Educational Software Reviews: Math Blaster Ages 8-9 from Knowledge Adventure

Cyber News and Reviews is a monthly column published since 1995 for parents, teachers and small business and home business owners offering articles on some of the best computer products available. I cover business software, education, entertainment with freeware and shareware, and some hardware too. Over the years, I've reviewed computer programs from Microsoft, Knowledge Adventure (Davidson) and others. When my kids were young, they couldn't wait for the software to arrive and have fun testing the games and lessons with me. And, in the past few years they've contributed some of their own reviews with opinions. The best advice on software is from the children who use it. Also, many of the business programs reviewed are useful for home business and small business owners. HB

Math Blaster Ages 8-9 from Knowledge Adventure

Are you ready for an educational adventure with those famous Blasternauts? Well, get your math rockets on so you can launch into this new educational math adventure from Knowledge Adventure, for kids ages 8-9. Join the Blasternauts for some fun activities with emphasis on all types of math including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages, estimation, equivalents, graphs, tables, geometry, problem solving and logic. Your goal is to rid the super-computer, Omega, of bugs and save the universe. You'll play arcade style video games, as you solve a variety of math questions.

This is a very comprehensive math adventure with several activity areas, plus great graphics and sound effects. From the main menu you'll find Domino Bridge for a number match game, use The Trap to reprogram bugs you captured, use the Cache to store the bugs, at Circuit Quest move through a maze to collect chips, in Bug Hunt search for equations that fit within a number range, and answer geometry questions with a tune twist to catch bugs at Musical Math. One last menu takes you to Blaster's Watch offering puzzles for printing and more games. You can even access math activities, and interact with other Math Blaster users, on the Internet, using their Blaster Virtual Classroom. There, you can collect games and prizes for SmartPoints you've earned while learning. A CD is included so you can sign up for service and get 4 free months. If your kids find it fun, it's only $19.95 for a 6-month subscription. The price doesn't include Internet access. You'll use your existing Internet connection to get the Blaster Virtual Classroom.

My daughter, Sarah, who is 9-years-old, spend several days with this CD. She said she had fun, but also had some trouble catching Dr. Zero even using her best traps. Even though Sarah is above average in math, it's obvious that Math Blaster challenged her.

Math Blaster Ages 8-9 sells for a street price of $29.95 and will run on any multimedia PC, Pentium 133 or faster, with 32 MB RAM running Windows 98/95 and the Power Macintosh, 120 MHz or higher, with 12 MB RAM. Both computers require an eight-speed (8x) CD-ROM drive. For more information, or to order, visit Amazon.com.

Howard Berenbon

Software Companies Mentioned

Knowledge Adventure, Inc.
19840 Pioneer Avenue
Torrance, CA 90503
Phone: 1-800-545-7677
URL http://www.knowledgeadventure.com

Business Software Reviewed & Educational Software Reviews since 1995 - Anti-spyware and virus detection and protection programs