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Text File | 2006-10-19 | 17KB | 346 lines

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN LIMA NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 1992

                 VERY RARE OFFICIAL TI MODULES:
              COMPUTER MATH GAMES I, III, and IV
                   reviewed by Charles Good
                     Lima Ohio User Group

     These three Addison-Wesley education modules are each
listed for $39.95 suggest retail in TI's last published
99/4A catalog dated June 1983.   They are part of a series
which includes the commonly available copyright 1982
COMPUTER MATH GAMES II and VI.  The I, III, and IV modules
have a 1983 date on their title screen.

     I obtained them as COMMAND MODULE SIMULATOR disk files
(and now also as GramKracker files in the Lima UG software
library), and at first I thought they had never been
officially released by TI.  I have never seen them
advertised in Triton, Tex Comp, or Tenex catalogs.  Even
Mike Wright, who has more different kinds of TI modules than
anybody else I know doesn't have these modules.  I finally
dicovered that Eunice Spooner actually has one of these
modules, GAMES III, complete with TI published
documentation.  Even now (January 1992) it is possible to
purchase GAMES III from TM Direct Marketing, but without any
documentation.  Larry Conner, a TI dealer who has sold lots
of rare TI stuff to collectors told me that all three of
these rare modules have passed through his hands.  Larry
said, "As I recollect, those are really neat games that make
good use of the TI's special features." Apparently only TI
sold very limited quantities of these modules directly for
$39.95 each.  Because of price I doubt if they sold very
many.

     Quoting from page 2 of my "VI" module's documentation:
"It is essential for all of us to know and understand how
fundamental mathematics operations are performed.  In order
to develop this understanding, students must have the
opportunity to practice, for only through practice can they
develop strong mathematical skills.  The Computer math Games
VI Solid State Cartridge is one of five modules of math
games that can help provide this opportunity.  The program
was designed by Charles Lund, Supervisor of Mathematics for
the St. Paul, Minnesota, public schools and the staff of
Addison-Wesley Publishing company in cooperation with the
staff of Texas Instruments Incorporated.  The Games included
in the cartridge are both fun and challenging, with an
entertaining, motivating format designed to capture and hold
attention."

     "VI" is one of five modules?!?!^^The series includes I,
II, III, IV, and VI, all of which have a title screen that
names Charles Lund as author.  There is no V.  Apparently
someone at Addison-Wesley or at Texas Instruments doesn't
know how to count!^^There are some TI modules that teach
this skill I believe.

     The options and difficulty levels of the math games
that are in these modules make them suitable for students
with a wide diversity skill levels.  The documentation for
my "II" and "IV" modules claims suitability for school
grades 1 through 9.  The unreleased "I", "II", and "IV" are
probably appropriate for a similarly wide range of grades.

     These rare 1983 modules offer you a choice of text
in five languages.  (The older COMPUTER MATH GAMES II and IV
are only in English.) When you PRESS ANY KEY TO BEGIN you
are presented with the following options.  It is suprising
to see almost the entire startup menu screen filled with
selections.
     PRESS
     1 FOR TI BASIC
     2 FOR ENGLISH
     3 FOR FRANCAIS
     4 FOR DEUTSCH
     5 FOR ITALIANO
     6 FOR ESPANOL
     All these language options function properly in
COMPUTER MATH GAMES I.  However, the Italian and Spanish
options are not functional in "III" and "IV", and cause the
computer to lock up.  Each COMPUTER MATH GAMES module
contains several distinct games.  These games are described
individually below.  All have plenty of music and colorful
screen displays.

     ----------------------------------
      COMPUTER MATH GAMES I:

     The game of SQUARE OFF:
     Two people or one person and the computer can play
against each other.  You are shown a grid with a dot on
screen at the intersection of each set of coordinates.  You
can chose to have coordinate 0,0 at the lower left, with
positive numbers extending to the right along the x axis and
up along the y axis.  Or, you can specify coordinate 0.0 to
be in the middle of the screen, with positive coordinate
numbers extending to the right and up and negative
coordinate numbers extending down and to the left of 0,0.
You can specify 2-14 rows and 2-9 columns in your coordinate
system, making the game very simple or very complicated.
     Each player alternately inputs a set of adjacent
coordinates in the form 0,0,0,1 (position 0,0 and position
0,1), and the computer draws a line between these two dots
on screen.  If a mistake is made and the entered coordinates
do not exist or are not adjacent or already have a line
between them the player is given a second chance.  Then it
is the other player's turn.  The object of the game is to
close boxes by drawing the fourth side of the box and to
prevent your opponent from doing the same.  When you close a
box you get a free turn.  The player who closes the most
boxes wins.
     This game gives practice using an X-Y axis coordinate
system and in the use of negative numbers.  To win requires
a lot of thought and strategy.  I enjoy this game.  The
computer is a challenging opponent.  So are some of my
children.

