Title:   Math Blaster Mystery
Publisher:  Davidson & Associates
Date Published: ©1996
Platform:
1) Windows 95
2) Windows 3.1
3) Macintosh
Price:   $14.95
Installation:  * Very easy & fast installation
1) Windows 95
   3486/33 MHz or faster IBM-compatible computer
   38 MB available RAM
    3VGA or SVGA card (with 640x480 resolution)
    3Windows 95
    32x-speed CD-ROM drive
    3Windows-compatible sound accessory
2) Windows 3.1
    3486/33 MHz IBM®-compatible computer
    3Windows 3.1 or higher
    32x-speed CD-ROM drive
    3VGA or SVGA (640x480 resolution)
    34 MB of available RAM
    3Windows-compatible sound card
    3Printer (optional)
3) Macintosh
3Macintosh Performa 575 or better (including Power Macintosh)
38 MB or RAM
313” monitor
3System 7 or higher
32x-speed CD-ROM drive
3256 colors
3Printer (optional)

Content Area:
1) Pre-Algebra
2) Word Problems
3) Logical Thinking Skills

Range of Grade(s): 4th Grade & up
Suggested 10 + years

Content Description:

Specific Content:
Vocabluary:
(A) add, addend, addition, area, average
(C) commutative law, compare, composite number, congruent, constant
(D) decimal, decimal point, denominator, distance, distributive property, divisible
(E) equivalent fractions, even, expression
(F) factor, factor tree, formulas, fraction
(G) given, graph
(H) hundredth
(I) inequality, integer
(L) least common multiple, lowest terms
(M) mean, minuend, multiple
(N) n, negative, numerator
(O) operation
(P) parentheses, percent, perimeter, permutation, place value, positive, prime
      number, probability rule
(R) ratio, rectangle, reduce
(S) simple interest, square, subtrahend
(T) tenth, thousandth, triangle
(U) unlike denominators
(V) volume
(W) weights and measures

Purpose:
Students will:
· Express solutions to word problems posed by characters in the
house
· Apply deductive and inductive reasoning skills
· Use patterns and functions to represent and solve problems
· Explore number relationships
· Develop number concepts such as primes, factors, and multiples
· Learn to interpret numbers expressed in a variety of forms including integers, fractions, decimals and percents
· Use the order of operations to solve problems
· Develop logical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
Flexibility/ Versatility: The game is very flexible as it comprises 5 different levels of game play that can be interconnected or played as stand-alone.  Games levels:
1) Mission Mode
2) Word Problems
3) Equation Maker
4) Kitchen Comparisons
5) Number Guesser
6) Puzzle
7) Critter Arcade

Description of game:
· Dr. Dabble has stolen the brain of math champion Big Brain!  He wants to
transplant it into his own monster creature in order to win the Math Olympics.
It's up to you to get it back.  That means you'll have to enter Dr. Dabble's creepy mansion and use your math skills to find the mad scientist and recover the brain.  Different rooms have different monsters and machines that will help you earn the puzzle pieces you need to unscramble the mystery:
- Kitchen Comparisons:  You'll stack the right amount of ingredients to brew a batch of monster stew.
- Number Guesser:  You and a machine will match wits as you take turns guessing each other's numbers.
- Equation Maker:  You'll create equations that will unseal a puzzle piece from behind a brick wall.
But to use these machines, you'll need coins which you'll find hidden throughout the mansion. And sometimes household ghouls will reward you with coins for helping them solve their Ghoulish Word Problems.  Once you've completed all these activities, find the room where you can use the Puzzle pieces.  If you do, you'll get the key that unlocks the door to Dr. Dabble's hidden lab.  But look out! To get there, you'll have to fight off a band of crazy critters with your Goo Bag in the Critter Arcade.  An on-line Calculator and a Glossary are available at all times to help you with the mystery.

Player description:   You as the player are a little green man that looks like an
alien from outer-space.  This is the medium the player uses to move around the mansion to solve the many puzzles set forth.  One can use the keyboard and/or mouse to accomplish this.
 

Time needed to play:  From as little as 10 minutes to play to unlimited amounts of play-time

Best use:  This game can be used as an individual tool, small-group tool, or as a whole group tool.
1)  Individual: To hone already worked on skills or as a positive reinforcement skill if the student has spare time
2) Small Group:  A group of 2 to 4 students can work on this program as a team to accomplish a goal
3) Whole Class:  A class can work on this with a projector and a guided lesson while operating this program

Strengths:
1) Lots of content areas to choose from
2) Challenging problems
3) Lots of fun once you get the hang of it

Weaknesses:
1) Not easy to pick up at once
2) Can be confusing at times
3) Can lose track of what the game is about

Rating:  I give this software a 6-7 rating because unless the student has time to learn how to use this software, he/she will be confused the first couple of times he/she plays the game.

