they really enjoy doing are the typical game mechanics: spinning the clacky spinner, moving the toy cars, and counting money. And I agree: there's nothing else in that game that has any use to children today.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I play it once in a while with the kids, but all they really enjoy doing are the typical game mechanics: spinning the clacky spinner, moving the toy cars, and counting money. And I agree: there's nothing else in that game that has any use to children today.
Milton Bradley has changed the game over the years, so it plays a little differently now than it did.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=210009
And here's some ancient history:
http://thebiggamehunter.com/games-one-by-one/checkered-game-...
I remember playing an edition that was probably early '80s, and being really struck by the fact that there were three different kinds of points - wealth, fame, happiness - which you often had to trade off against each other, and any of which could net you a victory. I think that was the first time i played a game like that.
I personally think this sort of park is a good thing. Making the real world fun? I'm all for that. I'd imagine it's also a good way to encourage children to figure out what they'd really want to be when they grow up by letting them explore what those jobs are like.
There's certainly a lot of discussion and even some controversy on whether KidZania is a good or bad thing. But one thing is certain: it's insanely fun for kids. Jeffrey Friedl (author of Mastering Regular Expressions ) has some KidZania entries on his blog from a few years ago. http://regex.info/blog/2009-06-28/1245 http://regex.info/blog/category/japan/kidzania