JumpStart Preschool

The game, which was "researched and developed under the direction of preschool teachers and parents", was shipped on August 28, 1995.[2] Bill Gross, founder and chairman of Knowledge Adventure, noted it was the company's first educational software program that "includes the full preschool curriculum".[2] JumpStart Preschool was made available through computer software stores, mass merchants, computer superstores, book stores and computer specialty stores.[2] A three-title bundle called JumpStart Preschool Deluxe was released on September 3, 1996, featuring JumpStart Preschool, JumpStart Pre-K and an Activity Discovery Book.[3] Of the 1998 re-release, Peter Doctorow, vice president of product development at Knowledge Adventure noted it was the first JumpStart program to include the company's new Kid's Assessment Technology (where players complete a cross-curricular assessment test and difficulty levels are automatically determined) and Parent Resource Center (which links progress reports between JumpStart titles).[4]

It was adapted as the 1999 direct-to-video animated film JumpStart Preschool: Who Left the Juice in the Caboose?.

The title focuses on educational concepts for preschoolers, specifically covering: reading readiness, memory development, numeral recognition, and auditory discrimination.[2] Preschool teachers and caregivers could track the player's improvement via a Progress Report, while JumpStart's Adaptive Learning Technology tracked the player's success-to-attempt ratio and modified the difficulty accordingly.[2]

SuperKids praised the game's "cute characters, amusing activities, and magical worlds".[5] The Chicago Tribune noted the surreptitious learning opportunity of the game, which had a façade of fun.[6] Cyber-Reviews deemed the re-release superior due to the "improved graphics, motivational rewards (this is important information for the parents) an assessment technology that customizes for a child's individual needs".[7] Young kids and computers deemed it a "solid program with well-designed activities".[8] Child Care Information Exchange noted that while it contained more activities than Millie & Bailey Preschool, they "lack the range of concepts and the skilful embedding" offered by the latter.[9] MacUser suggested that players were meant to 'graduate' from JumpStart Toddlers to JumpStart Preschool, then to Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade.[10]

According to PC Data Interactive, in the period of January 1996 through March 1998, in aggregate dollars JumpStart Preschool was the best selling preschool software program.[4]