Links/ User Comments:
1) http://www.edutainment.com.au/mathmys.html
· Math Blaster Mystery:  The Great Brain Robbery, aims to build pre-algebra skills,
logical thinking and word problem skills for children aged ten and up.  Doctor
Dabble's the evil genius, has stolen the brain of the greatest competitor in the
history of Math’s Olympics and locked it in his upstairs laboratory.  Your goal? To
rescue it of course! First you must explore all rooms in the house, seeking ghoulish creatures who pose math problems. Solve the problems to earn coins. Fail to solve them and you're thrown into the basement where Daphnee walks you through the solution step by step. A problem has 4 steps - you'll earn coins for each step you answer. The harder the problem, the more coins you earn. To use the calculator, select Calculator from the Tools menu. Coins are also hidden on objects around the house. The more coins you earn or find, the higher your score will be.  Next you use the coins to play three math machines, one in the kitchen, one in the study and one in the living room, to earn puzzle pieces.  Put the puzzle pieces together to earn a key to the lab.  Though initially promising (a good plot, nice graphics, and tantalizing problems) the package is ruined by poor game play directions on screen where ever a machine is concerned.  Not only is it often difficult to know how to play, but when you realize you've made a mistake you have no option of stopping an activity in the middle and starting again.  This results in frustration that deters players from finishing or returning to Math Blaster Mystery The Great Brain Robbery.

2) http://www.cdaccess.com/html/shared/mathblpa.htm
· Covers a Full Year of Pre-Algebra!  The world is losing math knowledge by the second, and Rave thinks he knows why!  Help him get to the root of this evil by solving word problems, creating equations, plotting graphs and more...before the fun of Pre-Algebra disappears forever!  Master over 15 essential skills, including:
1) Computation using decimals, integers and rational numbers
2) Solving word problems
3) Ratios, proportions and percents
4) Translating mathematical expressions
5) Applying order of operations
6) Creating mathematical equations
7) Graphing
8) Manipulating positive and negative numbers
9) Estimation
10) Logical thinking

Talk About Crunching Numbers! All the world's math knowledge is being gobbled up by the devious Dr. Dabble's math-stealing machine.  Help Rave search the madman's mansion and pull the plug on the device. Along with solving tricky word problems, you'll also have to rely on your estimation skills, create mathematical equations and compute with fractions, decimals and integers.  By the time you put the bite on the math-muncher, you'll not only be a whiz at Pre-Algebra, you'll be ready to devour Algebra itself!  Word Problems: Solve word problems from Dr. Dabble's secret database.
1) Computation: compare & compute decimals, percents, fractions & integers.
2) Number Theory:  Use your knowledge of factors, multiples and prime numbers to guess the machine's secret number.
3) Spatial Relationships: Complete a visual pattern by placing pieces into the puzzle.
4) Order of Operations: Beat the computer by maximizing equations.
5) Plotting Coordinates: Plot X and Y coordinates to help Rave escape.
6) Mental Math & Estimation: Use mental math skills to complete the number sequence.
7) Logical Thinking: Apply logical reasoning to arrange the billiard balls into subsets.
 

What's Inside:
· Over 4,000 word problems develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills
· Nine targeted activities provide smooth transition between elementary math and Algebra
· Three levels of skill-based adventures offer hours of extended game play
· Specially designed on-line calculator can be used inside the product or launched separately as a study aid
· Covers important math skills to help students prepare for standardized tests

3) http://am.appstate.edu/~schrampw/mathsft.html
· THIS OLDER AWARD WINNER HAS BEEN REVISED AND WAS INCLUDED IN A "NEW AND IMPROVED" SIDEBAR ACCOMPANYING THE 1995/96 T&L SOFTWARE AWARDS.

Math Blaster Mystery: The Great Brain Robbery is a major upgrade to the 1991 winner, Math Blaster Mystery. This enhanced version offers 140 word problems that can be read aloud, and an integrated story-line for a long play life.  Also new are, original music and sound effects, an on-line calculator, and a record-keeper to track students' progress.
Reviewer: T&L Software Judges
 

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