Producer: Macmillan
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £5.95
Author: Betty Root/Fisher-Marriott
Age Range: 4-8 years

Another of the highly successful packages devised by Betty Root of the Centre for the Teaching of Reading as the University of Reading. Snapple Hopper consists of two games which teach initial sounds and rhyming words. In Snapple, which is based on the game Snap, you can choose from a one or two player game, and from nine levels of difficulty. Pairs of pictures are displayed on the screen, and if the two pictures shown shirt with the same two letters, the first player to press a response key wins a snap. Depending on the ability of the players, the pictures can be displayed with or without words.

in Hopper, which again can be played by one or two children choosing from nine speeds, the players must spot which of eight pictures has a name which rhymes with the name of the picture displayed in the centre of the screen. If the child makes an incorrect choice, or no choice at all, the rhyming word appears on the screen These two games are extremely simple in design, but will provide fun and useful reinforcement of word recognition skills for the young child.

COMMENTS

Control keys: in Snapple, one player uses ENTER, the other uses A. In Hopper, the player presses the appropriate number, from 1 to 8
Keyboard play: fast
Use of colour: excellent
Graphics: excellent

Publisher: Macmillan
Price: £5.95 each
Memory: 48K

Macmillan has previously collaborated with Sinclair Research in a number of educational programs but the new range is produced on its own account.

Snapple Hopper and Tops and Tails are two packages aimed at the four- to eight-year-old age range. Both are devised by Betty Root who is the 1985 President of the United Kingdom Reading Association.

The Sunflower Number Show is a game to practise mental arithmetic for all ages. All the programs are flexible in that there is a choice of speed and in the maths program a choice of difficulty.

Snapple Hopper contains two routines to practise the initial two letters of a word in a Snap game for one or two players, and a game to practise matching rhyming. Both can be played by one or two players.

Tops and Tails has a snakes and ladders game with players moving according to the numbers generated on a dice, and receiving extra points for recognising the first two letters of a word on a picture square.

The graphics in the games are well devised and the routines fun to play, at least for the younger members of the age range. Eight year olds may find it all rather unsophisticated. The only quibble I have is the price.