ALF's Thinking Skills was one of the first games I got for my NEC computer back in the early mid-nineties. I mostly bought it because it involved ALF, of course. The graphics aren't very colourful, but they serve the purpose. Is the game educational? I would say so. It seems to be a good start for logical thinking, including AND/OR problems. Couple it with an occasional "funny" comment from ALF, and you have a mildly entertaining educational game.
The game begins, and you are greeted by ALF, who asks the name of his fur-less guest.
After entering your first and last names, you are presented with the front of what is assumed to be the Tanner house. You pres the space bar to ring the door bell, and ALF answers, remembering your name from a few seconds ago. He tells you to meet him in the Garage where he will help you with thinking skills.
In the Garage, you presented with a menu including four games and an option to quit. The games are: Cat Hunt, Colour Sorting, Shape Sorting, and Colours and Shapes.
Cat Hunt was a little disappointing; you don’t actually get to see ALF eat a cat or even see a cat at all. In this game you are presented with a set of
traffic lights. You must make ALF point to the green light, or the “No can do!” sign if all the lights are red. Cross the Street might have been a better name for this game. After you have played through the short game, ALF presents you with a certificate displaying your score and signed by himself (Gordon Shumway). You can even print the certificate! Certificates are available in all games
Colour Sorting (as well as the other two games on the list) lives up to its name better than Cat Hunt. In this game, ALF apparently keeps a collection of coloured shapes on a shelf, and sometimes he like to sort a few of them out into a box. Each problem in this game presents a set of shapes that ALF has sorted into the box. The questions read like this: “These shapes are circles and/or: Green, Red, Yellow.” You must choose the appropriate colour. There is a flaw in the game that makes it incredibly easy. The questions are presented so that the first shape from the left in the box is always both the colour and the shape that qualifies the set. So in the example above, the leftmost shape would be a Yellow Circle, and you would know to choose Yellow as your answer.
Shape Sorting works on the same premise of identifying the qualifying factors of shapes sorted into a box, only this time you must choose both factors, the colour and the shape. A question reads like this: “These shapes are: Circles Squares, Rectangles, Triangles and/or Green, Red Yellow. Like the previous game, this game also has the flaw of the first shape on the left always possessing both qualities
In the final game, Colours and Shapes, you now have the job of sorting shapes into the box. A question reads as: “I need Squares and/or Green Shapes.” You choose appropriate shapes from the shelf to go into the box. This game also suffers from the flaw mentioned above, but it isn’t as detrimental here since it doesn’t give away the entire answer.
The game teach visual logic, as well as colours and shapes (though only in three colors). I will say that this is better than another ALF game that was on the market around the same time which was not an edutainment title. If you want to have some DOS fun (and/or nostalgia) with ALF, download this game.