     The game of DOT-DOT-PLOT:
     This is for one player.  You are again presented with a
coordinate system, this time with only the X and Y axes
showing.  There are initially no on screen dots at each
coordinate junction.  You have your choice of putting the
0,0 location at the extreme bottom left and having only
positive numbers on the X-Y axes, or placing 0,0 in the
center of the screen and having both positive and negative
numbers extend up/down and right/left from 0,0.
     You are to help the computer draw a picture.  Your
choices are Pine Tree, Airplane, Lobster, Dog, Car, Rabbit,
Castle, or "Any of these".  The computer puts the first dot
on screen and you specify the coordinates of this dot.  The
next dot is then displayed and you specify the coordinates
of the second dot.  The computer then draws a line between
the previous dot and the new dot.  Another dot is then
displayed, and when you identify its coordinates properly a
line is drawn from the previous line to this new dot.  In
this way your picture is drawn "dot-to-dot" style until it
is complete.  When the picture is finished you are given a
total of right and wrong guesses and told the total number
of dots in your picture.  The airplane, for example, takes
20 dots with connecting lines.
     You need a good monitor for this game.  It is sometimes
difficult by sight alone to accurately move from the first
blinking dot of the new picture in the middle of an
otherwise nearly empty screen back to the edge of the screen
where the X and Y axes are located and get an accurate fix
on the location of the dot.  It is easier with subsequent
dots, because you have the location of earlier dots to help
guide you.

     The game of MATH BOXES:
     This game requires two human players.  First you input
the player's names and select the type of number;
     1- Whole numbers (all positive)
     2- Integers (whole positive and/or negative numbers)
     3- Decimals
     4- Simple fractions
     Then you select the problem type (+-*/).  Finally, you
select the size range of each of the two numbers in the
problem (from -999 to +9999 if "Integers" is selected).  The
screen then displays 12 math problems arranged in three rows
and four columns.  The first player selects two adjacent
problems to solve and if correct gets a line drawn between
the two problems.  If incorrect, the opposing player gets
the line.  The computer gives different colors to the lines
of the two players.  The object of the game is to draw a box
with these lines and prevent your opponent from doing so.
     Depending on the options selected at the beginning of
the game, the game can be "gosh darn hard" even for me, or
easy enough for my first grade daughter to play
successfully.

     The game of BEANS AND PITS:
     This game requires two human players and gives practice
in interpreting numbers based on hundreds, tens, ones,
tenths, and hundredths.  The computer randomly transfers
beans from a small pits (holes) to a combination of large
and small pits.  The large pits represent a number composed
of 100's, 10's, ones, etc.  Beans distributed to large pits
stay there.  Beans in small pits have to be cleared out so
that eventually they are all in the large pits.  The first
player to completely clear out his small pits is the winner.
This sounds confusing, and it is.  However, the computer
does most of the work of moving pits about between pits and
declaring a winner, so the game is in fact fairly easy to
play.
     After a winner is declared, each player is asked the
"number" represented  by the beans in his large pits.  If
there are 5 beans in the "1" pit, 8 beans in the ".1" pit,
and 2 in the ".01" pit the correct answer is 5.82, but being
able to answer correctly has nothing to do with winning or
losing.  The winner and loser are determined randomly by the
computer.  Learning how to determine the winner's and
looer's "number" is the only mathematical learning
experience of the game, but has nothing to do with the
random win/lose chances.
     I am not terribly impressed with this particular game.
     -----------------------------

      COMPUTER MATH GAMES III

    These are all timed card games.  A player gets 30
seconds to come up with the correct answer of the opponent
gets the point.  Some but not all of the games suffer from
the anomaly of not having aces or face cards in the deck.
Instead, players sometimes get to play the 11 of spades, 12
of hearts, 13 of clubs, etc.  If mistakes are made, the
correct answer is NOT indicated in some of these games.  In
most of these games it isn't actually necessary to solve the
math problems in order to win the game.  Winning is by luck,
and if you can't compute your score, the computer does it
for you.  Knowing WHY you won (or lost) and have the


