Welcome back to the Game Based Learning Review! In this week's episode, we take a nostalgic trip back to the 90s to play the iconic educational title, Logical Journey of the Zoombinis. Before diving into the logic puzzles, we get into weekend marathon training, a Goggins-based mix-up, and the absolute peak era of 90s physical media (shoutout to the legendary zip drive). Then we create our custom squad of blue heroes and tackle classic challenges like the Allergic Cliffs, the Stone Guards, and the infamous Pizza Pass troll. Along the way, we lose a few Zoombinis and discuss how the punishing (yet rewarding) mechanics of Zoombinis compare to modern, streamlined classroom game design. 

Episode Outline:

• [0:00 - 6:22] Stream kicks off with banter about marathon training, a Goggins mix-up, and nostalgia for 90s media storage like zip drives.
• [6:23 - 13:18] Brandon and Dan introduce the classic educational game of the day and start crafting their bespoke squad of Zoombinis, discussing character attributes and 90s fashion trends.
• [13:19 - 19:30] The logic challenges begin at the Allergic Cliffs, where the hosts must deduce which bridge paths are safe based on their Zoombinis' physical traits.
• [19:31 - 27:24] The crew encounters the Stone Guards, navigating a tricky whitelist puzzle to figure out exactly which features will grant them access to the caves.
• [27:25 - 38:55] It's pizza time! The hosts face the notoriously picky Pizza Troll, resulting in a few Zoombini casualties, a retreat to Shelter Rock, and a deep dive into retro versus modern educational game design.
• [38:56 - 53:35] Armed with a new cohort, the hosts run through a second iteration of the Cliffs, Guards, and Pizza puzzles, debating the merits of A/B testing versus creative vision in game development.
• [53:36 - 1:05:35] Taking the south path into the deep dark forest, the guys tackle the Fleens puzzle, perfectly deducing the corresponding trait sets between the tree-dwelling Fleens and their Zoombinis.
• [1:05:36 - 1:07:00] Outro and wrap-up. The hosts reflect on their success and announce the schedule for the next stream following the Labor Day holiday.

Links:

• Logical Journey of the Zoombinis: The classic 90s puzzle game being played during the stream, designed to teach logic, data sets, and deduction skills.
• TERC: The nonprofit educational research lab responsible for co-creating the original game in the 90s.
• MIT Education Arcade: Mentioned as the current professional home of Scott Osterweil, one of the co-creators of the game.