CONTENT
I've Got Your Number!

Where 1 + 1 = FUN!!!*

*NOTE: Claim based on the one out of 2,000 surveyed who reported slight
enjoyment upon playing. Your experience may vary.


The answer is /. Though it may sound like something the Grim Reaper might say, "I've Got Your Number!" is a game for kids. Bored kids. Kids who like math. Kids who need to get a life. Needless to say, I loved this game when I was a kid.

Actually that's not true; I never really cared for it and it's not very likely to teach kids anything other than that it pays to be greedy. Why then did I feel compelled to shine a Spotlight on it? Simple – it gave me an excuse to program the I've Got Your IQ Number! intelligence test, a little meaningless quiz designed to determine your academic ability and potential for economic success – if you have any. Well, not really... it's just a game, and the real reason this Spotlight is here in the first place. Play it!

But what can I say about the game? It tries to teach basic mathematical and object-recognition skills by posing simple questions, in the form of an equation with key operands left blank (hmmm... "object-recognition," "equation," "operand"... I learned more from writing about the game than by playing it). Anyway, two players compete simultaneously to grab the correct answer from a series of orbiting number and object symbols. Grab the right answer and you'll jump for joy as your score goes up one point. Get it wrong and you'll hang your head in shame. All you need is a "Dunce" cap to relive the degrading humiliation that was your lot throughout all of primary school! (You thought I didn't know about that, didn't you?) Or you could take the I've Got Your IQ Number! test and experience that feeling right now!

The universe of I've Got Your Number! is apparently an eerie, Twilight Zone-like pocket dimension where numbers have substance and float around aimlessly in a red, blank void. Our intrepid grade-school heroes are trapped here, doomed to seek out shapes and symbols for eternity, their only consolation coming from the slight rush of answering a question correctly. If this is too depressing for you, why not take a break from all this heavy reading and take the I've Got Your IQ Number! test?

Despite its pitfalls, the game claims it can teach basic math while reinforcing perceptual skills. So what are you waiting for? Grab your abacus and start perceiving away! I've Got Your Number! is fun for the whole family, excepting of course the parents, the kids, and the family dog. Enjoy!

TOP