The object of Calculus is to mix learning mathematics with playing a game and become an expert with the four mathematical operations which are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It makes learning math fun and is designed for children from age 7 to 12+. You are never too old to learn your math.
The game can be played by one person against the computer or by two human players. Each player types in their names, selects a flag as their country and chooses between a boy and a girl. A monkey represents the computer and is dressed differently according to the different countries available. Each player is then assigned three numbers between two and seven. These represent the six rows of seven squares on the board numbered between two and seven. Your objective will be to move your character across the board and to be the first to arrive on the other side.
There are three levels of difficulty that are calculations up to 20, 100 and 1000. A mathematical formula will appear on the screen, for example, (a x b) + a - (b x c). Dice are thrown to determine the values of a, b, and c. The formula is then replaced with the random values and the player must calculate the answer within a specified time limit. So, if a=4 b=6 and c=5 we then would have (4 x 6) - 4 + (6 x 5). The answer is of course 50. You then must pick what numbers between two and seven divide into 50. In this case, 50 is divisible by 2, 4, and 5. The players who were assigned rows 2, 4, and 5 will advance one square. Because numbers like seven won't be as common as numbers such as two, there are only two squares for the player to cross instead of all seven as it is for row number two. The squares that are not used are colored white instead of with the players color. Sometimes, instead of having a formula to calculate, the player will be allowed to select a number between, for example, 40 and 50. Here the player must choose a number that when divided by the numbers of two to seven, the answers will be more favorable for his characters. For example, if you had your players on rows 2, 6 and 7, then it would be best if you chose a number like 42 which is divisible by those three numbers. Selecting a number like 41 would cause no possible moves.
During the game, players may click on the numbers located to the left and right of the equations to see the multiplication process for that number. For instance, if you clicked on the 8, then you would see 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, etc. There is also a Professor button that will help, correct and guide the player. The game continues until three players have made it to the other side.
Calculus is a fun game for learning math and should help any child excel in mathematics. The graphics in the game are nothing to rave about with just a simple plain background and a few icons, but the players for the humans and monkeys are well designed. The CD will work on both PC's with Windows and Mac's and requires 8 megs of ram. I tried running the game with a 486 DX 50, 4 megs of ram, and it wasn't sufficient at all! The game ran very slowly and was not very playable. The box does specify a minimum of 8 megs of ram, and when I tested it on a Pentium 60 with 8 megs, the game was fast and worked fine. I am sure that the programming of the game could have been improved upon as a game of this size should be playable with less memory.
386 SX-33 MHz or higher,
Min 8Mb memory,
Windows 3.1 or later, MS-DOS 5.0 or later,
Hard drive required,
Double speed CD-ROM drive or faster,
256 colors SVGA video graphic card,
Microsoft mouse and 100% compatibles.
All sound cards under Windows
Tel: +32-2-468-0910
Fax: +32-2-468-1177
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Overall: 78%
