Producer: Sinclair/Macmillan Education
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £7.95
Author: Five Ways Software (Science Horizons Series)
Age Group: 8-14 years

The educational aim behind this tutorial-type game is to show that health, diet and exercise are interrelated. The arcade format has the player trying to help the Dodger family to build up immunity to avoid the onslaught of attacking germs, by eating wisely and my taking the correct amount of exercise. The program attempts to show that different countries of the world have to cope with different problems of health and diet, and tries to show that staying alive in the Third World presents greater problems in avoiding the dangers of life than we face in Europe.

The game begins with the Dodger father - who is the easiest to keep alive - and then becomes progressively more difficult with the other members of the family - Mum, Granny, teenager and toddler, each of whom has different dietary requirements. The final target is to keep all of the Dodgers alive in all of the countries. The game cashes in on children's attraction to the arcade format, attempting to use it as a vehicle for sound educational aims. Unfortunately, however, the arcade element is so successful that much of the message is lost: for example the germs attacking the Dodgers are not seen by the pupils who played the game with me as representing 'broad categories of illness... ranging from the common cold, flu, cough, sickness, to more serious ones such as malaria as is the intention, but simply as enemies which 'zap' the Dodgers. Some of the foods are very difficult to identify from the graphics, and it becomes increasingly unlikely that the player will 'see how a balanced diet (including a range of vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, fat, mineral salts) influences health.

The copy we tested seemed to be faulty. No matter how we tried we couldn't make the exercise option work.

Disease Dodgers is the sort of educational game which, in spite of having a laudable aim, does not wholly succeed. The packaging is probably not attractive enough for the game to be bought by teenagers; and it seems that the game would be of limited use in the classroom because of difficulties encountered in identifying the food, and the fact that the diseases are not specified. The pupils who tested this program for me quite enjoyed the arcade format, but at the end of it all, they had learned very little. The only way this game might be of value would be I with a fair amount of adult intervention, so that the player would be encouraged to talk about the relationship between weight and health, and then perhaps research the diseases prevalent in the countries mentioned.

COMMENTS

Control keys: much easier to play with a joystick
Keyboard play: good
Use of colour: reasonable
Graphics: the types of food are not easily identifiable

DISEASE DODGERS
Sinclair Research
Memory: 48k
Price: £7.95
Joystick: Sinclair

Disease Dodgers is one of those programs which are much more fun than the program notes suggest. We are told that the game will show how health, diet and exercise are interrelated. It is based on this quite complex idea. You have to move the Dodger family over a series of jumps, eating food and drinking as you go along. The terrain varies and gets more awkward depending on which region of the world you are in.

The family consists of Dad, Mum, Gran, teenager and toddler. Invariably Dad has the best chance of survival, a dubious position to hold. As the dodger moves about the terrain he or she has to jump over obstacles and, if no food is eaten, gets progressively weaker. All the time various coloured blobs representing diseases attack your dodger.

The aim of the game is to build up immunity by eating the healthy foods on offer. Weight, immunity levels and survival scores are shown at the top of the screen.

Unusually for an educational game this has true arcade action. The dodgers have to take running jumps over the walls and not simply hop over them, which all adds to the motivation factor. The big problem with the game is with the graphics. Some of the foods are difficult to distinguish; for instance was that purple shape a dyed egg or an aubergine?

Despite the colour problems Disease Dodgers is fun to play and demonstrates the relationships stated if only on an elementary level. Certainly it is to be recommended as an alternative to the average arcade game for children between eight and 12.

SPECTRUM LESSONS

Will Mike Edmunds administer the cane of give gold stars to Sinclair's latest?

It always seems to be a very long time between releases by Sinclair, and when they do appear they often seem like the famed curate's egg.... good in parts! Not so this selection, which appear to provide a wealth of educational experiences. With the exception of Number Painter and Estimator Racer, both of which bear the Psion and A.S.K. labels, all the other titles are published under the Macmillan Education banner. The loading screens however, bear the logo of Fiveways Software... always an indication of software of educational merit.

Each of the Macmillan titles are well presented and come with the usual comprehensive parent guide, for it must be said that the intended market is more home than school use. Having said that however, there is certainly a great deal of material that can and will be used in many classrooms. There is plenty of advice for those parents who may be unsure of the part that they can play in developing the child's reading skills. Parents are also encouraged to work through the programs with the child and to reinforce the skills gained at the keyboard with follow-up writing activities together with lots of praise an encouragement.