    The game of WAR: (2 human players)
    Each player in turn is shown two cards and asked to pick
the larger of the two (eg.  10 of spades vs. 12 of clubs) by
designating the card on the right or left of the screen
display.  A correct answer is worth one point.  If the cards
are of equal value and the player correctly recognizes this,
three more cards are dealt and the player is asked to
indicate the higher of the last two cars dealt.  In this
case the problem is worth 4 points.  The player with the
most points wins.  In case of a tie, the shortest elapsed
time determines the winner.
     This game is suitable for kindergarten and first
graders.  It teaches RIGHT, LEFT, and number recognition
from 1 to 13.
     The game of FLASH: (1 or 2 players) You get to select
the maximum value on the cards (2-13, no 1's).  Next the
type of problem is selected: 1-Arithmetic 2-Reduce the
fractions 3-Squared arithmetic
     If you select "1-Arithmetic" you then get to select
addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.  The
first three are intiger (whole number) problems with intiger
answers.  Division requires that you specify an integer
quotent (always at least 1, never 0) and an integer
remainder.  For example, 6 of clubs divided by 4 of spades
gives a quotient of 1 and a remainder of 2.
     "3-Reduce the Fraction" presents a fraction
(numerator-slash-denominator ) and asks for the reduced form
as a single fraction.  For example, the game accepts "10/9",
not 1 1/9, as the reduced form of "10/9".
     "3-Squared Arithmetic" gives you the additional choice
of 1-Addition or 2-Subtraction.  You have to calculate the
square of the displyed problem, as in (10-4)^2.  You need to
know your MULTIPLICATION number facts in addition to your
addition/subtraction facts

     The game of IN BETWEEN: (1 or 2 players)
     The highest card in the deck can be between 3 and 13
(no aces or deuces).  The computer displays 3 cards and
asks, "Is the middle card between the other two in value?
1-Yes 2-No".  If the display is 9-7-7, the correct answer is
NO.  As does WAR, this game teaches number recognition and
also the relative order of the recognied numbers.

     The game of TWENTY-ONE: (1-3 players).
     The computer is dealer and an additional player.  The
dealer's complete hand is shown at the start of each hand
with one dealer card not showing.  Players are given 2 cards
and asked if they want more cards.  The usual Blackjack
rules apply.  This is the only game where face cards are so
identified (as J,Q, and K instead of 11, 12, and 13).  When
the deck is exhausted the computer reshuffles the cards and
play resumes.
     There is no betting.  Players and the dealer just win
or lose hands indefinately until they tire of the game.
Other than the lack of betting the game is very realistic.
It is as good as any of the other "Blackjack" games written
for the TI.

     The game of ZERO: (1-3 players)
     Here the red cards have positive points and the
black cards have negative points.  The game is played like
TWENTY ONE or blackjack, except that the object of the game
is to have a score as close to zero as possible.
     -----------------------------

      COMPUTER MATH GAMES IV

     The game of NIM 25: (one player against the computer)
     This is the old "pick up anywhere from 1 to x blocks
and the person who picks up the last block wins" game.
Barry Traver has discussed the mathematical basis behind
this game in recent issues of his disk magazine.
     There are 25 consecutively numbered blocks to be picked
up.  Number 25 is the last to go.  You are given the option
to go first or second and asked to chose the maximum number
of pieces that can be picked up in a turn (max of 2-25).
Unless you learn the secret the computer will usually win.
Math skills are not needed to play or win, but it is fun to
try and figure out the number of the highest numbered block
that will be left on screen after each "pick up".

     The game of MATH DARTS: (2-3 players)
     You can select the number of players, the type of math
problem (+-*-), and the maximum and minimum possible values
for the numbers in the FIRST NUMBER +-*- SECOND NUMBER
problems.  Once ranges are selected, the computer randomly
puts 10 numbers within the range on the left side of the
screen as a target.  Opitonally, the players can select the
specific numbers to be placed on the target.  A colorful man
appears and throws two darts at the target.   The numbers
hit by the darts are the two numbers in the math problem.
You get 10 seconds to solve each problem.

     The game of 500: (2-4 players)
     This game gives practice in recognition and
interpretation of decimal numbers.  You see a nice graphic
of a baseball pitcher throwing the ball, which stops midway
towards the batter.  You are then given a problem to solve.
If solved correctly within 10 seconds the batter hits the
ball in the air.  If solved incorrectly the batter hits a
grounder..  You can chose the maximum number of digits to
the right and to the left of the decimal place.  Problems
are of three types.
     1- "What is the compact form of 700+50+9+.4+.03?"  The
answer is 759.43.
     2- "What is the expanded form of 509.43?"  The correct
answer is 500+9+.4+.03.
     3- "In the number 711.5 the number in the tens place is
what digit?"  The answer is one.

     The game of WOODCHUCK: (1-4 players)
     You can select +-* or / problems, and you can specify
the high and low range of numbers to be placed on each of
two dice.  Then either the computer randomly generates
numbers within this range on the dice or you select specific
numbers within the ranges to be on the dice.  You also have
the option on your turn to roll the dice or to pass.  Math
problems ask you to +-* or / the numbers on the two dice.
The answer is the number of points you earn, and your goal
is to accumulate a specified number of points.  Just to make
things interesting, every now and then a dragon appears on
the dice when they are rolled.  The dragon eats all of a
player's points and the player must start over from zero.
The dragon makes this game really maddening!

     ----------------------
      SUMMARY
     There is a lot of variety in these games.  I like some
better than others.  They are all entertaining and they all
make good use of music and color graphics.
     .PL 1