Gary the Swamp Frog's Great Geometry Adventure

Reviewed by Ronda Scantlin
Published by Ohio Distinctive Software

Age Group: Age 4 to 8, Age 8 and Up, Adults
Type: Math
Price: $10

PC version requires:
Windows 3.1 or later, 8MB RAM

Mac version requires:
Multimedia Macintosh with 8 MB RAM

Description:

Gary the swamp frog needs your help! When Gary left the swamp to learn more about geometry in order to build homes and bridges for the swamp, Professor Shapewise came into the swamp and took control of all its inhabitants. Your job is to help Gary free his "mind controlled" friends and save the swamp from the control of Professor Shapewise. Learning about geometry is the key! Gary the Swamp Frog's Great Geometry Adventure provides children of all ages an entertaining way to practice identifying shapes and objects, calculating volume, area, and perimeter, and solving word problems.

There are five areas of play in the swamp:

  • (1) Shape Wreck - Objectives: Identify 2-dimensional shapes and 3-dimensional objects; learn math and geometry terms; develop strategic thinking abilities; and develop spatial skills.
  • (2) Perimeter Castle - Objectives: Calculate the perimeter of different shapes; learn math and geometry terms; solve word problems; develop strategic thinking abilities; and develop spatial skills.
  • (3) Area Pond - Objectives: Calculate the area of 2-dimensional shapes and surface area of 3-dimensional objects; learn math and geometry terms; solve word problems; develop strategic thinking abilities; and develop spatial skills.
  • (4) Volume Valley - Objectives: Calculate the volume of 3-dimensional objects; learn math and geometry terms; solve word problems; develop strategic thinking abilities; and develop spatial skills.
  • (5) Shapewise's Fortress - Objectives: All of the above skills are required to navigate in the fortress. You must master Games 1 -4 before you can enter Professor Shapewise's Fortress.

Features:

  • Promotes the development of math, geometry, and problem-solving skills
  • 75 levels of game play (5 areas with 15 levels in each topic area)
  • Questions vary from basic to advanced difficulty, providing challenges for all ages
  • Progress tracking available

Technical Aspects:

Gary the Swamp Frog's Great Geometry Adventure ran smoothly in a Windows 98 environment on both Pentium I 166mz and Pentium III 600mz machines. You must run this particular program from the CD. General help messages are available at any time during play by clicking on the "question mark" located near the lower portion of the screen. Background music can be turned on and off by clicking the "musical note," also near the lower portion of the screen. Unfortunately, I was unable to print the progress tracking due to a system error, a problem I have yet to remedy. The game is set in an adventure format and is certainly filled with bright images and interesting characters.

Report and Conclusions:

Gary the Swamp Frog's Great Geometry Adventure will really test your knowledge of geometry! From the most basic questions about shapes to very complicated calculations of volume, this geometry game will provide challenges to children, adolescents, and adults.

The game incorporates a couple of different themes: (1) Move Gary the frog around the swamp to catch and free his "mind controlled" friends while avoiding the professor's goons, and (2) answer geometry questions located in the five areas of play to advance onward to the fortress. Because of these many ongoing activities, there were several times during play that I found the on-screen tutorials and glossary to be quite helpful. The glossary provides clear definitions and examples of shapes, polygons, perimeters, area, and volume. Furthermore, there are useful explanations regarding how to calculate perimeter, area, and volume. I would strongly recommend, however, printing and reading the manual to get a better sense of the objectives of this software. The manual is available in a variety of formats, including HTML, PDF, and notepad.

The activities in Gary the Swamp Frog's Great Geometry Adventure promote skill development as you work your way toward the goal of entering Professor Shapewise's Fortress. The levels of play and increasing difficulty of the questions support children's growing needs and will likely challenge parents and adults as well!