The guides give the general aims of the programs and outline the role of the micro in the education of children. There follows a step by step run-down of the program, and information detailing how to transfer the programs to microdrive. This last feature should be standard on all 'educational' programs this being a plea from many teachers with Spectrums in their classrooms. Perhaps now that the price of cartridges has fallen, software houses will at last make life just a little easier for all those who have to wait, and wait, while their cassettes load.

LEARN TO READ

There are five new programs which follow on from the Learn To Read series, these are Alphabetter, Wordsetter, Spellbox, Soundabout and Bodyswop. All have a similar format and graphical content to that found in the previous series, containing such entertaining characters as Deb the Rat, Ben the Dog and, of course, the Fat Pig.

The redefined character set is clear and easy to read, an essential for the child who is just beginning the reading process. The graphics are delightful, and good use is made of both colour and sound throughout the whole series. A recent review said that the animals are not particularly well represented but I could find no fault and the animation sequences only add to the appeal of the programs.

Briefly, Alphabetter deals with sequential alphabetical order and ordering of words according to their second letter. These programs have several speed options which enables them to be used at various levels and with children of differing abilities. A graphic reward follows each section and the child is given a score to aim at for the next time around.

Wordsetter helps children to sort words and pictures into sets. This concept is an important stage of the learning process and there are two levels available, each of which can be played at three speeds. The program is ideally for two players, each of whom aims to be the first to complete their set or theme. A picture or word is generated at random in the middle of the screen and each child must decide if it fits into his or her set. Correct answers give the child the picture, incorrect responses take one of the pictures away. There is a healthy sense of competition and the program not only helps with sorting but also encourages accurate and rapid responses.

The next title, Spellbox, contains activities to aid word building and accuracy. There are two sections both of which are based upon the traditional games, Noughts and Crosses and Pelmanism. Although these could quite easily be played by more traditional methods, (i.e by using pencil and paper) it must be said that the instant feedback of the computer provides an additional incentive for most children. Perhaps one vital element that computers cannot provide is the warm encouragement of an adult and this aspect is strongly stressed within the notes.

Both parts of Soundabout help children to recognise and use initial sounds. Pictures shown require the child to press the appropriate letter on the keyboard, but it is a shame that programs of such overall quality take no note of the fact that the keyboard uses uppercase! I suppose it might be argued that this is a deliberate attempt to match upper to lower case but an overlay would be a distinct advantage in this instance!

Bodyswop contains some very effective animation and requires the child to spell the word corresponding to the highlighted part of the featured animal. Help options are available with the required answers either displayed or hidden. Three programs introduce, reinforce and test vocabulary based upon parts of the body. The final section is more of a reward than a teaching program, and is an updated form of the 'make a Beetle' game.

Taken as a suite of programs these contain many and varied ideas and exercises which will help to introduce and reinforce the necessary skills required in an effective and appealing way.

THIS IS A JOB FOR...

Maths programs are perhaps the most common type of educational software available at present so it takes something quite different to make an impact, particularly with teachers. Macmillan appear to have come up with a new idea for their latest ventures into mathematics, just as the current trend for adventures is the 'Part one, followed by the sequel approach, and for arcade games to have successive programs based around the same character, so, now we have Macman!

Macman is the star of four programs, The Caber Eater, The Treasure Caves, The Magic Mirror and the Great Escape. In the Caber Eater, the emphasis is on Addition and Subtraction. This is achieved in several ways but essentially deals with 'find the difference' type problems and 'truth sets' or 'sentences'. The idea is that children become aware of relationships between numbers, thereby increasing skills and confidence. All of this leading to increased enjoyment.

Macman in the Treasure Caves concentrates upon subtraction and, as with The Caber Eater there are five levels of increasing difficulty. The adult can set the required level if necessary or the child can progress throughout the program at his or her own rate. Both of these programs follow a similar format, practice, reinforcement and reward. There are also Help facilities which automatically come into play when errors are made. Each of these programs include entertaining games which also provide opportunities for the child to plan strategies to maximise their scores.

