Much to my chagrin, Tacy has not inherited my compulsion to always read the directions. Instead, she has taken after her father and his “jump right in and figure it out as I go” approach to just about everything in life.

Granted, reading the directions doesn’t always mean that I do everything right on the first try - because, yes, that is my primary motivation for reading them - but at least it gives me a better shot at it. Fumbling around blindly takes all the fun out of it for me.

So when the V.Smile Cyber Pocket game arrived in the mail, I made both girls wait until I’d finished cleaning up the kitchen before opening it, because - of course - I wanted to read the directions.

I only made it to the part where I popped the Smartridge into its slot before Tacy said, “Okay, I know what to do,” and I gave up and handed it to her. My compulsions can only handle so much anxious, high-pitched whining.

Fortunately, the whining ceased as soon as I handed the Cyber Pocket over to her. In fact, all three kids were silently absorbed in the wonders of technology. It was a moment I’ll never forget:

In all seriousness, the Cyber Pocket is a fantastic little gadget. It can go along just about anywhere - trains, planes, and automobiles - and it’s compatible with all the VTech Smartridges. Cross-compatibility is a huge plus for me, even though we actually don’t own any other VTech offerings yet. Knowing that I can use the same Smartridges in different systems is a major incentive for me to buy more of them, so VTech gets two thumbs up from me on that point.

I also like the fact that it uses AA batteries. Yes, it’s a pain to change them and they’re wasteful, but they provide instant gratification. Plus, if you go on a vacation and forget to bring your Nintendo DS charger, then you have to listen to incessant whining from the third row for umpteen thousand miles.

One more point of convenience - the stylus is attached with a string. The DS stylus fits nicely in a little slot, but if a little sister jostles her big sister, and the big sister lets go of the stylus and it falls onto the airplane floor, then everyone has to unfasten their seatbelts to look for it. Which is especially problematic when the plane is on final approach and the FASTEN SEATBELT sign is illuminated.

Tacy did get frustrated a few times with the game (the Cyber Pocket comes with Zayzoo: An Earth Adventure, which I thought was pretty cool). I handed her the booklet of directions, which she flipped open and tossed aside: “Mom, I looked at the PICTURES!” But she got the hang of it. More power to her, I suppose.

I’m not a fan of the licensed characters; they’re just not my bag. So I wish that more of the Smartridges weren’t so character-focused. For Tacy’s part, she doesn’t need to identify with a character in order to be interested in a game either.

But I love how the VLink connects the Cyber Pocket to the computer to let her track her progress. She’s already quite motivated by games that have a serial aspect to them, where successes and earnings accumulate. That’s another big plus for the Cyber Pocket.

And as long as VTech keeps making Smartridges that are cross-compatible, I expect that I’ll buy at least one of their systems for Oliver, and then Tacy can hand the Cyber Pocket down to CJ. Again, it’s a great motivator to me for investing in the systems when I know that all of my kiddos can use them eventually. Good on you, VTech!

Go here to buy your own Cyber Pocket, and for more VTech system reviews, check out PBN!