A to Z Electronic

Those of you astute enough to have read our review of the majorly Major FUN-award-winning A to Z might easily assume Fundex's new electronic version would prove as unabashedly praiseworthy.

On the one hand, you would be entirely correct in your assumptions. A to Z Electronic is attractive, engaging, and far more convenient. No chips to lose. No boards to keep track of. You don't even need to keep the box. The category cards fit nicely into a compartment on the back of the game. And everything else is integrated into the device.

If you already own a pre-electronic copy of A to Z, and are reading this review online, you'll probably find that even though it is far more convenient and compelling. you should expect to spend some time figuring everything out, and, frankly, the original, non-electronic version plays just as well - some might say even better. Though it's all quite logical, and all the lighted buttons are lovely and alluring, and the accompanying sounds meaningfully amusing, there are certain things you just have to figure out. For example, the six buttons on the top of the device are used to indicate both who goes next, and what the category is. There are lights on the left and right to help you (which most ostensibly say "player" or "category"). But you have to remember to look for them. And when it's your turn to "Steal," you have to remember to hold your victim's number button down for several seconds.

But it won't take long to learn, and it's clearly worth the effort. The game is so portable, so well-packaged, so attractive and, as you already know, so much fun, that you'll want to take it with you wherever there's the slightest possibility that there'll be people to play with. A to Z, in any form, is a wonderfully adaptable and fun game. Because there are so few components (the device and the cards) and so many lights, the electronic version most definitely adds the convenience, the attraction, and the sheer delight of it all.