Dig It! Games Roman Town: A TOS Crew Review

Roman Town by Dig It! Games is an computer game that allows children and adults to oversee  an archaeological dig, manage a team of diggers, and experience the thrill of uncovering ancient objects, all while learning about ancient Roman art, architecture, language, history, and culture.   

This interactive, educational game targets 5th to 8th graders, but will likely be enjoyed by those both younger and older.  The game does require players to be able to read fluently, so younger children, although able to play and learn from the game, will need assistance with the required reading.

 

When artifacts are uncovered, they are identified and their uses explained by animated children dressed in authentic ancient Roman costume.

After a number of items have been uncovered and artifacts defined and described, players engage in an assortment of entertaining and educational games that serve to reinforce what they have learned.
 

At the conclusion of a level, players visit the Roman Town Lab to further explore their findings,  and learn even more about Roman history and Roman culture.
 

Each level concludes with a report.  Players fill in the blanks with Roman vocabulary to demonstrate mastery of the information in that level.  There are six levels of fun and learning in Roman Town.  The game allows individual accounts to be set up for each player in the family, a definite plus!

My boys both thoroughly enjoyed their Roman Town experience.  Ryan (age 9) learned a great deal about ancient Rome, its people and its culture, by playing the game and reading the information provided after each artifact was uncovered.  He quickly progressed through the six levels of the game, and then started again to explore and learn even more.  Connor (age 7) found the reading required by this program extremely challenging, but still enjoyed digging for artifacts and playing the games that required less reading, such as the puzzle completion games.  He did not want me or his brother to sit and read the information presented to him, and so his overall experience was not nearly as rich as his brother’s.

Even so,  I found  Dig It! Games’ Roman Town to be an incredible mix of fun and learning!  I would like to see a voice module added to the game in future editions, but otherwise, it is a great program as is.  A voice  module (to read the information presented) would have made Connor’s experience with the game more educational and less game-playing, and would have likely enhanced Ryan’s experience as even he had difficulty with pronunciations for some of the Roman vocabulary terms, but most fifth through eighth graders, the program’s intended target group, would have no problem reading the information presented.  It’s just this game is so much fun that I’d love to see it more accessible for younger children!