New Math Blaster Plus!
An updated version of the older Math Blaster! educational game. Unlike the
previous version, this one’s not in BASIC!
A new GUI greets users, called the “Davidson Student Desktop Interface”- this
allows people to switch from one portion of the game to the next without all
that nasty _typing_.
The math is broken down into five subjects- addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, and fractions/decimals/percents. The game itself is
broken into 5 activities-
Countdown- a flash-card style “game” with no scoring or timing. A problem,
with answer, is shown on screen- upon command, the same problem appears sans
answer, and must be answered correctly.
Ignition- problems appear, and upon a correct answer, motivational messages
and animations pop up. The player has two chances to answer correctly, and
receives a scoreboard at the end showing number of problems, number solved,
etc. (This scoreboard appears in the next two listed activities.)
Lift-off- problems appear, with answer, but missing an internal component
(like 2 * _ = 12). Three chances per problem are given to answer correctly.
Once again, there are encouraging messages and animations- and a certificate
of achievement may be printed out.
Orbit- three problems appear on-screen with portions of each in boxes; these
boxes may contain errors and need to be changed by the player. Each correct
answer earns a star, and the player can attempt to answer twice. This one also
can print a certificate of achievement.
Blasternaut- the action-oriented math activity- you control a Blasternaut that
must get into a rocket aimed at the correct answer to a shown problem. Bonus
points are awarded if you can rescue floating Blasternauts- apparently
slamming into them with the nosecone of a huge rocket constitutes help.
The math problems contained within aren’t randomly generated, but are pre-
written lessons (which are handily printed in the instruction manuals.) Math
Blaster Plus! can be used to create new lessons, can be used in a classroom
setting to track individual students’ performance, and can print stored
lessons as paper-based quizzes/tests for more traditional (and more boring)
use.