Star Wars Math: Jabba's Game Galaxy

PC version requires:
Windows 95, 98, or 2000, DirectX 7.0 compatible (included), P166MHz ,32MB RAM, 4X IDE or SCSI CD-ROM, 2MB PCI or AGP graphics, 16-bit sound card required, 100MB HD, QuickTime 4.1 (included)

Mac version requires:
OS version 7.6, 160MHz PowerPC 603e, 120MHz PowerPC 604, or any G3 or faster processor, 32MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM drive, 640x480, thousands of colors, 100MB HD, QuickTime 4.1.2 (included)

Description:

With the typical Star Wars flair for the dramatic, Star Wars Math: Jabba's Game Galaxy opens with our ship being smashed in a crash landing. Just like in the Phantom Menace, we are at the mercy of the cunning Watto the Toydarian, who explains what we need to do to rebuild our ship. By playing the math games, we can collect credits to buy parts to rebuild our ship so that we can complete our important mission. We are provided a map and are allowed to play the games in any order and for whatever length of time we please.

In "Jabba's Game Plaza," we can play Holochex, a variation of checkers with some out-of-this-world game pieces. (I never could beat Jabba the Hutt; we usually ended in a draw.) In "Dueling Dice," we are pitted against the wily Sebulba in something slightly similar to Blackjack. We take turns rolling the dice, adding that number of droids to our respective platforms, in the hopes of coming as close to 30 as possible. If we neglect to "stand" early enough and a roll takes us over a total of thirty droids, they all spill off and Sebulba wins. (A "snake eyes" on the dice also gives a win to Sebulba.) We join Teemto for "Digitto," where we use "digit droids" as we pit our wits against the belching alien as we attempt to make the highest number, lowest number, or match a given number, assigned by chance. (This game is wonderful practice in place value!)

Ratts Tyerell is an encouraging opponent in "Ratts' Race," where players have to answer questions to obtain puzzle pieces as we work our way around the game path using our hilarious pathwalkers. When our puzzle is filled, we are allowed to enter the inner path on our quest for the Naboo Globe of Peace. Thankfully, the Chabus are there to help us check our work before submitting our answers, providing onscreen (and "alive") manipulatives for those that need them.

Watto's Shop and the Ship Hangar round out the map of this planet, and we visit them to buy parts and then take off in our refurbished ship. (Watto requires exact change, which offers practice in money management.) Once we've collected plenty of space junk, we may return and sell it to Watto for even more credits, cleaning up the planet and making a profit at the same time!

Features:

• Two player ability
• Practice in equivalency, fractions, addition, subtraction, multiplication, place value, and geometry
• Ability to save games/credits for future playtime ·
• Zeppo, the help droid is available at all times to assist you
• Tutorials available for each game
• All dialogue is subtitled onscreen, making this game easily played by the hearing-impaired
• Three difficulty levels
• Ability to disable print function (in my house, a definite plus!)

Technical Aspects:

Report and Conclusions: