## Description
_JumpStart 1st Grade_ is an updated version of the 1995 title JumpStart 1st
Grade. It is an educational game for children aged five to seven in the first
grade according to the US curriculum updated for that period. A UK version
also exists. The basic concept is identical to the original game. The player
has to help the character Frankie the dog on a treasure hunt by gathering
clues. This is done by completing various activities on School Island. The
hunt can be started as soon as three clues are gathered. Each clue provides a
hint as Frankie steers a boat. The player has to answer a question for each
clue to get Frankie on a boat, in the right direction, and finally on the
island with the treasure. Coins are provided for each piece of treasure found
and the hunt is completed after finding six treasures. The amount of coins,
ranging from 50 to 1000, determines the player rank. The concept of visiting
islands is entirely new for this version.
Mrs. Flores from the first grade is replaced by Ms. Nobel, a female hippo, as
the first grade teacher. The activities Master Memory Game, Music in the Mouse
Hole, Reading is Fun-damental, The Tick Tock Game, and the location Milky Way
are no longer included. New for this version is the Book Club. It replaces
Reading is Fun-damental. Ms. Nobel reads a book and then asks questions about
it. There are fifteen books available. Lost and Found is a new activity that
teaches synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homonyms, homographs, and rhyming
words. Another new one is Beanbag Shooter. It is played with Ms. Nobel based
on spinning tiles that show land animals, water animals, food, and means of
transportation. The teacher gives a clue and the correct tile needs to be
chosen for the answer by shooting the beanbag. Only a limited amount of shots
is available and four correct answers in a row are needed to win. There are
three difficulty levels for this mini-game.
Other activities are often based on the existing ones, but with a new twist.
The other activities in this version are Hall Pass (telling the time), Snack
Machine (learning about the value of money), Alphabet Soup (the alphabet),
Food Machine (measures through recipes), Pizza Maker (shapes and divisions),
Pipe Organ (musical instruments), Paint Set, Pogo Sticks (math), and Sand Box
(singular/plural – parts of speech – sentences – phonics).