Description: Search and discover dinosaur fossils around the World without leaving home.
Instructions: The idea of the game is to look through the reference section at all the 20 dinosaurs. Then when you think you are ready you can try hunting for each of the picture fossils shown. Once found, each fossil is displayed in a tray and you will need to identify each one against the pictures in the reference section. Points are scored for how well you do. There is a certificate reward and high score tables.
How To Play Dinosaur Hunt
The Dinosaur Reference Section
In this section you will find basic descriptions of all 20 of the dinosaurs that appear in this program. Scroll through all 20 by clicking on the dinosaur teeth at the top of the screen. The right one moves you forward and the left one moves you back. Clicking on the dinosaur skull between the two teeth gives a complete drop down list of all 20 and you can jump to any one by clicking on it in that list. A picture showing my impression of what each dinosaur may have looked like will appear in the middle of the screen and a smaller picture of an actual fossil of that dinosaur will appear to the left or right of the main picture. Clicking either of the two speakers at the bottom will play a sound of what you might have heard from that dinosaur. The name, average size and other brief details will appear for each dinosaur in the top left corner and more details about each one appear at the bottom of the screen.
Clicking the TRAY or HUNT tabs at the top of the screen takes you to those screens. The HUNT screen is the actual game where you look for the dinosaur fossils and the TRAY is where your finds are held for you to identify. Use this reference section to help you identify them. Check out the EXTINCTION and TIMELINE tabs for other information. Get back to this section by clicking the DINOSAURS tab at the bottom of most screens.
The Hunt Screen
Here you are shown a simple map of the World as it is today. You can see how the map has developed over millions of years by clicking the Back and Next buttons below it. On the map you will notice small red dots. Clicking a red dot will display a picture of a likely place in that region where you might find one of the dinosaur fossils described in the Reference Section. Look carefully at the picture to see if you can see part of the fossil poking out from a rock or sandy place. As you move your mouse pointer over the picture you will notice that it turns into a small hand over certain areas. In each picture there are 5 rocks and 1 fossil hidden. When your pointer turns into a hand you are over one of these items. Using your skill and judgement try to click on the partly hidden fossil rather than just a rock. The less rocks you reveal before finding the fossil will mean you score more points, shown in the bottom right of your screen. As your score increases, so your skill rating will, shown in the bottom left of your screen. It is graded in several stages from Beginner to Expert.
The Tray Screen
Once you have found a fossil, it will automatically appear in your Tray. You can move between the TRAY and HUNT screens by clicking on the tabs at the top of the screen. The Tray is like a drawer with several plastic boxes where each fossil remain you find is kept and saved as part of your game. To get more points you need to identify the fossils you have found. Above each fossil is a drop down list of all 20 of the names of the Dinosaurs featured in this program. Either visit the reference section to see which fossil you have found and then select its name from this drop down list or if you think you know which one it is then try clicking a name. If the selection is wrong then nothing happens but if it is right then the drop down list disappears and the name appears above the fossil. The more selections you click on before getting the right one, the less points you will receive.
The Extinction Screen
This is a simple slide show of one theory of why the dinosaurs suddenly became extinct. The slide show will play over and over as long as you are on this screen. There is no need to click anything to play it.
The Timeline Screen
This is a simple geological timeline map from the Earth's creation to present day. The small black silhouettes show how long those species have been or were around.
