I consider myself an avid gamer, or at least I was. I may not own an Xbox 36o or a Playstation 3. However, I am a Nintendo “fanboy” and have had every Nintendo console made. Yes, I love the Mario and Megaman, but lately, my DSi has been having me grasp a new game that is not in either of these titles. ScribbleNauts is the best DSi puzzle-based game that makes you think outside the box, or Gamecube for that matter.

You play as Maxwell, a scribbleNaut. Whats Maxwell’s task as a Scribblenaut? He needs to collect as many starites as he can. He does this by going through levels. There are two types of levels, puzzle levels and action levels. Puzzle levels are problems that you would find in our everyday lives (such as having to climb a ladder) where the Starite is awarded once you hsave climbed the ladder. Action levels are more for the gamers who like the 2D side-scrolling games (like Mario and Sonic) You have to make your way across the landscape facing things like sharks, tornadoes and spikes. With over 15,000 different items at your disposal, you will have no problem finding the right tools to solve the hardest of puzzles.  Another cool thing about this game is that it does not recognize profanity, so it makes it great for all age levels.

The game takes you through a total of ten different stage each stage has 22 levels in it (eleven puzzles and eleven action). You start with the beginner stuff that, for the most part, teaches you the game. From there you can pick and choose where you want to go, you can unlock more stages when you earn your Starites.  After each game you get rated on number of objects you had to use to complete the puzzle, your style points (if you use something creative), and the amount of time it took. Then you get Merit awards for things like not using weapons, using a new item, and making the people in the puzzle happen. All the points are stored.

ScribbleNauts is a mind game that has so much replay value than most puzzle games as there are always multiple ways to solve puzzles. The easy-to-use for this game makes it extremely easy to pick up and learn. Again, this game is great for kids in elementary school to full grown adults.  Yes this game makes you think outside the box, and yes you will get frustrated at times. The key is to always have an open mind, the mind of a ScribbleNaut. Though I have not beating this game, I can tell you know that I will eventually and will most likely go back and play it again and again. If you get the chance, pick up this game and learn how fun and easy it is to let this game scribble it’s way into your heart.