Hello, everyone. In this Filler, most of you know about about the Preschool to 12th Grade Popular Education Software being the JumpStart Series. So I plan to talk about its core games from Preschool to 6th Grade. This way, you can understand how well the JumpStart Games did and why they were successful back then.
One thing to keep in mind is that using an early Virtual Machine build that can run Windows NT Operating Systems such 2000 or XP to ME (ME 2nd Edition) may work as running them on Newer Computers won't work
To make things easier, I will be talking about the JumpStart Grade Products in this Filler... = JumpStart Grade School Library Preschool Pre-K Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade
That being said, lets dive into the JumpStart Grade Software themselves!
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 4:01 pm
JumpStart Preschool Classic 1995 & Updated 1999
JumpStart Preschool is where it all begins but not Chronologically as it first came out in 1996, 2 years after JumpStart Kindergarten being Knowledge Adventure's Final DOS Game before turning their attention to Windows.
This makes the introduction of animal pals Eleanor Elephant, Casey Cast, Pierre Polar Bear & Kisha Koloa while covering the basics such as 123s & ABCs along with Shapes and Colors.
Its at this point you would understand if its not a JumpStart Game that you remember or not. As there's good reason behind it, Because Starting with JumpStart Preschool 99 when JumpStart started to gain a fan following in 1997, Knowledge Adventure went back to their old games and revised them as Updated Versions with new QOL Improvements while the Older Games became the Classic Versions along with new character looks. So I guess that's how it all started between the Classic & Updated Versions of JumpStart
JumpStart Pre-K may seem like a sequel to JumpStart Preschool Classics with the same cast of colorful characters in 1996 being Eleanor Elephant, Casey Cast, Pierre Polar Bear & Kisha Koloa but set in a Pre-K Town that's colorful and fun for Pre-Kindergarteners sort of like a guided tour of careers from the Bakery, Airport, Construction Site, Cafe, Carnival, Tailor & Toy Shop just to name a few.
Its also the First JumpStart Game to have a Reward System where earning enough Golden Stars (in this case 4), gets you item that you can use to build a playground park. However as much as it stayed in its Classic Primal State, it didn't receive an updated version.
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 6:52 pm
JumpStart Kindergarten 1994 & 1998
JumpStart Kindergarten was Knowledge Adventure's first entry into the JumpStart Series when it arrived for DOS & Windows PCs in 1994. This is where things got better for the JumpStart Series as it not only introduced Mr. Hopsalot the Rabbit but it also acted as Knowledge Adventure's Last DOS Game while giving a Windows Port at the same time.
JumpStart Kindergarten was updated in 1998 as it gave Mr. Hopsalot and his Kindergarten World a new look along with the Stardust KA Guy logo which still haunts me to this day as if the Apogee Fanfare wasn't enough to send cold shivers down my spine. Other than that, the game did have an expanded room where you can go from one side of the classroom to the other by moving left or right then clicking afterwards. What's special about this game is that new characters were added that would be seen in the JumpStart series like the mouse brothers, Jack & Roqufort. The game also gives a golden star as part of a rewards tutorial where earning 4 gives you a trip to take a picture of a baby animal for your scrapbook which is a nice touch that the game did.
JumpStart 1st First Grade was one of four Jumpstart games I played growing up as it introduced us to one of the silliest JumpStart Mascots which would become another mainstay being Frankie the Dog when it arrived in 1995. Given its fun rewards system as solving 1st Grade skills would points and 100 Points would earn a player a Milk Bottle Cap as the goal of the game was to collect all the Pogs as that would take a lot of time to do so.
Its updated version in 2000, gave the game not only a makeover, but a playful children's pirate themed adventure called Frankie's Treasure Hunt where solving 1st Grade Problems earned clues to a Pirate Treasure and finding the Pirate Treasure earned gold coins. The Goal of the Game is to collect 1,000 Golden Coins to become a High Seas Admiral in search of Pirate Treasure.
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 7:17 pm
JumpStart 2nd Grade 1996
JumpStart 2nd Grade was the second of four Jumpstart games I played growing up as it introduced us to the Adventure Loving Frog CJ and his firefly sidekick Edison along with Mr. Brewster the bird (who's voice reminds me of Dr. Brown from Back to the Future for some reason). In this game, players would learn 2nd Grade Subjects as they enter the Secret Clubhouse where there's 2 ways to play being Stamp & Adevnture Mode where the player can earn 100 points for an animated postage stamp. So the player would be collecting postage stamps and using stamps is required to play the adventure mode, so its best to collect at least 5 stamps before doing so.
When the player completes an adventure challenge, they get a postcard from the state challenge that they completed. There's 2 goals in this game as the first is to complete all 50 State Challenges and collect all of the postage stamps for their stamp collection.
