COMPUTER TUTOR
CHRISTINE ADAMEC
You can keep track of your pi ogress through the cave with the little "map"
RUN'5 education columnist,
search the cave. {Of course, all the
Christine Adamec, takes a look at what's available for C-64 spelling programs.
choose which word list to use, from
you find all the sparkling crystals,
the easy words in List 1 (air, fat, ice,
your next goal is to find your way
boys want to be Mark, and all the girls want to be Becky.) You must also
shown at the top of your screen. Once
etc.) to the toughies in list 10 (pho tosynthesis, reservoir, deciduous—
out of the cave to the outside world.
challenging to an adult!). You must
tough to make—for example, jump
Any criticisms? Some moves are
also select the level of difficulty, from
ing over two pits close together right
grow up and become brain surgeons or carpenters, they'll need to be able
1 to 4.
after you climbed up a ladder. So, this
Let's say you choose Mark. He must
might not be the best game for easily
to communicate clearly. Spelling is
search the various levels of the cave
one important facet of communica
and find the four magic crystals. But
frustrated children. Also, your child will need an attention span of about
Whether your children aspire to
tion, so if your children arc learning the basics now, or if they've passed
he'll have to jump over pits, climb up ladders, leap over scorpions and
that stage and are still having trouble,
generally keep his wits about him.
one of the following spelling pro
(Move Mark and Becky with your joy-
grams may help them along. (All are
slick.) Every so often, the wizard
for the C-64.)
suddenly appears and says, "Spell
40 minutes, because it lakes at least that long to get out of the cave. (The game is suggested for ages 6 to 18.)
Crypto Cube Crypto Cube, by Design Ware (185
a fascinating and unusual spelling
'battle'" or another word from your list. If you spell it correctly, he says, "Super!" or some other word of praise. If you spell it incorrectly, he may say, "Almost, but not quite" or "It's getting darker!"
program. My own children (ages 6 and 7) were mesmerized by it, as were
This leads you to another feature of the game: the flashlight and Band-
the third-graders who helped me re
Aids Mark and Becky cany. As you
word lists, made up of such subjects as transportation (containing words
view it. (In fact, a month later, the
move through the cave, you use up the power in your flashlight. (You
(containing words like pulsar, spec
Cave of the Word Wizard Cave of the Word Wizard, from
Timeworks (444 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, IL 80015; $34.95, disk), is
schoolchildren eagerly asked me if
Berry St., San Francisco, CA 94107; $39.95, disk), is a son of three-di mensional crossword puzzle for kids
age 8 and up. The game can be played alone or with an opponent. The program includes 50 different
tike car, truck, bus) and astronomy
I'd brought the "wizard game" hack
lose if you end up in the dark!) If,
trum, etc.). Choose a category and
again.)
however, you spell words correctly,
ask the computer to create your puz
you gei more light power. Also, each
zle cube; or you can create your own
time you crash into a wall or trip over a rock, you use up one of your
puzzle. (The program
One feature that makes it so ap pealing
is
the exceptionally clear
voice of the wizard. The wizard ap pears periodically and,
in
a deep
five Band-Aids. The game also ends
takes a very
long time to load—about eight min utes until you can actually play.) Your goal is to solve each side of
voice, orders you to spell a word.
when all of these have been used.
(The children were very excited when the computer "talked" to them!)
(Again, you can earn extra Band-Aids
the cube. Use the arrow keys to move
with correct spellings.)
around and press the space bar to register that you've selected a square.
Other reasons for this program's suc cess are the attractive graphics and
If you don't know how to spell a word, try anyway, and if you're wrong,
the compelling adventure iheme. To begin, you must first decide
the computer will display the correct spelling. You must then type in the
whether you want Becky or Mark to
word, reinforcing your learning.
94 / RUN MAY I9MS
Each time you select a square, you'll receive either a filled-in blank, a let ter clue or a question mark (indicat ing that you have to guess the letter).