Learning the fun way

Fun Academy is a monster-sized compilation of educational programs suitable for children from the ages of 6 to 16. It consists of 22 games supplied on two floppy discs. The documentation is sparse but the on-screen instructions are adequate.

Fun Academy is divided into four sections of related programs, the first being Frac Attack. As its name suggests, this group of programs tackles the tricky subject of fractions.

The graphics used in these and all other programs are constructed using Mode 7 characters. Good use of double height characters makes for a very legible display.

The first program requires you to enter the fraction of a large grid which is shaded in. The program poses a question. The correct answer plus two incorrect answers are being driven along on three trains. Using your spaceship you must bomb the incorrect answers and then rescue the correct one.

This requires quite a high degree of timing as your bomb must hit one small area of the train to destroy it. The other four programs in this section are all of the same high standard.

Fun to Learn is the second group of programs, comprising a mixture of both number and word games. I found only one of these five programs to have any appeal at all, the rest being rather boring.

Section three is titled Monster Maths and is purely number games. Of the five programs three failed to give any graphical reward for success. The programs merely mimicked calculations as they would be performed on paper.

Finally we have Laser Letters, a series of six letter and word games.

Three of the programs concern themselves with the placing of letters or words into alphabetical order. Laser Letters requires you to shoot the missing letters into a partially-completed word.

Frac Attack is by far the best section of this collection. The others are playable, but are not going to hold a child's attention for any length of time.

Thomas Brown