Math at the Mall. Math even Miss B can do (ish)!

I haven’t done a math post in a while (or a post for that matter.  I totally thought I had published this post.. but there it was, sitting in my drafts!), and even though I really haven’t had much time recently (hoorah!  Four essays!) I’m doing a game review instead of the simple video that would suffice for a post, but leave me with a feeling that screams “you lazy bum”.
And so, I bring you the Math Mall game.  Math that is useful in every day life!  It’s really cool, I could even do it!  I didn’t use a calculator.  I used pen and paper, but not a calculator!
Link Here


The rules.  Nice and simple.  There’s four stores at the Mall and you have to solve all the puzzles without the computer giving you the answer before going to the next store.  You can’t go back immediately to the store if you don’t win the game, you have to go to the rest of them (for good practice) before going back.





The toy store!  Here, you’ll learn about taxes.  How to calculate them etc. etc.





Look!  You can pick and count out change! and exact amounts!  Hoorah!  In all honesty, Miss B needs all the practice she can get!


At the Happy Hamburger, you learn to calculate tips!  How much to leave for how much you paid for!





Just a clip of the mall map.  Look, I’ve already completed two games!  I have two gold coins!  Whoopie!




The ever present question, which is the best deal for gym membership.  Ahh.. math is present in everything.




At the bank, we learn about how much interest is earned when depositing money! 
Something I need to learn.  Once I start earning money…


And after the SECRET CHALLENGE…




You Win!!




Just make sure of two things:
1)  that when typing in how much money you are using you use $150.00  NOT $150.  They kind of call you on that.
2) Have fun!
To be honest, the graphics were a little sub-par which kind of didn’t make me too fond towards this game.  But the content is good, and the repetition sticks in your mind which is goooood as gumdrops for learning.
MATH AT THE MALL – LINK HERE
Recommended Age – Grade 7+ (seeing as I still need the practice!)
Fun Factor

Difficulty Level

Expedition Africa

Link Here

Reminisant of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” series, this game is super fun and every time you play it it’s going to be different!

Game play!  The rules of the game are that you roll the dice (leaving it up to chance!) and picking which dice you want to keep.  Kind of like Yatzee.  You can keep your weapons, get a new porter, more food, or medicine or you can move however many kilometres (miles?  I don’t remember..)

A screenshot of the game board.  Look at all the miles I’m chocking up!  Look at the porters and food! Look at the lack of medicine.  I’m pretty sure the next roll I lost three porters and the roll after that I was down to one crate of food.  This is a high stake game.  Most definitely a high stake game.

Look at my roll!  So very artsy!  So very precarious.  Only 30 miles (kilometres?) and four crates of food (which as you can see I DESPERATELY NEEDED).  But don’t worry, I still had two more rolls.

This is the choose your own adventure part.  Depending on the resources you’ve collected when you hit different checkpoints you get to chose how you’re going to pick your next step!  Every game is different!

Ahh… the end of the game.  I made it to the Mpanda Foothills!  Safe and sound and I only lost … how many porters?

EXPEDITION AFRICA – LINK HERE

Recommended Age: Grade Six and above

Difficulty Level:

Fun Factor:

With Love

Design a Cell Phone

LINK HERE
This was a really fun game.  But REALLY hard.  While I am writing this, I am STILL trying to win the game.  Maybe you will be smarter than me… but I just can’t seem to accomplish very much in this game.  Please tell me if you do make it bigger!  I’m kind of frustrated.

 
Ahh… the homepage… so unsuspecting. Of what to come.







Step One: Research.  You’re given all the information you’ll need regarding what the consumer wants including graphs and personal testimonies.

 


See!  A graph!






The design bit.  This part was fun.  Lots of fun






You also get to talk to testers about your product before moving into production!







See. I’m really awful at this.  I didn’t reach the goal at ALL.


 CELL PHONE GAME – LINK HERE
Recommended Age: Grades 8 through 10
Difficulty Level:

Fun Factor

• Fun Factor level is based on the frustration that occurred when I couldn’t seem to make ANYONE happy.

Mind Your Manners!

 

Link Here

The words of Queen Victoria, “We are not amused” are the wrong ones to use when discussing McCord Museum’s online role-playing game.  It’s fun graphics and cute voices are entertaining as you click your way, maneuvering the etiquette of the Victorian era.  All the character’s voices sound like Beaker from the Muppets.  Somewhat high pitched… “Mi Mi Mi Mi Mi” for the ladies, and lower… “Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah” for the gentlemen.

 

 

 

 

You start off by picking a character (I picked the girl, just because I am one) and then clicking on different scenarios on a map.  This particular one is of going to the ball.  You’re given four pictures of different attire that you may or may not wear.  You then must pick which is the most appropriate for the particular occasion.  Lucky me, I picked right!

 

 

 

Then, you’re given different scenarios.  Many of the ones I got were about acting like a proper lady in the presence of a gentleman, train etiquette and proper table manners as a hostess.  It’s reminiscent of the “Choose your own Adventure” books I read as a kid.  Except, instead of having a different ending for each option, there’s only one right answer.  and if you get it wrong…

 

 

 

 

Something funny happens!  In this frame, my character is getting cannonballed for not picking the right attire to a dinner party.  I got run over by a horse one time when I picked the wrong answer, and another time when I made a social faux pas my virtual game friends kept saying what sounded like “Oh my gosh… oh my GAWSH” while my character spoke her her Beaker-esque voice.  It’s all quite charming.

 

 

 

Finally, if you pass all the tests with the acceptable amount of points (you get points for correct answers, and you lose points for incorrect ones) you’re graded.  Today, I was a “picture of politeness.”  How lucky!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is quite possibly one of my most favourite games I’ve found so far, and I’m glad to start off with it.  The graphics are simple and fun, it’s easy to navigate and can be used as a learning tool with children between the ages of 11 and 16.  However, I found it really fun and played it quite a few times before stopping and saying “No Miss B.  You must go to sleep!” so maybe that cap number is inappropriate. 

Although not difficult to navigate, a couple of the questions were a bit tricky, so be careful when you answer them!  You might get run over by a horse and buggy!

 

Mind Your Manners – Game Link

 

Recommended Age: 11-16 or All Ages (with maybe some help from a Big Kid)

Difficulty:

Fun Factor:

 

I didn’t want to give a fun factor of 4… although this may change later on.  It’s a pretty awesome game.

 

Happy Learning!