LeapFrog Didj Custom Gaming System

Didj is billed as an educational hand-held gaming unit designed for kids to have fun and learn at the same time. The customizable system allows parents to specify skills sets to reinforce during game play and kids to earn new characters and special moves.

Pros

• Looks like other popular hand-held gaming systems
• Clean, crisp display
• Parents can customize skills based on current school work

Cons

• Free game must be downloaded before playing
• Games are more entertainment than education
• Computer synching is unstable and unreliable

Graduating from Leapster to Didj

Didj is LeapFrog’s next step for those outgrowing their Leapsters. Snazzier graphics and more sophisticated games will appeal to an older crowd. Didj also loses the touch screen and reverts to more traditional handheld game play. For even more fun, kids can earn points and use them to customize their games.

One complaint I have about the Didj games I have seen so far is that they are light on the educational value in comparison to Leapster titles. Skill drills seem to be scattered throughout the game, but are sporadic at best. I tested only a couple of software titles, so it’s possible that other titles are more educationally robust.

The LeapFrog Learning Path is designed to help parents stay engaged with the learning that’s taking place as children use LeapFrog products. Connect the Didj to your computer with the included USB cable and you’ll be able track what your kids are learning and how well they are completing certain tasks. The multiple portfolios on the Didj mean that several children can share the same device while keeping the learning data separate.

One of the highlights of the Didj Gaming System is the ability to customize which skills kids will be working on. For example, if they are studying multiplying by 3 and 4, parents can tell the Didj to focus on those skills. The Didj can also be loaded with customized spelling lists. This helps keep game play relevant, educational and challenging as kids grow and learn.

Although LeapFrog Connect and the Learning Path represent exciting new ways of engaging parents in their kids’ playtime activities, they are not without their flaws. LeapFrog Connect for the Didj often freezes while synching information and it’s not always clear what has been saved and what has not. The process of associating the Didj Profiles with the child’s online “Footprint” on the Learning Path is also a bit confusing. It is easy to create multiple Footprints for a child without meaning to do so. Even so, these are merely annoyances that hopefully will disappear over time.

The one big thing missing from the Didj Custom Gaming System is a rechargeable battery pack. Perhaps it is an issue of cost, but in this day and age there is really no excuse for not using rechargeable batteries, especially for devices that connect to a computer.

I would also like to see the “included” game preloaded onto the game system. It is frustrating to not be able to use the Didj right out of the box, especially if you aren’t near a computer with Internet access.

The Didj is an ideal choice for parents who want a next step from Leapster, but aren’t ready for a purely entertainment-based game system. Kids will enjoy the available game titles, which include popular characters from Star Wars, Wall-E, SpongeBob SquarePants and Nancy Drew. Rechargeable batteries, stable synching software and slightly more educational software choices would make it perfect. I recommend it anyway. It’s still a lot of fun!

Manufacturer Specs

The LeapFrog Didj Custom Gaming System is recommended for ages 6-10. It works with Windows and PC machines and requires 4 AA batteries (not included).