View manual text
welcome to math blaster Ages 4-6
Calling all Blaster Pals! Blasternaut, Galactic
Commander and Spot need your help to get
the Plusto Galaxy back in shape. Beam
onto the Blastership and count on having
an exciting adventure with math!
Math Blaster Ages 4-6 can be explored in two
modes: Mission Mode and Free Play Mode.
mISSION mODE
General Fishburn assigns you to team up with the Blaster Pals on an intergalactic mission to visit four planets.You must complete an assignment on
one planet before moving to the next. You earn medals and award
certificates as the mission progresses. There are three levels of difficulty
on the mission. You can move up the ranks from Some Serious Counter to
Awesome Estimator and finally to Most Amazing Math Master.
fREE pLAY
Explore each planet on your own. Select any activity and difficulty level.
Progress records, medals, and certificates are not available in Free Play
mode. Click the Blaster Shield button
at any time to select a planet or
change the level of play.
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mINIMUM rEQUIREMENTS FOR wINDOWS®
3 Microsoft Windows 95 or 98
3 Pentium 166MHz or faster processor
3 12x CD-ROM drive or faster
3 16 MB RAM
3 Minimum 40MB free disk space
3 Color monitor with 640x480 resolution 16-bit colors
3 16-bit Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card and speakers
3 Microsoft -compatible mouse
3 Ink jet or laser printer to print photos and images
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rUNNING THE pROGRAM wITH wINDOWS® 95
0 Insert the Math Blaster Ages 4–6 CD into your CD-ROM drive. Setup
will start automatically (for systems that support AutoPlay only).
0 To run the program, insert the Math Blaster CD into your drive. The
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program will run automatically. User records will be placed in a folder
on your hard drive.
See the ReadMe file if your system does not support AutoPlay.
To quit the program at any time, press ESC (or CTRL+Q or ALT+F4).
© Knowledge Adventure, Inc. All rights reserved. Math Blaster is a registered trademark of Vivendi Universal
Publishing and/or its subsidiaries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh is a
registered trademark and Power Mac is a trademark af Apple Computer, Inc. Pentium is a registered trademark
of Intel Corporation. Uses Miles Sound System, © 1994-1998 by RAD Game Tools, Inc.
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signing in
Click letters to
enter your name.
Erase a letter.
Clear – Remove
records for an
existing player.
Free Play
Start
New Pal – Enter a new name.
Exit
0 Click New Pal. Click the on-screen letter keys or use your keyboard to
type your name. Click the eraser or press
to correct errors.
0 Click Start to begin the game in Mission Mode.
0 Click Free Play to explore the activities in Free Play Mode. When the
BACKSPACE
dialog box appears, choose the level you wish to play.
In Mission Mode, each completed planetary assignment is automatically
saved for you. To resume your mission later, use the arrows to highlight
your name on the Sign-In screen. Click your name and then click Start. To
start a new mission, click your name and then click Clear.
Press SPACEBAR to bypass songs or introductions anywhere in the program.
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the cabin of the blastership
Welcome aboard the Blastership! Click to activate the interesting pieces
of equipment on this ship. Explore the main cabin anytime.
Awards Case
Navigation Map
Number Line
Constellations
Ship Tour
Grow Worms
Interstellar
Radio
Shape Circus
Book
Awards Case – See the medals and certificates you have earned on
your mission and view the records of your progress in each activity.
Navigation Map – Visit a planet. An odometer shows you how far you
are traveling in space.
Ship Tour – Have the program activities explained. This is only available in Mission Mode the first time a new user signs in.
Interstellar Radio – Hear a song.
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Constellations – Navigate through the universe by selecting planets in the
correct numerical order.
Number Line – Play with a galactic number line.
Grow Worms – Play with a trio of wiggly worms.
Shape Circus – Explore a spectacular circus filled with shapes, colors,
and fun.
To return to the Main Cabin from any activity, click the
.
hOW TO pLAY WITH THE gROW wORMS
0 Click the head of a worm and drag it up and down. As a worm is
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pulled upwards, more of his segments appear. Push him down and his
segments disappear. The worm on the right shows the total
of or difference between the number of segments showing
on the green and red worms.