Good graphics and sound together with the chubby little figure of Macman marching steadily around the screen have certainly appealed to the classes that have used these programs so far. For the pupils the mathematical content is almost an aside, but learning is most definitely taking place! The other titles in the Macman series, Macman and the Great Escape and Macman's Magic Mirror complement each other. The former deals with shape and conservation of area, whilst the latter is concerned with reflection, translation and rotation.

The Great Escape has six levels of difficulty ranging from the making of shapes with 'bricks', through estimation and conservation, to rotation, reflections and translations. I was very impressed by this program - it covers the subjects comprehensively and in a most enjoyable manner. Macman is again the star and the representations on-screen are superb, maintaining the interest of the children throughout.

The format on each level is the same - Macman is guarding a wall, behind which one or more prisoners are trying to escape. Unfortunately, holes keep appearing in the wall and it is the child's job to help Macman plug the gaps before a prisoner can escape! The number of prisoners is always on the increase and, needless to say, Macman's job becomes increasingly difficult. Watch out when one of them escapes.....!

In the Magic Mirror the child needs to guide Macman to reproduce the image on the other side of a mirror. The idea is well implemented and a great deal of thinking is required on some of the higher levels to get a correct pattern before time runs out and the mirror cracks. The different levels are achieved by using different numbers of mirrors and the angles at which they are set. This program also helps with the concepts of coordinates, plotting and grid-work. First rate in all aspects.

The two Psion/ASK programs are not nearly as impressive in terms of packaging or length but nevertheless are equally as effective as learning aids. Each will fit into the 16K Spectrum and are more clearly recognised as games with an educational content.

These are the type of programs that make children think and who is to say that this cannot also be a hugely enjoyable process?

Number Painter sets a target number which must be made by combining numbers and mathematical operations. This follows the style of the 'platform and ladders' games that are currently so popular, and has much of their appeal in play. Four different speeds are available depending upon the character chosen, from Mr. Plod to Mr. Speedy. This is a very effective way of developing a fluency with numbers and operations.

Estimator Racer is essentially Chequered Flag with sums! The child needs to guide a chosen car along a racetrack, all the while having to estimate the answer to a displayed problem. This program encourages the essential skill of estimation and after a few runs you begin to get a real feel for numbers, the mental arithmetic that takes place is tremendous, and thankfully the choice of cars available includes a fairly slow one. Good competitive fun against others or against the computer, and fun which develops skills that are needed every day.

SCIENCE HORIZONS

The last four programs come under the Science Horizons heading and are simulations, of a sort. Even a review of this sort cannot do full justice to these programs, as I feel that the full potential of these demands a concentrated approach for those intending to use them in the classroom.

Oil Strike is a business simulation concerned with the search for oil. It is reminiscent in some ways of The Mary Rose (for the BBC) and gives graphical representations of test drills and rock stratas etc. There are comprehensive notes, enough to ensure that this could form the basis or be an integral part of a classroom topic for a considerable time.

Planet Patrol is a graphical version of Mastermind but, much, much more complex. It also stimulates logical thinking and forward planning. Put these factors together with an illustration of the solar system, relative positions, sizes and motions of the planets and you have some idea of the wealth of material available for further study. None of these four programs is immediately playable, you must take a little time to soak up the instructions and the intricacies of play. Once you are familiar with them however, they are great fun and very demanding in terms of thought!

Disease Dodgers almost stands on its own as an arcade game. It is concerned with keeping the Dodger family alive when faced with a multitude of diseases and germs. The program shows how health, diet and exercise are interrelated and also illustrates that people living in different countries of the world face different problems of health and diet. Of all the programs this perhaps is the least effective graphically, there are colour attribute problems and some of the foods represented are not clear. This aside it is very playable and should provide much 'food for thought'!

Finally, Weathermaster. This is a novel use for a computer, basic meteorology (Nothing novel about that, have a look at Metplot, ZX October '84 - ED). After using this program I have no doubt that television weather forecasts will take on a new clarity. The program familiarises the user with the charts, symbols and terminology used by the media. These ideas are set in a game format with impressive results.

In conclusion I can only say that although these reviews may seem overly-enthusiastic I have been pleasantly surprised at the new levels that educational software, whether for home or school, have reached. Take two gold stars Macmillan and Sinclair! If you are somewhat skeptical about my comments, I can only suggest that you get hold of some of these new titles and see for yourself!