Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon Download (1993 Educational Game)

Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon is one of the earlier Humongous Entertainment games featuring the talking car, but it still holds up when compared to the company's later games. In this one, Putt-Putt is accidentally sent to the moon and he must find his way back with the help of Rover, a moon rover which was left behind by some astronauts.

The music is upbeat and bouncy, and the animations are fun. One of the Humongous hallmarks is their use of hot spots, and this game is no different. Every screen features multiple places to click, and typically two or three different animations are available for the computer to randomly play. They range from the sublime to the silly, and they're sure to delight parents as well as kids. The only nitpick I have with them is the fact that the borders around them is not always clear, so sometimes you think you're clicking on Putt-Putt or another character when you're really clicking on a hotspot, or vice versa.

This game is supposed to be geared toward 3-to-8-year-olds, but the reality is that really young children won't be able to do much more than click around and watch the pretty pictures. Only older kids will be able to solve the puzzles and understand what to do next in the game. The tasks aren't terribly difficult, but they do require more than wandering around and stumbling across the correct items to build the rocket for the trip home. For example, the first time you meet Governor Moonbeam, he says he'll give you one of his keys if you do a good deed. You need the key to start the rocket, but first you have to figure out what the good deed is.

It's not always entirely clear what to do, however. In Firebird's lab in the beginning, you get to out together rockets full of fireworks and test them, but it's not obvious that the circles below the word "Test" are actually buttons used to test the rockets (they look too big, and they're not in neat rows). It's also difficult sometimes to get the cursor to change into an arrow along the edge of the screen so that you can move to the next area. They should have made the target as large as possible so that all you have to do is place the cursor anywhere along the edge and it changes. But that's minor.

There are also a couple hidden fun games such as Bear Stormin' -- fly a biplane in a bear and pop balloons and fly through barns -- for kids to play as they explore the moon. Overall, this game is really well done and is a worthwhile purchase which will keep the kids busy for hours.

Graphics: A little choppy in places, but overall they're pretty good.

Sound: Well done. Nice music and sound effects.

Enjoyment: Should be fun for older kids, but could prove frustrating for younger ones.

Replay Value: Should take kids a while to figure everything out.

When Putt-Putt visits the fireworks factory, a slip of Pep's paw sends him rocketing to the moon. Once there, he must gather the pieces of a rocket ship to get himself and Pep back home to Earth.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

People who downloaded Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon have also downloaded:
Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, Putt-Putt Travels Through Time, Putt-Putt Enters the Race, Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, Putt-Putt Joins the Parade, Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside, Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell, Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse