[14] The games have a point and click interface,[15] which players use to navigate through screens, interact with characters and manipulate objects to complete tasks and overcome obstacles[16][17] at a comfortable speed.

In Madeline and the Magnificent Puppet Show: A Learning Journey players can click on objects to hear English, French and Spanish, and can review vocabulary by playing "Concentration".

[8] In-game activities include dressing up Madeline's friends (and dog) in a variety of outfits and creating postcards, masks, door signs and stickers.

[71] Julie Strasberg of PC Magazine, however, wrote that most tasks in Madeline Thinking Games "involve simple observation ... [and] kids may not learn a tremendous amount".

[2] Although many of the games (including those by Mattel, Polaroid, Hasbro and Disney) were accused of reinforcing negative stereotypes with themes such as the color pink, makeovers, jewelry, ponies and kitchens, Katie Hafner of the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times wrote that the Madeline and American Girl series achieved the "lofty goal" of providing young players with content which was "carefully designed [and] thoughtful" – popular and "present[ing] players with some intellectual substance".

[75] Creative Wonders product manager Jennifer Rush called Madeline "a good role model" with "an assertive, spunky personality and ... a logical fit in the interactive world".

[4] According to Creative Wonders software producer Holly Smevog, girls are drawn to "story lines, real-life situations, hands-on experiences and developing relationships with characters".

[22] Nancy Churnin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that a child's comfort level can increase if their educational content has familiar characters like Madeline.

[87] Donna Ladd of MacHome Journal wrote that a Madeline Classroom Companion game of "Concentration" had a subtle, positive message by asking players to match images such as female forest rangers, police officers and newspaper reporters, with "few portraying traditional gender roles".

[89] The Los Angeles Daily News compared Madeline to the storybook video game Chop Suey; both had heroines and "brightly colored, naive-style illustrations", and were targeted at all children despite "obvious feminine appeal".

[90] Shelley Campbell, education coordinator at Wiz Zone Computers for Kids in Vancouver, recommended Madeline European Adventures as a video game which appealed to girls.

[99] Creative Wonders president Greg Bestick envisioned an educational product which would "excite the emotions, stimulate learning, and provide entertaining, yet valuable lessons".

[96] By 1995 Madeline was a "cultural icon",[101] a "widely licensed character in dolls, games and videos"[96] and "internationally recognized" with Sesame Street's Elmo and Schoolhouse Rock's Lucky Sampson.

[122] The Learning Company (formerly SoftKey) established LearningBuddies for "developmental reading and math skills programs" based on Madeline and other characters from children's literature and cartoons, such as Dr. Seuss and the Winnie the Pooh franchise, to attract a younger audience.

[102] In 1997, Terri Payne Butler of The Horn Book Magazine wrote that popular children's characters (including Madeline) had entered the "burgeoning world of CD-ROM".

[124] O'Leary had wanted The Learning Company (formerly SoftKey) to "produce products to service that 40 percent of the market that hasn't bought educational software because of pricing issues".

[117] Mattel CEO Jill Barad made a takeover bid to overcome a downward slide in her company's stock price, "seiz[ing] on educational software as a driver of future growth".

O'Leary, who had been hired as president of Mattel's new TLC digital division, sold his stock for $6 million a few months before $2 billion in shareholder value was lost in one day.

[142] Houghton Mifflin Harcourt owns the Madeline video-game license, and Navarre Corporation holds the publishing rights or they reverted to HMH after the games went out of print.

[145] According to Computer Retail Week, the initial shipment of CD-ROMs included a 32-piece kit of Madeline napkins, plates and invitations and bookmark giveaways were also part of the promotion.

[161] On April 26, The Learning Company (formerly SoftKey) announced plans to introduce new software (including Madeline 1st & 2nd Grade Math) at the May Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

[162] In December 1995, Creative Wonders announced that Madeline and the Magnificent Puppet Show: A Learning Journey was as commercially successful as the company's best-selling Sesame Street title.

[168][169] That December, The Learning Company (formerly SoftKey) Asia-Pacific managing director Tony Hughes said that Madeline Classroom Companion was outselling Sesame Street at Target Australia.

[174] Joe Chidley wrote in Maclean's that the storyline of Madeline European Adventures is "simple ... and silly without being stupid", with "engaging ... fanciful, surprise-filled" moments for children and humor for parents.

[5] Although the authors of two SuperKids reviews found Madeline's accent and "encouraging, praising, and giggling" attitude endearing,[34][45] the New Straits Times' Rhonwyn Hwan-Chi wondered if they would deter a male audience.

[177] AllGame's Lisa Karen Savignano compared Madeline's repeated phrases congratulating the player to "fingernails down a blackboard" and suggested "invest[ing] in a good pair of earplugs" before playing the game.

[195] A Home PC reviewer wrote that Christopher Plummer's narration "frees children who have not yet learned to read from the feelings of frustration that come with stumbling through printed directions".

In their book, New Trends in Software Methodologies, Tools and Techniques, Hamido Fujita and Paul Johannesson called Madeline a role model for girls because of her use of problem solving, critical thinking and logic in the games.

[68] Kathy Yakal of PC Magazine wrote that "Madeline's warmth as a host" made the series "a nice, gentle activity platform for younger children".

[179] Reviewers from Children's Software Revue wrote that the games were "popular with girls", and a SuperKids writer called Madeline "the epitome of the strong young female".