Developed by Toybox Games and Alawar Games, “Nanny Mania” is a game I’ve been itching to play. Having been a nanny for three years myself, I wondered just how true to life this game would wind up being. It is a medium sized download, but on my high-speed connection it only took a couple minutes from the beginning of the download to the installation being complete.

You begin the game greeted by lively music, clear graphics, and easy to navigate menu screens. Beginning play with all the audio and video options set to their defaults, cheery background music brings you to the opening screen, which explains the background of the game’s story. You’ve been hired as the nanny for the newly elected mayor, his wife, and their darling baby.

Your tasks begin on day one, week one. Lucky you, because you have two days off per week. Each day has goals based on time; a perfect time is set and a crucial time, as well. To obtain a perfect score, complete all tasks presented to you before the first time goal is shown. If you’re not fast enough to get a “perfect” score, don’t worry because the “crucial” time is ample time to complete any tasks you’ve not finished yet.

The mayor, as you will see through the weeks, is a golf fan, his wife enjoys long baths and playing with the baby, and the baby loves it’s bottles. Your tasks for each day include picking up the mail, answering emails, straightening bookshelves, laundry and bed making. You’re also expected to feed the baby and prepare a meal, wash dishes and when the mayor comes home from his golf games, he’s tracked in muddy footprints so make sure you clean those, too. Lastly in these early stages, you’ll be expected to clean fish tanks and straighten the couch cushions.

Sounds like a lot, I know, but these sorts of duties are par for the course in the daily life of a nanny, as I can tell you from experience.

The levels progress swiftly, so use the first couple days to set up a kind of routine. Each duty needing your attention is highlighted in a thick yellow band, so it’s best to keep a watch over the house for these to appear. One tip I’ll give those of you who want to play “Nanny Mania” is to pick up all the laundry first thing. You can do all the laundry in one load (the mayor must have a jumbo-sized washer and dryer) and since the laundry takes the most time, you’ll really want to catch it all in the very beginning.

The mayor and his wife have a string of children, adding to your tasks each day. Soon you’ll be cleaning bathroom mirrors, making more beds, changing diapers and fixing lamps and vases the toddlers knock over.

After playing through to week 5, things get a little crazy. You begin to rely on the boost the coffee machine gives you to keep up with the perfect score, and your routine is tossed a bit by the two school-aged children, three fish tanks, and more.

I’m saving the spoilers for next, so if you don’t want the game spoiled for you in any way close your eyes, but I will tell you that this game surprised me in it’s attention to details. Through excellent graphics, detailed sound effects, and a fluid style of play, I found myself playing this game for nearly two hours before I realized how long I’d sat in front of it. Even then, I continued to play. It is a fun game, and I would suggest it to anyone of any age.

I strongly advise those who either have ambitions of child care, have a regular babysitter, or just plain have fun with step by step strategy games to play this as a primer. You can learn a lot about time management, as well as the flow of your sitter’s day in a busy household by playing this game. Like many others, this game teaches you while you have fun.

I can’t keep from telling you about this, so here’s the spoiler. The first “game” is over after week 10, day five. By playing through those ten weeks as the nanny, you unlock the next level of play: MOM! Your new game begins as you take over from the very start of it all, as the mayor’s wife, with their new child!

Oh, the fun of watching mom, who roamed the house in a daze the last ten rounds, taking long hot baths and doing nothing, finally buck up and take charge. I loved the twist, and I think you will, too. There’s one more level of play beyond mommy duty, but I am going to leave that as a secret hook. Play the game to find out!From one nanny to the world, thank you Alawar and Toybox games for a wonderful bit of software! I highly recommend it and you can try it out for yourself by downloading the Free Trial Version. If you love it as much as I do, then you can buy the Full Version at Arcade Town.

Technorati Tags: PC Game, Game Review, Nanny Mania, Toybox Games, Alawar Games

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