Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Magic Pockets
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Sim
Release date: Available now
Review by: James Dolbeare

Every once in a while, I come across a game that seems designed for people too young to read the instruction manual, the characters’ dialogue, or my review of it. I don’t claim to be an expert on child development, but I think Imagine Teacher fits squarely into this category. The game is a cute and clever concept from Ubisoft that stands apart in a medium of entertainment dominated by violence. For that, Ubisoft should be commended. If you’re a parent who likes to play the DS with your child, Imagine Teacher provides a great opportunity to do so.

Imagine Teacher throws you into the shoes of a new teacher in a small elementary school. Your classroom starts out with four students, and your mission is to shape these young minds with great skill, prompting the school to send you more students to fill the empty seats. Your eccentric principal offers some loose guidance, but for the most part, you’re on your own.

The gameplay is broken up into a series of mini-challenges designed to test your reaction time and intellect. All of the challenges are timed, and the faster you complete them, the better your score. After completing the initial challenge, you pick a student’s work to evaluate. The grading process itself is another mini-game, gauging your ability to determine which answers are correct as they scroll past.

The substance of the mini-games varies. At the beginning of every class, regardless of the subject, you’re told which students should not be seated next to one another, and you seat them accordingly. After that, you’ll “read” from a book by touching points on the screen and rubbing other points. While you’re reading, the children occasionally disrupt the class, so you have to catch them in the act.