Tux Typing

Popular programs in PC games

What is Tux Typing

Tux Typing is a fun and simple way to improve the typing skills of your children. Typing skills are more important than they've ever been, and that's only bound to increase with time. While more and more of our lives are being handled through our phones and other mobile devices, knowing how to type with speed and accuracy is a necessity in practically every professional field. Tux Typing can encourage your kids to improve their typing skills, and it does so by turning the process into a game. That means your kids will be inspired to keep improving their skills on their own time rather than you having to force them to learn at designated times. While this open source game may be getting a little long at the tooth, it's still a very effective alternative to traditional typing programs, and it has the added bonus of being completely free to use.

Three different modes make up the Tux Typing package, and each is unique in terms of game play systems, aesthetics, and lessons learned. Comet Zap is probably the best and most action packed of the bunch, even if it's a style of game that's prevalent across practically any typing game. You control a penguin and destroy asteroids falling to Earth by typing out the words on them. Fish Frenzy follows a similar structure but tasks you with eating fish that fall from the sky. They're both rather simple affairs moving through well worn territory, but they get the job done right, and there's enough here to encourage most kids to pursue just one more game. The lessons section isn't necessarily a game, but it allows a more structured approach to learning the ins and outs of the keyboard. Oddly enough, Tux Typing only comes with a sample lesson, but users can create their own lessons though XML sheets, and the open source nature means that other owners can share their lessons online for easy access to a whole host of curriculum. Still, it's unusual for a package like this to not include much in the way of standard lessons.

Aesthetically, the whole affair is bright, colorful, and unified by the presence of the adorable Linux penguin. While it's unlikely to win any awards for its graphics, it understands its audience well, and the smooth animations are always a delight to look at. The game is quick and responsive to keyboard strokes, which is a necessity in a game like this. While the fundamentals of these games may be basic, the options available to users aren't. There are four different difficulty modes for both of the games, and you can even filter the word options according to categories like plants. You can also filter your word count between over a dozen diverse language, making it a good choice for kids of various nationalities as well as making this an appropriate supplementary tool when trying to learn a new language. All of these things combined with the open source nature make for a competent typing tool that hasn't quite yet reached its full potential.

Pros:

• Completely open source and free to play
• Bright and colorful graphics based off the Linux mascot

Cons:

• Games are repetitive and nothing new for the genre
• Lacking in the features department