This program contains four sections relating to the basic rules of number work - addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

At the beginning, a menu asks you to choose which arithmetic rule you want to use. After this you are asked to select the difficulty level. The player has then to answer a number of questions. A correct answer is rewarded. The rewards comprise of four animated pictures showing the antics of a little stick man. On one screen he climbs a ladder up a diving tower and leaps into a bucket of water. In another, he swings on a rope. Neither the graphics nor sound were outstanding.

This type of program is simple to wriite and just as easy to fail at. There are numerous, arithmetic programs on the market and this one doesn't offer anything new. Also, no attempt was made to detect duplication of questions.

Unless you're using the sledgehammer approach to teach arithmetic, answering the same question a number of times soon became pointless. The degree of difficulty does not vary during any given level. A simple routine to increase or decrease difficulty depending on the user's performance would have been valuable.

To sum up, this program is not one I would recommend. There is nothing in it which not be covered in school and the graphics are not a sufficient gimmick to hold a child's attention.

M.W.