CHECK OUT THE EVER-GROWING LEARNING GAME SYSTEM LIBRARY! © Disney/Pixar ©2005 VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC. © SONIC Project Created by Stephen Hillenburg. LEARNING GAME SYSTEM TM & © Scholastic Inc. ©2005 Gullane (Thomas) Limited All rights reserved. I SPY™ & © Jean Marzollo & Walter Wick. TM & © DC Comics. (s07) PARENTPARENT GUIDE GUIDE Sold separately. All titles may not be available in all markets. Actual cover art may vary. www.leapfrog.comLeapsterWorld.com THISTHIS GUIDE GUIDE CONTAINS CONTAINS IMPORTANT IMPORTANT INFORMATION. INFORMATION. PLEASEPLEASE KEEPKEEP IT IT FOR FOR FUTURE FUTURE REFERENCE. REFERENCE. The evil villains in Gotham City are at it ® again and Batman needs your help! Use the Caped Crusader’s high-tech gadgets and your mathematics smarts to ;7HD?D=Å7C;ÅOIJ;C ™ save the city from Mr. Freeze, The Joker, Firefly and Cluemaster. Four fast-paced missions reinforce essential mathematics skills, such as shape and pattern recognition, counting, addition and subtraction. * You’ll find fun surprises, great games, Getting Started: tips, tricks and more for the LEAPSTER® 1 Insert the cartridge with the printed side facing family of learning game systems at to the front. Press the On/Off button to begin. LeapsterWorld.com! SECRET Use the secret web Sign In: codes you've earned in 1. Follow the on-screen instructions to sign in. CODES the games to unlock fun 2 2. The LEAPSTER® system will store the game information activities and content at of up to 3 players. To remove or replace a player, touch LeapsterWorld.com. the X button. ™ Many Ways to Play TIPS & TRICKS The Batman: Strength in Numbers combines dynamic side-scrolling action with essential mathematics instruction for young learners. Want to know how to Select missions by using the Batcave computer. Use the D-pad or joystick to highlight a mission, and press the A button to select it. Before you begin access secret content or 3 play, select Training to learn step-by-step how to move Batman through improve your scores? Go to various locations in Gotham City. LeapsterWorld.com for tips and tricks! FIREFLY NEW GAMES TRAINING MR. FREEZE Find out about the newest games OPTIONS MENU THE JOKER in the LEAPSTER family ! CLUEMASTER SCOOBY-DOO: TM & © Hanna-Barbera. (s07) All images in this Parent Guide are representative of gameplay only and do not reflect actual screenshot pixelation. *Children should always check with their parents before going online. Learning at All Levels Levels of Play: Each mission offers three levels of play. Players must complete each level within a mission sequentially. The first three levels present simple to more challenging mathematics problems for players to solve. Once players advance past Level 3, they are challenged to a Boss Battle where they must help Batman defeat the super villain for that particular mission. Challenge Levels: Once a play level has been selected, players then select their challenge level. Here, players can choose between the Silver (kindergarten curriculum) and Gold (first-grade curriculum) levels of difficulty. As Players Get Smarter, Batman Gets Stronger: Keep an eye on Batman’s health meter at the top of the screen. Every time players answer a question correctly, Batman gets stronger. His lifeline shrinks with incorrect responses. How a Tutorial Works A tutorial provides clear demonstrations on how to break a skill down into smaller parts. A tutorial is activated when the player presses the Hint button. The narrator then offers customized help for the specific question by explaining the related number concept or, when appropriate, by offering a correct response to ensure a successful learning experience. Fun Surprises, Tips and Tricks at LeapsterWorld.com! Visit LeapsterWorld.com* to learn fun game tips and tricks and to unlock special rewards with the secret web codes earned in The Batman: Strength in Numbers. 1 The Batman: Strength in Numbers Game Controls: Players can use the following controls to navigate the streets of Gotham City as Batman: • Press Left and Right on the D-pad to move Batman across the screen. Use the Batgrapnel to swing across large gaps. When you see the yellow Batgrapnel anchor icon , press the A button twice to shoot the Batgrapnel. • Press the B button to throw the Batarang when Batman is far away from an enemy. Press the B button to punch or kick when Batman is close to the enemy. • Press Down on the D-pad to make Batman duck. Press the A button to drop down from a ducked position. Solving Problems: The objective of The Batman: Strength in Numbers is to keep Batman moving forward on his quest to save Gotham City by solving mathematics problems. When a question mark appears, it’s time for Batman to go to work. In order to solve a problem, players can do the following: • Run up to an answer block and punch the correct answer. • Jump on the answer platform with the correct answer. • Run up to a toggle block. Punch it until the block shows the correct answer. Confirm the answer by punching the answer switch to move forward. • Push the correct block onto the pressure platform to move forward. 