Ten Tricky Tiles

Reviewed by Cynthia A. Sorrels
Published by Sunburst Technology

Age Group: Age 4 to 8
Type: Math
Price: $80

PC version requires:
Win '95, '98, NT4, 2000, Pentium 100MHz, 64M RAM, CDx4

Mac version requires:
Power PC, 100MHz, System .6.1, 32M RAM, CDx4

Description:

Ten Tricky Tiles offers three activities for solving number sentences. In Addition and Subtraction, there are five number sentences horizontally and vertically to be solved. In Balance Tiles, there are three horizontal number sentences to solve. In Crossword Tiles, there's a grid presented with four horizontal and 4 vertical sentences. Students drag the appropriate number to the blank tile in the sentence and when it's done, click Submit.

Features:

  • Students work at their own pace
  • Hints can be requested and one tile will be placed correctly, 10 hints per screen
  • Enhances math skills

Technical Aspects:

Installation was very quick. We played this program on an iMac DV SE with a G3 processor and 128M RAM and had no problems during runtime. There isn't a lot of music, but there are some sound effects as the tiles are moved around. The school version comes with an excellent notebook that includes activity worksheets and ideas for creating your own puzzles.

Report and Conclusions:

The beauty of Ten Tricky Tiles is that the focus is on solving the puzzle, so it involves strategy building skills. The kids won't even realize they're practicing math skills! While the stated age range is K-3, I suspect that many kindergartners wouldn't be able to handle this particular program. First graders shouldn't have too much trouble, but be aware that the puzzles get harder. HINT: Look for the sentence that's nearly complete and fill in that missing tile first. It could save you a lot of trouble!