IBM Brings you Crayola Magic 3D Colouring Book

Crayola is one of those brands that everyone remembers from their childhood. It's sure to be familiar to parents or teachers of young children, if only because it's the name on crayons that seem to be very tempting to little mouths. The 3D Colouring Book is only the first in a range of Crayola titles, so Iona Software clearly hopes that having the crayon giant on board will make this disc fly off the shelves.

As its name suggests, the Colouring Book is an electronic drawing pad.

It comes with a virtual boxful of crayons - Crayola, naturally enough - as well as lots of outlines to colour in. Actually, there are seven books for you to colour with themes ranging from flying machines to teddy bears. They're easy enough to use, and the main interface comprises a big crayon and a little crayon, lots of colours, and a paintpot that will fill any shape.

If plain colours are too boring, then the other side of the drawing pad has a selection of textures that can be used instead and there's a glitter tool to add sparkle to your drawings. A switch confines you to the supplied outlines or lets you draw outside the lines, and of course any mistakes can be erased instantly without leaving little bits of rubber all over the carpet.

The package is aimed at three-year-olds and above, so it's a good thing the 3D Colouring Book is easy to use. The only problem is that it's really not that much fun. Voices tell you what colour of crayon you've picked, but there aren't many other sounds. The outlines are a bit limiting - the Disney Cartoon Studio we reviewed in October has a much better selection of artwork, better drawing tools and a bigger brand name to boot.

Moreover, Broderbund's Orly Draw A Story, reviewed in May, is at least as capable a colouring book as this. It also includes music and stories - and makes your child's drawings part of the stories as they're told.

At least your kids can't rip the labels off these crayons or grind them into the carpet. The 3D Colouring Book is reasonably priced, but other discs are more fun.

#19.95 (inc VAT)Iona Software: 0181 296 9454

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IBM Brings you Crayola Magic 3D Colouring Book

Minimum requirements: Windows 3.1, 486DX2-66 (Pentium recommended), 8Mb of RAM (16Mb recommended), 10Mb of hard disk space, 2x CD-ROM drive.

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