Life is like a fruit salad…

…you never know what you’re going to get!  Haha!  Just a little healthy joke there. Anyway, we are cookin’ up some super fab stuff at the Playnormous studio.

It’s big!

It’s amazing!

It’s super fun!

And it’s all new!!

Want to know more?  Well I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait and see. Something new is coming to Playnormous…and it’s HUGE!

It’s hip, it’s cool, it’s in a box!

For the last few months I’ve consistently received requests from our amazing fans–kids, parents, and teachers alike–for Playnormous health games on CD-ROM.  I am proud to announce that the day has finally come for the RELEASE of Playnormous In A Box!  That’s right, you can get all of your favorite Playnormous health games delivered to your doorstep.  For those of you who haven’t thought about the benefits of having a disc of Playnormous games for your very own, here are our top 10 reasons that we think you should order a copy:

1. No Internet required to play. That’s right, whether your Internet is dinosaur slow or you work at a school with strict firewalls, you’ll be able to play our games all day long without the need for a high speed connection.  Hurray!!
2. Read the new Playnormous storybook. Want to find out how the Playnormous world came to be? This is your chance to read our Playnormous digital storybook “Zack and Lil.”  Did they just go up a hill?  You’ll have to get the disc to find out!
3. An amazing icon for your desktop. With the Playnormous CD-ROM, you can download the games right to your very own desktop.  No more clicking around to play your favorite game.  Just double click on our amazing Playnormous Monster icon and you’re ready to play.
4. Full of wacky sound effects. Entertain yourself for hours by clicking around the Playnormous world to hear crazy sound effects.  Make trees fall from the sky with a thump or tickle Chicken Dawg to make him squawk!
5. Track own high scores. You no longer have to type in your high score only to find it doesn’t make the top ten.  Create a high score list all your own and see how you progress.
6. Great game guides. Read and print out our new, colorful game guides for teachers and parents.  They’re full of gameplay hints, cheats, and places to go for more health information.
7. It works for Apple and PC. Can’t decide between Gates and Jobs?  You no longer have to choose or buy two copies of the same software.  The Playnormous CD-ROM works on both Mac and Windows operating systems.
8. Put monsters in your pocket. It’s all about being compact these days, and the Playnormous CD-ROM fits the bill. We’ve made your favorite monsters completely portable from school to home to grandma’s house.  Get a copy so you can take Professor Mad Monster, Lunch Lady, Chompy, Chicken Dawg, and Tiki wherever you travel.
9. It’s affordable. Usually when you purchase something from a software developer you’ll pay an arm and a leg.  Not for the Playnormous CD-ROM!  It’s a great low price of $14.99, perfectly priced for persnickety pocketbooks. Just click on our order form and you’re on your way.
10. It’s cool because it’s in a box. Every little kid knows boxes are fun and amazing.  And this one is super amazing because it was designed by our very talented Playnormous artists.  Don’t miss out on having your very own Playnormous games in a box!

Shopping isn’t aerobic, but it sure is fun!

If our CD-ROM sale is anything like our T-shirt sale, I predict that our first batch of discs is going to go very quickly.  So get your amazing copy of the Playnormous Health Video Games CD-ROM; it’s only available on the Playnormous website store.  Check it out today!

Oh, and even if you don’t have any spare change, check out the store anyway.  The whole left hand column is full of FREE stuff like posters and recipe cards!

Happy birthday baby blog.

With the success of Monster’s Blog, we’ve decided to start an even more targeted blog that’s all about health games.  It’s called, yes, you guessed it, Health Gamers Blog.  Well, maybe you didn’t guess it, but I bet you were close.  I’m very excited about it, and things are just starting to get underway.

Calling all writers (who write about health games).

What is going to make HealthGamers.com unique is that I am looking for co-authors.  People that want to blog about using health games, making health games, researching health games.  If it’s health game-related, I want to hear about it.  You can be a game developer, a researcher, a parent, a teacher…we want to hear health game perspectives from everyone!

Check out our most recent post about Food Pyramid Health Games, written by yours truly, and our first co-author post about an amazing group of moms that are using the Wii to get and stay fit called WiiMommies.  A special thank you to Andre Blackman of Pulse and Signal for being our first Health Gamers co-author.

Shop ’til you drop.

Our Teacher Rewards Program did so well that we had to start up a little store on Cafe Press called the Playnormous Monster Gear Store.  We’re now offering Playnormous products to the public from pet bowls to mommy hoodies.  Here are some of the exciting things you will see at the store:

• Healthy Chef Monster Apron - A medium length apron that will help keep even the messiest monsters clean from kitchen spills and splatters - $15.99
• Playnormous Classic Logo T-shirt - Perfectly priced shirts in all adult sizes - $9.99
• Monster Spider Trucker Hat - A giant monster spider hat to creep out your fellow trucker - $11.99
• Momma’s Little Monster Infant Onesie - Comfy outfit that includes a three-button escape route perfect for your little monster - $10.99
• I Love Monsters Junior Spaghetti Tank - Remember to love all monsters with this tank just for kids and kids-at-heart - $17.99

…and so much more!  Visit our Monster Gear Store today, and feel free to suggest additional products you’d like at the store.  Happy shopping!

Games for all.

I stumbled upon a site today that lists the 50 Best Video Games for Senior Health.  Quite an interesting piece.  Most of the games they listed I expected, but there were a few surprises:

• Brain Games (ex: Brain Age)
• Wii Games (ex: Wii Golf)
• Physical Games (ex: DDR)
• Hand-Eye Coordination (ex: Tetris)
• Flying and Driving (ex: Gran Turismo)
• Online and Community Games (ex: AARP.org Games)
  

  

Surprise!  I didn’t realize that AARP Online Games even existed.  I shouldn’t have been that surprised considering more and more seniors are playing games these days.  There’s even a site called Grandparent Games.  Who knew!?

Now I can’t endorse any of these genres for bettering senior health.  This is especially true when it comes to brain games.  For example, this recent study concluded that Nintendo brain games don’t improve brain function any better than a normal quiz.  Interesting.  However, this is a perfect time to introduce our first senior monster, featured Playnormous monster #9.  He’s hip to be square and another one of my personal favorites.