Settings

For Whom

This game is a very effective help for any child who learns elementary mathematics. So, it is for children between 5 and 10 (for 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade and kindergarten kids). But if kids are interested in math at a younger age, they can use this game as well.

What’s the Parents’ Role

This game works really fast. You will be surprised how quickly children will learn things they might have trouble dealing with before.

Still, parents are the ones who should choose the game’s settings and – especially – the prizes . Prizes are essential for the game to achieve its purpose.

Choose the length of a session (the number of calculations till a new prize is awarded) and the success thresholds (how many good answers out of total answers are needed to reach the threshold). The prize can be anything, even a trifle, but it must be something your kid really likes. Then he/she will be motivated to play well and learn in the process!

It is recommended to give two awards. The first – bigger – prize (e.g. chocolate bar, a packet of biscuits, a hamburger, a bag of waffles, etc.) and the second, lower one (e.g. one candy, one biscuit, etc.). Second prize is a
“consolation prize” and is meant to keep the interest of the child awake, and the ambition to win the 1st Prize going.

Never forget to give the prize!

You don’t need to stay with your child while he/she plays. The game cannot be “cheated”. When the child does not know an answer there’s no way to “trick” the game. But at the beginning it is still better to stay with your child to help and explain some things.

Game Instructions

Game Preparation – Setting Parameters

1. Any parameters can be changed at any time, even during the game (not only at the beginning)
2. For your convenience the game already has a basic configuration (the simplest):
   • Addition up to 10
   • An example for 1st Prize and 2nd Prize
   • Session of 10 exercises (calculations)
   • 1st Prize threshold: 90%
   • 2nd Prize threshold: 70%
3. Further on, you can change the default settings by choosing the type of operation you want the child to practice (usually the lesson they reached at school). You can choose between several types of operations:
   • Addition, Subtraction or combination of Addition + Subtraction :
     • Up to 10
     • Up to 20 only by regrouping (addition of two numbers between 0 and 10, with result greater than 10 / subtraction of two numbers, one between 10 and 20, another between 0 and 10, with the result between 0 and 10)
     • Up to 20 with or without regrouping
     • Up to 30
     • Up to 100
   • Multiplication, Division or combination of Multiplication + Division:
     • By 1, 2, 3, … up to 10, in any combination you want
   • Comparisons:
     • Greater , Less or Equal
4. Write the prizes (1st and 2nd) you want to give to the child. Usually you write something that you already have at home, not to make a special trip to the supermarket :). But you must be careful to have something appreciated by the child “in stock”.
5. Write the number of operations for this session of calculations. That means – the number of calculations after which the child can see whether the prize is won or not. For the beginning choose 5 or 10, so the kid gets drawn into the game by quickly getting a prize. Then you can raise the threshold to 100 or even 200 . 100 seems the perfect number to quickly learn an operation. 100 calculations usually take between 15 to 30 minutes to solve, depending on the child’s pace. It’s better not to exceed 200 because it will get very
   boring.
6. Write the threshold (Good answers out of Total answers) over which you award 1st and 2nd Prize (write only the numbers, NOT the percentage character). Start with something easy to reach. If the child already has good results in mathematics, start with 90 % and 70 %. If he/she didn’t achieve good results yet, try 70 % and 50 % . As he/she gets better (it will happen very quickly) raise the threshold, eventually reaching 98% and 95%.
7. All your settings are saved in cookies. They will be reloaded when you access the page again.

Now you can start the game

1. To start the game, press START button
2. After the operation is displayed, the child writes the result in the field following “=” character
3. For comparisons, the appropriate character (Greater than, Less than, Equal to) must be inserted between numbers. The child may use the keyboard or, even better, the three buttons with comparison symbols that will appear on screen if Comparison is selected
4. After typing the result the child must click the OK button or hit ENTER key on the keyboard
5. The game will tell you if the answer was correct and will increment the counters for the CORRECT ANSWERS and TOTAL NUMBER of ANSWERS
6. If the answer was incorrect, the game will display the correct answer
7. To move to the next calculation, press NEXT!
8. At the end of the session the Game will display the results and the prize
9. To begin a new game click NEW GAME

What to expect from this game

This is the nicest part 🙂

You will see that in less than a week (usually in 2-3 days), if playing at least 30 minutes a day, your kid will make unbelievable progress! The child will practically juggle with the calculations he/she didn’t understand at all before.

But remember that it’s best if you stay with your child for guidance and encouraging during the first 2-3 sessions.

A child can easily play 3-5 sessions a day (with the same or different operations) without getting bored.