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See, this is what I like. There are countless educational iPhone apps for kids, and even more age-appropriate games. Every now and again, though, a company will release a game that effectively bridge the gap between educational and entertaining, and Scholastic has managed to do that with the three games reviewed here. They all lean more towards gaming than education, but you won’t be able to complete any of them without solving plenty of puzzles.

I Spy Riddle Race

Category: Hidden object games
Seller: Scholastic, Inc.
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 102MB
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Price: $0.99 through January 8th, 2010
Age Rating: 4+

You’ve all played an I Spy game, right? Either with the book series by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick or the video games? If not, you’ve at least played any of the myriad hidden object games out there. I Spy offers that type of gameplay; you’re presented with a cluster of objects scattered about the screen, and you’re told to find particular ones. It’s that simple, but it’s oddly addictive.

I Spy Riddle race gives you 60 riddles scattered across 20 game boards, as well as some decent bonus levels to break up the flow of the game. You might think hunting for objects on the small iPhone screen would difficult, but you can zoom up to 300% for a closer look. I found it easier to just keep the screen zoomed and pan around; at 100%, you can barely make out anything. Gamers can also chose to race against a timer or just find the objects at their own pace in practice mode.

Unfortunately, two things hurt the overall package. In timed mode, the slow narration takes up too much of your search time. Also the narrator’s voice will really grate on your nerves quite quickly. I imagine it may not bother kids, but it’ll push adult players over the edge.

I Spy Spooky Mansion

Category: Hidden object games
Seller: Scholastic, Inc.
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 55.9MB
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Price: $0.99 through January 8th, 2010
Age Rating: 4+

My kids agree with me that I Spy Spooky Mansion is the better of the two iPhone I Spy games. Setting the puzzles in and around a haunted house presents a fun theme and allows from some fairly cool artwork. The puzzle mechanics are basically the same as with I Spy Riddle Race, but you do get fewer levels; only 21 here vs. 60 in Riddle Race. Also, no bonus levels.

None of this mattered to my kids, though, who were drawn to the adventure theme and the “spooky” graphics. You have to complete levels in order to unlock other areas, which provides some incentive to keep going. The puzzles themselves seem simple at first, but there were usually one or two items per puzzle that my kids (and I) couldn’t seem to find without a lot of work. So, we enjoyed the challenge and the thrill of unlocking new areas. If your kids get frustrated easily, however, be prepared to answer numerous requests for assistance.

You’ll finish Spooky Mansion much more quickly than Riddle Race, but 21 puzzles is enough, and you’ll have more fun working through them.

The 39 Clues Madrigal Maze

Category: Puzzle games
Seller: Scholastic, Inc.
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 22.5MB
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Price: $3.99
Age Rating: 9+ (infrequent/mild cartoon or fantasy violence)

Pay no attention to the 9+ rating above; your six-year-old can handle this surprisingly fun game. I guess the game is based on a book series published by Scholastic, which I’ll have to look into as my kids get order. For now, there’s this game, and it was more fun for me than for my kids.

The point is to basically help a fellow through a series of 39 mazes by sliding your finger on the screen in the direction you want him to move. You have a top-down view of the maze, so you can see all the turns and dead ends along with any obstacles in your way. At first, it’s just a matter of finding the right path. Before long, however, you’re also facing gates and their color coded switches, guards, rats, etc. All the while, you’re racing against a timer on each level.

The game ends up feeling a bit like Pac Man, but with a larger emphasis on puzzle solving than on action and reflexes. It’s also not quite as frantic, which is good, because the controls are a bit frustrating; it’s quite easy to overshoot the path you want to take. As the number of obstacles increase, your ability to complete the maze successfully will be largely determined by how good you are at turning left and right.

The game contains a bit of a story with characters who I assume are from the books, but you don’t need to know anything about that to have fun. The mazes are entertaining enough on their own, and the game is well designed with fun graphics and great pacing. When you’re done with Madrigal Maze, you’re done, but you’ll certainly get $4 worth of entertainment out of it before you get there. Also, fans of The 39 Clues should know that if you complete this game you get exclusive access to a Madrigal Encryption Key to unlock from your iPhone or iPod touch. You’ll have to let me know what that’s for.