The equation below the worms reflects the numbers of segments showing on each worm. Each worm has a maximum
of 20 segments.
Click the bubble between the green and red worm to toggle
between the plus and minus symbols.
Keep track of your favorite equations on the scratch pad next to the
worms. Click the arrow button
to copy the equation to the
notepad.
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0 Click the Eraser button to clear the pad.
0 Click the Blasternaut button to play a number game. Each time you
click Blasternaut, he enters an equation on the pad. Find a pattern to
his equations and take a turn at finishing the sequence.
hOW TO pLAY WITH THE nUMBER lINE
0 Move the hand cursor along the number line. Click to select a
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number. Move the cursor to the right (to add) or the left (to subtract).
Click again to select a number. The equation you created appears
above the number line.
Click the Eraser button to start a new equation.
hOW TO pLAY WITH THE cONSTELLATIONS
0 The Blastership follows the cursor as you select the
planets and stars in correct numerical order. You may need to
count by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, or 10’s. As the Blastership travels from
one location to another in the correct order, a line will
automatically connect the planets.
When all the planets have been
connected, watch the sparks fly
and see what you created.
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hOW TO vIEW YOUR aWARDS AND rECORDS
0 In Mission Mode, you are awarded a medal for each activity you
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successfully complete: bronze for Level 1, silver for Level 2, and gold
for Level 3. Click the Awards Case to view your medals.
When you have completed the level, click the button next to the
medals to receive your certificate from General Fishburn.
Click the
button to view your records. Use the up and down
arrows to review you progress in all three levels.
Click the
button to print your certificates or records.
Click the
button to return to the main cabin.
hOW TO pLAY WITH THE sHAPE cIRCUS
The Instructions Screen
Click a shape. When that
page appears, click to hear
the shape’s definition, hear a
sound, or hear a joke.
Click the arrow. Hear a story
poem about the Shape Circus.
On each page, click to hear
the shape’s definition, hear a
sound, or hear the story again.
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plane t toe tall
Visit the planet Toetall for
a special play starring
the beautiful Glorious
Galactica.
Level 1: Estimation
The Magician challenges
Glorious to estimate the
number of golden eggs
he collected. Click a
number. The Blaster Pals
give you hints to help you
to find the correct number of eggs. Numbers greater or less than the numbers selected will dim until the correct number of eggs is selected.
Level 2: Addition and Subtraction (0–10) and
Level 3: Addition and Subtraction (0–20)
As Glorious travels to deliver golden eggs to her Granny,
you decide who she meets on her journey. The narrator will
introduce the story and ask you to choose the characters and
numbers to help create the story. Choose a number from the number line
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or a highlighted character button from either side of the stage
when the narrator asks for your help. You must solve five of the
equations correctly before the Granny button can be selected
and the game completed.
plane t coun taloni a
There is trouble on
planet Countalonia.
Those rotten Pesters
have stolen jewels
and coins from the
citizens of this planet.
Blasternaut needs
your help to reclaim
these valuable objects.
Level 1: Counting (1–20) and Color Identification
The collection goal is displayed in the cloud above the Pesters.
Whack the Pesters with your hammer to take away the jewels.
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0 If you whack a Pester who has a jewel of a color you are not collect0
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ing, the Pester will take your hammer and throw it away. To retrieve it,
move your cursor over the hammer.
The jewels you gather are held in a robotic collection bin. When you
collect the correct number of jewels, click the red handle. Blasternaut
will return the jewels to the Countalonians.
Click on the jewels in the collection bin to get rid of any extras you
may have collected.
Watch the number line to help keep track of how many jewels you
collect.
Level 2: Addition (1–20) and Level 3: Subtraction (1–20)
Now those Pesters have stolen golden coins. Whack the Pester who
has the correctly numbered coin in his mouth to solve the equation on
the cloud. If you whack an incorrect Pester, he will take your hammer
away. To retrieve it, move your cursor over the hammer.
Use the number line to help you add and subtract. Click the On/Off
button to activate the number line. The game is paused whenever you
use the number line.
