Having once attended a weekend course in digger driving -my then editor's idea of a joke, I think - I can vouch for the fact that operating earth-moving equipment is both challenging and enjoyable. Playing with Dig'n Rigs, a toy-plus-programme Playset (Hasbro Interactive & Tonka, 29.99), may not be quite as exciting, but it does give a flavour of what working life is like in a truck driver's cab. Introduced by Tonka Joe, a construction worker, the programme puts you behind the wheel of four different vehicles: a bulldozer, a front loader, a crane (with wrecking ball) and an excavator. You operate your chosen 'rig' via a special plastic dashboard (the Tonka component) that you strap on to the computer keyboard. The monitor becomes your windscreen, with dials, CB radio and grimy coffee mug in the foreground. The open road or work site is visible in front. On the toy dash, there's a steering wheel, a gear lever, an ignition key and, last but not least, a horn with a lid that blows open when you pull on the handle.
Having once attended a weekend course in digger driving - my then editor's idea of a joke, I think - I can vouch for the fact that operating earth-moving equipment is both challenging and enjoyable. Playing with Dig'n Rigs, a toy-plus-programme Playset (Hasbro Interactive & Tonka, 29.99), may not be quite as exciting, but it does give a flavour of what working life is like in a truck driver's cab.
Introduced by Tonka Joe, a construction worker, the programme puts you behind the wheel of four different vehicles: a bulldozer, a front loader, a crane (with wrecking ball) and an excavator. You operate your chosen 'rig' via a special plastic dashboard (the Tonka component) that you strap on to the computer keyboard. The monitor becomes your windscreen, with dials, CB radio and grimy coffee mug in the foreground. The open road or work site is visible in front. On the toy dash, there's a steering wheel, a gear lever, an ignition key and, last but not least, a horn with a lid that blows open when you pull on the handle.
You can 'drive' your rig to one of four sites, including a zoo and airport, then make it do such things as dig a polar bear pool, load plane cargo or wreck old buildings. If you want instructions from TJ, you click on the radio. You can also access other sites which offernon-driving activities, such as splatting coloured paint on to the side of a van.
As well as being good fun, the programme does have educational value. For instance, it helps teach the difference between right and left, and trains children to follow instructions.
The advertised age group is three years and upwards, although the average three-year-old would find some of the activities a bit difficult.