However, since JumpStart 2nd Grade would not receive an updated version, it wouldn't be until the JumpStart Advanced Series that this game would shine.
JumpStart 3rd Grade was the third of four Jumpstart games I played growing up as it was more of a Sci-Fi Adventure Themed Game with 3rd Grade Subjects. Its also my personal favorite of the JumpStart Games as it's known by its other name which is "Mystery Mountain". JumpStart 3rd Grade stayed the longest with updated versions happening in 1997, 2001 & 2003. The story follows the player befriending a robot who would become another JumpStart Mascot known as Botley as the World has been turned upside down thanks to a bratty genius named Polly Sparks, daughter of Professor Sparks, who happens to be World Class Inventor by Heart & Nature.
Dr. Sparks completed his fantastic invention of all, a Time Machine, where he can use it to witness the birth of any discovery you can think of. However, Polly flunked on her School Quiz with her own silly answers just to get a laugh but instead of flunking out, she sent 25 reprogramed robots back in time to alter history and match her silly answers.
The Player's job is to sneak into the Mystery Mountain Mansion and play 3rd Grade Subjects to win Clues & Points to save history and the world. However, this was a tough game with tough breaks as next to the Back or Exit Button was a Energy Indicator Light which shows how much energy was left to play the games and when it flashes red, the player would need to solve math problems in the Generator Room. (For Some Reason, the Subtraction Problems did not register even though I answered them right). The ultimate goal of the game is capture 25 Robots, return them to the present and save the world.
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 7:52 pm
JumpStart 4th Grade 1996 & 2000
JumpStart 4th Grade had two versions, with the first being in 1996, originally known as "Haunted Island" which became infamous for a number of reason. While the goal was to rescue 13 lost friends and turn them back into humans who have turned into monsters by a wicked witch. However, despite its 4th Grade Subjects, it was the first to fail emotionally. The reason being its Survival Horror Nature causing children to scared to death due to its dark and spooky setting which caused a number of nightmares as it was deemed unsuitable which rasied a lot of concerns for protective parents and too intense. Needless to say, it was retired after 2 years.
In 1999, JumpStart 4th Grade was restarted from the ground up after Haunted Isalnd faced Forced Retirement due to safety and health concerns. Instead of an Updated Version of Haunted Island, it was replaced with a Scooby Doo-esque style game as JumpStart 4th Grade 2000 which was known as "Sapphire Falls" where the goal of the game is to help TJ Adams and Sally Chu solve a mystery in Sapphire Mines where a Bigfoot Monster is scaring away everyone and has stolen a map to a Lost Treasure in Gemstones that's said to only be a legend.
JumpStart 5th Grade, having a Freelance Detective tone pulled over in 1997, 1998 & 2003. Known as "Jo Hammet, Kid Detective", this game takes a retro detective novel approach where it mixes logic and reasoning as players help a Tomboy Girl named Jo Hammet solve a series of mysteries that will lead her to the wicked Dr. X as he plans to destroy Hooverville. Players would begin in the Museum to search for clues in solving a Crossword Puzzle before getting on their way to answer 5th Grade Subject Questions.
The game can get challenging early or later if the player doesn't know what to do.
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 8:18 pm
JumpStart 6th Grade 1998 JumpStart 6th Grade, was the last Jumpstart game I played as a kid. Known as "Mission EarthQuest" in 1998, this game's 6th Grade Subject almost felt like an early college entry in a way. The story was pretty epic, where an advanced AI known as A.R.T has taken over a space shuttle, turned it into his own space fortress and sent down an army of robots to reformat the earth while killing all life in the ecosystem slowly and its up to Jessica & Zack to stop A.R.T's plans for Eco-Conquest. The Story of the game sounds like something from a Captain Planet Cartoon.
First, the player would need to select one of 6 areas on the world map to travel to and pick a teammate to launch an Eco Pod which will put the Player into Hyperspace Warp where the player must find the right words that have in common to collect letters then unscramble them then your Eco Pod will transform into one of several different forms depending on where you end up to solve 6th Grade Problems to collect 4 different pod gadgets and when all 4 are collected, you can capture the Eco Drone Villain. Once all 6 Robots are captured, you'll win the game. But be careful as your Pod Modules have a health gauge.
*Outro* It would take forever to mention the Other Titles in the JumpStart Series as Knowledge Adventure lasted from 1994 to 2023, so I'm not going to mention all of them as there's a few worth noting.... Namely 2 Side Series, the first being the JumpStart Subject Series being the Reading & Math series for Kindergarten, 1st Grade & Second Grade. While the second is the JumpStart Learning Tools being Spanish & Typing.
Anyway, I think it would be best for me finish talking about the JumpStart series here, at least for now. As it would take too long to talk about later JumpStart Games that followed after 6th Grade.