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Correctly answer six equations to complete this and the
following activities.
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tr apezoidi a
Help Spot collect the shapes needed to build the galaxy’s hottest rockets.
Tower
Techno-Tube
Pick-up /Drop
Lever
Station
Console
Move and Carry
Arrows
0 Click a shape to pick it up. Or use the arrow buttons to move Spot
around the screen, then click the lever to pick up or drop a shape.
0 Click the Techno-Tube or the up arrow to carry the shape to the
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Techno-Tube and drop it inside. Shapes that do not fit into the rocket
will be thrown out of the tube.
Click the shapes pictured in the console to hear them named aloud.
Click Spot to hear the goal again.
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Level 1: Shapes/Colors/Patterns
Collect shapes that fill in the missing pieces of the pattern.
Level 2: Shapes/Colors/Puzzles
Collect both half-pieces to put the shapes back together.
Level 3: Shapes/Colors/Attributes
Collect the shape that matches the information on the console.
frac toid
Gates
The natives of
Fractoid are
master maze
makers. Test
your skill!
Editor Button
(Free Play only)
OK Button
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Collection Bin
GC will tell you how many and what color marbles need to be collected.
Click a gate to open it and let the marbles fall into the maze. Click a
gate again to close it.
Click the levers, dials, and air blowers to change the direction the
marbles fall.
Click the OK button after you’ve collected the correct marbles in the
collection bin. (They may be in any order.)
Click any unneeded marbles in the collection bin to remove them.
Click the Hint button to hear helpful hints.
You have only 15 marbles to play the maze. If you run out of marbles
to play with, remove some from the collection bin by clicking on them.
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Level 1 covers Number Identification, Counting, and Color Recognition;
Level 2 covers Estimation and Fractions; and Level 3 covers Patterns and
Prediction.
hOW TO uSE THE mARBLE mAZE mAKER (fREE pLAY ONLY)
You can become a master marble maze maker too. Click the
button
to build your own maze.
Click the arrow buttons to take a look at all the maze puzzle pieces.
Cllick the location in the maze area where you wish to place the
highlighted piece.
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0 Click the
button to lock the maze together and start the game.
0 When you finish, click the button to cancel your maze and return
to the game.
Be careful when you place your puzzle pieces! You might create a maze
that cannot be completed. Click the
button to reset the maze and
continue the game.
special features
Print Kit – Print a specially designed 36-page Galactic Forces Cadet
Math Training Book filled with non-computer math activities and ideas.
Select the How to Use the Print Kit icon in the Math Blaster Ages 4-6
folder or program group for complete information on printing the book.
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Parent Tips – A file of printable on-line Parent Tips describes the educational benefits of each Math Blaster Ages 4-6 activity, as well as fun math
activities you and your child can play away from the computer.
Select the Parent Tips icon in the Math Blaster Ages 4-6 Folder or
program group to view the Parent Tips.
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Manual: Patricia Masai and Cathy Johnson
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TECHNICAL SUPPORT TIPS
If you’re having trouble with the program, try these tips before contacting Tech Support:
• Make sure the CD surface (clear side) is free of all fingerprints and is not scratched.
• Try running the program on a friend’s computer to help determine whether the CD is
damaged or there is another cause of the problem.
• Try adjusting the color depth on your computer to 256 colors and see if the program
will install or run.
• Close all background applications except "Systray" and "Explorer" (for Windows®
98/95) and try to install or run the program.
• Make sure your sound and video card drivers are the latest version available (for
Windows® 98/95).
If you need to contact Technical Support, please have the following information ready:
• Product name and version number (on the face of the CD)
• Processor and clock speed (e.g., Pentium® II 450 MHz)
• Operating system and version (e.g., Windows® 98)
• Manufacturer and/or brand of sound and video cards
• Error messages (if any)
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Support outside U.S. and Canada via fax or mail only.
Phone: (310) 649-8045 • Fax (310) 258-0755 Customer Service: (310) 649-8001
Mail: Knowledge Adventure
4247 South Minnewawa Ave., Fresno, CA 93725
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