MATH STARS V. 4.0

Start-up Window
   You can dismiss each screen with a mouse click or they will
automatically dismiss after 5 secs.

Choosing Players

   Click on a player’s name to have that player entered and to see
the player’s stars. The second player’s slot is only available when
“head-to-head” play is selected.

To add a new player...
   just type that player’s name into the desired slot, then click
“Let’s Play.” You will be asked whether you want to add that player
to the list.

To change a player’s name or delete a player from the list...
   select the “Change - Delete Player” option from the NAMES menu.
Once the new window appears, click on the name to be deleted. It
will appear in the edit window. Make the desired changes and click
“Accept Change” or just click “Delete” to have the player removed.

Importing a list of names from a text file...
   may be easier than typing in each name separately. Create a
text file with nothing but the names to be entered with each name
separated by a carriage return (<RETURN>). Save the file in TEXT
format. (most word processing program have this option) Then, in
Math Stars, select “Import Name List” from the NAMES menu.
Click “Continue” and then open the text file you created. The names
will automatically be added to the list.
    
Math Stars Options Window

   Select the function and the time limit as desired.  If the timer is 
turned off, the player will NOT receive a star for a perfect round.
   "Allow negative numbers" will include negative as well as positive
numbers randomly in the problems.
   "Fix lower number" will bring up a box into which you may enter a 
number from 2 to the highest number currently set.  This number will 
always appear as the lower number until this option is turned off.

More... Button

   The option to change the highest number allowed is moved to this
screen. Simply enter the number in the box. If you are using a registered 
version, the new number will be saved as the default number. Otherwise 
the new number will last for this session and revert to 9 at the next 
startup. Problems can be displayed horizontally (more like an algebra 
problem) or vertically. You also can select an option of solving for any 
of the 3 numbers of the problem. The x's indicate where the unknown 
number will be.

In “Head-To-Head” mode, both players compete for the best cumulative 
time using the SAME problems. Therefore, other time options are 
disabled. Other than time, all options in “Head-To-Head” mode are 
the same as “Single Player” mode.

NOTE: If the "Allow Negative Numbers" option is selected, the 2 players in head-to-head
mode will have the same sets of numbers, but the negatives are randomly assigned and
will not appear in the same way for both players.

To allow for competition between two players of unequal skill, you 
add seconds to Player #2's time by the "handicap" feature. Just check
that box below the 2nd player's name and a box will appear asking
you how many seconds to add to this player's time. Clicking "set
handicap" adds the number of seconds specified. Clicking "cancel"
removes the handicap.

Math Detective Options

    NOTE: The Math Detective module requires a 13" screen or larger.
This game will not be available on screens small than 640 x 480 pixels.
   The player may choose to search for Factors, Multiples, or let
the program choose randomly.
“Let’s Play” begins the game.
“Main Menu” returns to the Player’s Screen.

Difficulty Level...
   is used to make Math Detective available for a wide range of
ability levels. Use the chart below to determine the appropriate
difficulty level.

Level          Factor Range          Multiple Range (find 10 multiples)

  1                    9 - 45                      2 - 9
  2                    18 - 60                    3 - 10
  3                    27 - 75                    4 - 11
  4                    36 - 90                    5 - 12 
  5                    45 - 105                   6 - 13
  6                    54 - 124                    7 - 14
  7                    63 - 135                    8 - 15
  8                    72 - 150                    9 - 16
  9                    81 - 165                    10 - 17
 10                    90 - 184                  11 - 18

Math Detective Game Screen

   Click on the button to indicate the correct answers to the problem.
If you are correct, the answer will appear in the ladder to the right of the
screen. If you are wrong, the answer will be X’ed out and the “Number
Wrong” in the upper left corner will be incremented. The number wrong
allowed before the game is aborted and no star is awarded varies with
the difficulty level. Use this formula to find the allowed number of misses:

   12 - difficulty level = allowed misses

   If all of the boxes in the ladder are correctly filled, the player earns 
a star. Math Detective can only be played in the “Single Player” mode.

Math Detective Clues

   Clicking on one of the “Show Clues” buttons brings up a scrolling
window with all of the factors or multiples from 1 to the number set. (The
maximum top number is 500). Once displayed, these window may be printed.

Math Stars Game Screen

   When the problems appear, type in the numbers of the correct answer.
There is no need to press <RETURN>.  If the answer is correct a chime 
will sound and the correct answer thermometer will begin to fill.  
If 2 digits are entered and the answer is wrong, it will vanish.  

Note:  If the correct answer contains 3 digits, it takes 3 digits to
make the answer disappear. This prevents the answer from disappearing
while the student is waiting to enter the 3rd digit.

Hint:  If you enter a one digit incorrect answer, you may use delete to erase it.  
However, it is probably quicker to just enter another number 
(or 2) and the  entire answer will vanish.

   A round contains 10 problems.  If all 10 are answered correctly 
within the alloted time, the star will light and the player will be 
awarded a star. Any incorrect problems will appear with the correct 
answer in the area on the left of the screen.

Result Window

   At the end of 10 questions, a window will appear with a message for
the player depending on the results.  The buttons in this window have the
following effects:
Try Again: Returns to game screen, same player, same options.
Options: Returns you to the options window.
New Player: Returns you to the Player Screen for changing players 
or seeing your earned stars.
Hall of Fame: Allow you to see the Hall of Fame before returning you
to the Player's Screen.

Hall of Fame

     A player earning 10 stars will automatically be entered into the Hall 
of Fame.  This player's earned stars will be reset to 0.  The Hall of Fame
may be seen at any time by selecting it from the Windows Menu.
To clear the names in the Hall of Fame, hold the option key while clicking
on the continue button. A dialog will appear asking you if you wish to
clear the Hall of Fame.

Names Files

     Math Stars stores the names and stars earned in the file called 
MSNames in your system folder.  If Math Stars cannot find a file by
that name in your SYSTEM FOLDER, it creates a blank one. You may switch 
files , just make sure that the one you want to use is in the SYSTEM 
folder of your computer and is named EXACTLY “MSNames.”  
Hall of Fame names are stored in the resource fork of the application.
Caution:  Once you have run Math Stars 4, do not replace the "MSNames" 
file with one created by a previous version.

Enjoy Math Stars !!
(click to continue)