2 Mission: Cluemaster How To Play Cluemaster has taken over Gotham City Studios and is holding hostages. He wants another chance on the Think Thank Thunk game show. Can Batman stop Cluemaster and rescue the hostages? As players move through the studio, they solve simple to more challenging mathematics problems to move to the next level. Falling stage lights and sandbags will try to slow Batman down. Keep an eye out for Cluemaster’s henchmen. If Batman gets too close, they’ll zap him! Level 1: Identifying numbers Level 2: Counting, skip counting Level 3: Comparing and ordering numbers What’s Being Taught? Number Recognition: Players identify numbers up to 200. Counting: Players get practice counting forward and backward, and skip counting by twos, fives and tens. Relative Value: Players develop their understanding of the relative value of numbers by comparing and ordering numbers up to 99. Why Is This Important? Through varied experiences with numbers, children see number patterns and begin to understand relationships between numbers. Games such as Cluemaster help young children develop confidence in their counting abilities—forward or backward from any number. This helps lay the groundwork for future work with larger numbers as well as numerical operations such as addition and subtraction. 3 Mission: Firefly How To Play There’s been a break-in at Wayne Industries’ headquarters! Batman needs to stop Firefly before he gets his hot hands on the laser prototype. But Firefly is no easy villain to take down. Throughout this mission, Batman must solve mathematics problems to move forward and recover the stolen data that Firefly has taken. Firefly’s robots keep Batman on guard as he moves from floor to floor to reach the end of the level. Level 1: Identifying basic shapes Level 2: Dividing shapes in half Level 3: Extending patterns What’s Being Taught? Geometry: Players get practice identifying two-dimensional and symmetrical shapes. Patterns: Players identify and extend patterns using numbers and shapes. Why Is This Important? When children explore shapes in a variety of contexts, they develop spatial sense and geometric reasoning skills. Games such as Firefly encourage children to analyze and compare an assortment of shapes based on specific features. Firefly also presents an opportunity for young children to explore symmetry and patterns. Identifying and creating patterns sharpens children’s observational skills, which helps prepare them for more advanced mathematical concepts. They must look for what’s the same and what’s different to determine what comes next. 4 Mission: Mr. Freeze How To Play Mr. Freeze has used his ice powers to rob Gotham City Diamond Exchange! Batman’s mission is to recover as many stolen diamonds as possible. Players must complete number sequences and solve basic addition and subtraction problems— Batman can only move forward when these problems are solved. Just remember—Mr. Freeze is prepared to battle Batman. Watch out for Ice Phoenixes flying overhead and Ice Thugs prowling on the ground. Their ice powers can freeze everyone and everything— including Batman! Level 1: Identifying and sequencing numbers, distinguishing odd from even Level 2: Solving addition problems Level 3: Solving subtraction problems What’s Being Taught? Number Sequencing: Players identify missing numbers in a sequence and to distinguish odd from even numbers. Operations: Players solve simple addition facts up to a sum of 10 and to add multiples of 10. They also encounter simple subtraction problems with differences of up to 10 and are asked to subtract multiples of 10. Why Is This Important? Automatic recall of basic mathematical facts is an essential building block to develop mental mathematics and estimation skills. As children gain accuracy and fluency in their ability to recall basic mathematical facts, they are able to spend more time on problem solving. Through repeated gameplay in Mr. Freeze, children are taught to quickly solve simple addition and subtraction equations, which helps prepare them for more complex mathematics problems. 5 Mission: The Joker How To Play The Joker is at it again! His plan is to turn the people of Gotham City into giant playing cards. Batman needs to work fast. In this mission, players help Batman move through an abandoned funhouse by solving mathematics problems. Wind-up toy soldiers and jack-in-the-boxes try to slow him down. Bouncing rubber balls pelted from flying toy helicopters present more challenges. Can Batman rescue the people of Gotham City from the clutches of The Joker? Only time will tell! Level 1: Counting, skip counting Level 2: Solving addition problems, identifying and extending patterns Level 3: Comparing and ordering numbers What’s Being Taught? Operations: Players solve simple addition problems up to a sum of 10.