I loaded Number Painter from ASK Software and let my
two boys, aged 10 and 12, play with it - they were still playing it
two hours later at bedtime.
Then my daughter, 17. and
her boyfriend took over and I did
not get a chance to play until the
next day. and even then I had to
get in quick before the boys
came home from school. I give it
thumbs up for interest and
playability.
This is a girders and ladders
program, another new twist to
an old theme. The painter, who is
beautifully animated, has to
collect numbers to match a
target figure using familiar keys
or joystick.
Each number has a +, —, *, / sign
and it gradually gets more difficult through 12 different
levels. Success is rewarded with more difficult brain teasers and
vice-versa.
The little man has four incarnations called Mr Plod, Mr
Walker. Mr Speedy and Mr Swift. You choose the starting
level and speed.
If the player tries to get a number which is too large -
above 999 - or below zero, or if the painter falls through a hole in
a girder, the game is frozen and there is time to work out the
sum. However, once the man is moving, time is limited by a
rising bucket that floods the screen with red paint when it
reaches the top of its chain and the man is lost.
>
The age range is supposed to be from five to 14. A five year
old would have great fun on level one. but even when I cheated on
my calculator. I couldn't do level 12.
The instructions are in big, clear type and easy for an eight
year old to read. The graphics and colour are very good.
Sound effects are used in a realistic way and they can be
made louder or softer by a Ctrl-S command - very useful.
The one big fault with this program is that the authors have
not disabled the Break key and if it is pressed the program is lost
and has to be re-loaded. This takes 2.4 minutes from tape.
>
A second section to this program is a self test which puts
a series of sums on the screen at the level you choose and times
the response.
Buy your child this game and he will gain a better understanding
of numbers. But if you are a teacher, be prepared for each
child to want the micro all day.
1st April 1985
