ItzaBitza

ItzaBitza is a drawing game for children who are learning to read. You help your Sketchy by drawing interactive objects with Living Ink, a drawing-recognition system. The characters react to what you draw: a house makes a character shrink to fit through its door, while flames can set a drawn rocket ship blasting off. The environment comes from each player's drawings, so play can vary with their creations.

Playsets and challenges

The game includes five themed playsets: “Home Sweet Home,” “Let’s go Camping,” “Play in Space,” “A Farm Life” and “A VERY Scary Haunted House.” You unlock playsets by winning star challenges, which can ask you to read or figure out what to draw to help your Sketchy.

Reading support

ItzaBitza is designed for early-readers. Guidance helps children with unfamiliar concepts, and hovering the mouse over a new word makes it read aloud. The game combines drawing and play with reading and learning, and is based on methods for engaging children discovered through a multi-year research project conducted by Microsoft Corporation.