It would be absurd, however, to say that droopy eyelid zoombinis necessarily have ponytails, and that open eyelid zoombinis never have ponytails. If you sort them into a binary, by chance you will see some attributes are more common in one category than another. Just like zoombinis, humans also have a variety of attributes which come in different combinations. The open eyelid zoombinis are more likely to have shaggy hair, and are more likely to have pink shoes. Only deviants would dare to wear rollerblades with open eyelids The droopy eyelid zoombinis are more likely to have ponytails, and are more likely to have rollerblades for feet. Looking at these groups of the zoombinis, we can also see that other attributes, by complete chance, are more common among certain groups. Perhaps we will one day find The Ponytail Gene Interestingly, the one zoombini who didn't fit into this droopy/open eyelid binary was arbitrarily sorted in with droopy eyelids. We can easily tell then to send the last zoombini over the bridge on the south side. Here we can see that only zoombinis with droopy eyelids could cross the northern bridge, and those with open eyelids could pass the southern bridge. Who built two bridges to the same destination anyway? The player must figure out which attribute the cliff faces are selecting for, and sort the zoombinis into a binary based on that attribute. I bet the cliff faces support transphobic bathroom legislation The zoombinis come across two bridges, and faces carved into the cliff will only allow certain zoombinis to cross certain bridges. The first stage is perfect for illustrating The Zoombini Argumment. Like humans, zoombinis often share attributes, though each one is still a unique combination. Here, I systematically made zoombinis by making each possible combination from only two attributes from each row, except for two slots which I filled with two zoombinis who had somewhat unique but shared attributes. This actually makes the game significantly easier. To make things simpler, we'll limit the variety of the group we take. To illustrate what any of this has to do with the Sex Binary, let's play through the first two stages of the game. Most of the puzzles in the game involve sorting zoombinis based on their attributes. A haircut, an eye type, a nose color, and a "foot" type. Each zoombini can have one of five different types of four different attributes.
Zoombini game series#
Players design a team of 16 zoombinis to guide at a time through a series of puzzles. The game starts with a character creator. Players instead spend the game solving various logic puzzles in order to guide the zoombinis to their new home. The back-story is surprisingly politically complicated, but none of that is ever addressed. Zoombinis are a race of small genderless blue creatures who, as the story goes, lived on a peaceful island until the imperialist Bloats invaded, colonized the island, and enslaved the Zoombini Race, The displaced Zoombinis must then venture out and find a new home of their own.
Zoombini game software#
In 1996, Brøderbund Software released Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, a PC game marketed as teaching basic logic skills to children. Twelve perilous puzzles each with 4 levels of increasing difficulty, a great story, and many fun and memorable characters make for an engaging and challenging experience.Why The Sex Binary Is Bogus: The Zoombini Argument What the heckarini is a Zoombini? Players face a series of increasingly difficult challenges that stand between the Zoombinis and freedom. Use logic, analyze data, spot patterns and hone problem solving skills. Players take on the role of guide and help the Zoombinis reach the safety of Zoombiniville. The small blue creatures, each with distinct personalities and appearances, are escaping imprisonment by the evil Bloats who have taken over the Zoombinis' home. Zoombinis is a re-creation of the classic, award-winning 1990's puzzle game Logical Journey of the Zoombinis. Play Zoombinis and guide the little blue creatures through fun and increasingly challenging puzzles on their way to a new home.