Clifford: The Big Red Dog -- Thinking Adventures offers children in the four to six year old age range a variety of early-learning skills, including memory and matching, classifying and sorting, shape recognition, logic and direction following, problem solving, counting, spatial reasoning, and creativity. Kids hone elementary skills as they help Clifford and his owner, Emily Elizabeth, prepare for the big red dog's birthday party.

Shampooing Clifford, cleaning up the backyard, decorating the birthday cake, and finding jewels for his birthday collar aren't easy tasks. The player must help others and use problem-solving skills before the party can start. Clifford and Emily travel around town to the market, the beach, and Bleakman's backyard, participate in a fire drill, and more.

Each location features one or more activities. At the market, for example, players can buy an ice cream cone or help the store's owner clean up a display shelf that Clifford knocked over. Children must help Elroy Kibble get unstuck from a tree before they can use his grooming kit. At times, certain activities must be done before Clifford and Emily can complete their four main tasks.

Completed tasks are rewarded by flying confetti and Emily Elizabeth giving words of praise, such as "Great job!" Clifford: The Big Red Dog -- Thinking Adventures offers three difficulty levels. Hints for some of the activities are provided in the instruction booklet. ~ Carolyn Jones, All Game Guide