...and now, some math problems, minus commentary! Enjoy!
Basic Math, released in 1977 as one of the launch games for the Atari VCS (later the Atari 2600) and re-released in 1980 under the name Fun With Numbers, was one of the first edutainment games, if not the first, for home consoles from back then.
Game Modes 1-4 are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, respectively. In the first four game modes, you can pick a number between 0-9 to work with, and then you can start solving math problems. Game Modes 5-8 are the same as Game Modes 1-4, although the problems are much more random and you have no control over the numbers.
The right difficulty switch turns the time limit to answer math questions on and off. A/Expert turns on the time limit to answer questions, while B/Novice turns it off. With the Left Difficulty Switch, you can set the timer to 12 seconds with A/Expert and 24 seconds with B/Novice; just remember to see the right switch to A/Expert to turn on the timer. In Game Modes 5-8, setting the left switch to A/Expert allows for questions where one or both numbers are two digits. Thankfully, setting the right switch to B/Novice allows you to do this without turning on time limits. Thankfully, you can tell if the time limit is on if you can hear beeps that sound like a metronome or a ticking clock.
To answer questions, press Left and Right on the joystick to move the cursor, and Up and Down to cycle through the numbers zero through nine. When you have the correct answer, press the fire button. You'll get a jingle if you get it right, and you'll get the correct answer if you get it wrong.
For division problems, you'll need to move the cursor two spaces from the right to the ones place to put down the remainder, in case you have one.
You'll have ten questions to answer before the game is over, and when you answer all ten questions, you'll get two numbers flashing on the screen. The first one shows how many you got right out of ten, and if both numbers are ten, congratulations! You got them all correct!
As you can tell through the gameplay, what you see is what you get, and the presentation is very minimal. There are different color pairings for all eight of the different game modes, and some of them are a little harder on the eyes than others (looking at you, Game Modes 2 and 8). There would be more fun and engaging math games on the console - and in gaming - later on, but, hey. We had to start somewhere.
For Game Modes 5-8, you'll have no control over the numbers in the problems, and the numbers will be completely random. Once you start these game modes, you'll start answering math problems immediately. The last two questions can be a bit tricky, as the game might even switch to another type of arithmetic than what you've chosen for them. Imagine going from division questions to multiplication or even subtraction at the last moment while you're smashing through the questions. The game throws you a curveball in that way in those game modes.
As mentioned before, in Game Modes 5-8, setting the left switch to A/Expert allows for questions where one or both numbers are two digits. Thankfully, setting the right switch to B/Novice allows you to do this without turning on time limits. If you do set the right switch to A/Expert to give yourself a time limit, however, you can give yourself a real challenge!
This allows for some pretty difficult multiplication and division problems. As much as I like this, looking back, the game just supplies the questions, demands the answers, and only shows the answer when you get the question wrong. The game does not, in any way, show you how to do it, which means that if you wanted to do these - especially back in the day - you would have to learn how to do them in school. I still give the game brownie points for trying this, though.
Interestingly, when it comes to the two-digit multiplication and division problems, you'll also have to do the work with pencil and paper before inputting your answer. Not surprisingly, I end up doing just that, but there are times where I do get to throw out some exercises in mental math.
As for the addition and subtraction problems? You'll have to do the "carry the one" stuff mentally if you're not doing it with pen and paper. I end up finding adding and subtracting two-digit numbers easier than doing multiplication and subtraction with them.
That's pretty much it with this game. There are better math games, but there are worse. The graphics, sound and controls are all basic. The sound and controls work for the most part, but as mentioned earlier, some of the color combinations can be a bit hard on the eyes. For one of the first educational games, it's not the best, but it's also not the worst, and is worth checking out solely for the historical factor...and the two-digit multiplication and division problems.
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