"Has my vote. I manage an afterschool program for k-8. The kids love playing the game and I love the leapster since all the games are educational. I also love the fact that the games work with all the styles of leapster."
"A winner! We started out with one Leapster but we had to buy another because both kids were always fighting over it. My kids are 4 and 7 years old. We’ve had our Leapsters for a couple of years. My daughter has been able to play it since she was 3 years old, though not quite as well as she can now. My 7 year old still plays with it but we just got a Didj recently and he made the switch. I think 7 is about the upper age limit and then they start wanting something more.
There are games built into the unit, but you really need the cartridges to let it work its magic. There are cartridges for learning about animals and their habitats, writing skills, reading and math. The cartridges let the user choose a skill level and save their games for later. There is a hint button that the kids figured out pretty quickly. If they don’t know the answer, Leapster will help.
Durability is more than I ever expected. Our Leapsters have been dropped by accident and thrown in fits of rage and have survived it all intact without a scratch or dent or any problems with play.
My daughter still loves her Leapster. The games are educational and fun. I can hear her learning to add and spell and even write her letters. We have a whole collection of Leapster games and it never gets old for her. My son also enjoyed Leapster immensely. It’s the best toy investment I’ve ever made and I’d do it all over."
"I own both the Leapster and the L-Max. I have two of these, one Leapster and one L-max that I got for my twins for their 4th Birthday a few days ago.
I let them play with their games for the entire day on their birthday, without restriction...all with a plan in mind...
The PROS:
Once the kids found out how much fun the games are and how easy it is to learn while playing, they won’t put them down...you may not feel like this is a ’pro’ except that now, I make them earn time on the games. They get 10 minutes for putting their toys away; 10 minutes for making their beds; 10 minutes for helping with laundry, etc...up to 1 hour of play a day...I HAVE NEVER HAD SO MUCH HELP AROUND THE HOUSE! As Dr. Phil says, "Find their currancy". Well, I have found it. They are doing what I ask, when I ask...if they don’t, time gets taken away. I wish I had thought of this while they were potty training! This is working much better than the ’marbles’ for allowance system...they have no concept of money yet. Great toy with lots of variations and levels of play. Good Job LEAPFROG!
THE CONS:
I went through 4 sets of batteries (for the entire day) before I sped out the door for a rechargable battery system. I’m going back again today for another recharging system. I’ve called Leapfrog and they said that the battery packs, themselves, cost as much as the entire recharging kit, so they do not offer additional battery packs for purchase. You can play with just the AC Adapter that comes with the recharging system, but that has been a pain so far, since one Leapster has a battery pack and the other has to be played off the AC Adapter, and then plugged back in to the recharging unit at night to recharge the L-max. I have forgotten to plug it back in a few times and had problems explaining that Mommy’s memory is fading and that they will have to wait to play again until the batteries are recharged.
Overall, I love the product. I haven’t had any problems so far, but the units are only a week old. We will have to see. I just love how orderly my house is now that I have found a way to tempt them into picking up their toys. And the tantrums are down as well. If they start screaming over anything, they lose time...my house has NEVER been so quiet since the day they were born! YEE HA!
UPDATE 7/23/2008
Both the leapster and the Lmax are still going strong, however the units are looking very, very worn, scratched and beaten because they are loved. We have an immense library of cartridges...19 at last count....everyone very unique, educational and entertaining. It’s been about 2 1/2 to 3 years now and the rechargable battery packs are finally giving out. They just don’t hold the charge like they used to. I have also bought the new Didj (see that review) and am never disappointed by Leapfrog."
Amazon rating
★ ★ ★ ★ 4 ½ Stars out of nearly 900 reviews!!!
YouTube
Leapfrog Leapster 
The Leapster Learning Game System is a learning toy in a video game format for 4 to 10 year olds.
The idea behind Leapster Learning Game System is to engage children in the games that teach and reinforce vocabulary, reading, comprehension, math, music, art and creativity. The graphics and games are appropriate for this age group pre-K to 4th grade. The unit comes with preloaded games for alphabet, numbers and art; but you’ll need to purchase additional game cartridges. Each game has multiple levels so a game can introduce a child to concepts and advance them through to more challenging levels at their own pace. Help is available from the hint button or the built in coach.
"Leapster. Excellent for children learning to read and write, most kids their age are playing with gameboys, this helped me hold back the gameboy stage for a few more years. At their age is critical that they spend more time learning if they will be playing with portable toys at all. Very durable, had a confusion with delivery date but was assisted immediately. Toy is strong, kids really enjoy it, haven’t bought any additional cartridges yet (over 2 months), will buy additional games soon, it includes 3 games, none of licensed characters."
