Jump Start 3D World: A Review

Ages ago now Jumpstart by Knowledge Adventure contacted me about doing a review for their 3D World for kids. I agreed to do it, but since I was still finishing up my experience on the TOS Crew, I knew it would need to wait.

A screen shot of a winter neighborhood.

 I am ready to tell the world about our experience with JumpStart! They've been playing it on and off for about 6 months. Designed for ages 3-12, jumpstart.com is a virtual world where kids can explore lost islands, play games and train dragons.

• My 5yo loves the scavenger hunts which are knew every month.
• They all love the way the world has changes along with the seasons- they can find surprises like decorations and special things to do.
• My 10yo enjoys changing her avatar to her liking.
• It's pretty easily navigated and the kids can easily explore- unlike some of the other "worlds" we tested out.

When you become a member, you have complete access to jumpstart.com as well as some downloadable games. There are three payment options for the membership. You can be billed monthly for $7.99, yearly for $64.99 (currently), or you can have a lifetime membership for $109.99 which is the current sale price.

The site is designed so that kids cannot share any personal information which makes is a safe way to interact with the things and activities in the virtual world.

My thoughts?

I think it's a great site. I did not give my kids any directions with it just to play around and see what they enjoyed the most. Although there are some learning experiences in the world, I would not say they are the primary focus so my kids did a lot of just playing. According to my kids, the learning activities are there, but they only offer a marginal number of points to your overall play so they aren't "worth" doing- spoken like clever homeschoolers... If you are looking for a safe place online for your children to play, then give it try! Seeing as we've had this complimentary membership (for reviewing purposes) for 6 months or more, I can say that the excitement has fallen away. At first, it was their first choice for screen time and now it isn't so much. The only one of my kids who still plays now and then is my 5yo.

Keep in mind that my kids get 30 min of free screen time a day so if they had more, they might choose Jumpstart more often.