1977 – Smack 28 of 77 – Basic Math

I was excited to get the opportunity to play another Atari 2600 launch title. Sure, none of the two I’d played so far (Street Racer and Blackjack) really rocked my world, but I’d enjoyed them for their simplicity, as well as for the nostalgia I gained from using the Atari paddle controller. It was time to plug in an original joystick and test my aging reflexes out. Would I still have what it takes? I decided to select one of the five launch games that require a joystick at random. And the winner is…(drum roll)…Basic Math. Basic Math?! That wasn’t quite what I had in mind. Oh well, maybe it would surprise me. Educational games can still be entertaining, right?

An ad for the game from 1977. I’m sure every kid was delighted to know they could do homework whilst watching TV. Living the dream!

Image Credit: Atari Age

Basic Math (aka Fun With Numbers) was created by a programmer named Gary Palmer. Unless I’m mistaken, it’s the only game he ever made for any platform, which really didn’t bode well. Who knows exactly how it came about, but it’s not difficult to imagine that Atari figured having at least one educational game at launch might help them rope in some of those parents that needed convincing that the console wasn’t just an expensive toy (which it was). The objective of the game couldn’t be simpler. The player is required to solve basic arithmetic problems by using the joystick, selecting answers before pressing the red button. If the selected answer was correct, a happy little tune is played. If it’s wrong, a typical game show incorrect sound is emitted, and the correct answer is displayed. Once you’ve answered 10 questions, a total score appears, and that’s literally all there is to it!

This really is false advertising, as calculations of numbers greater than 9 are not possible in the game.

Image Credit: Atari Age

It didn’t take long to realise this wasn’t going to be the reflex assessment I was hoping for. As with most early 2600 games, the box claims that there are 8 different games on the cartridge, but they’re really just variations of the same theme:

Game 1: Addition

The player is asked to enter a number they would like to work with, and then given 10 basic problems to answer that include it. I chose the number 4, so was required to answer 10 basic addition problems that had 4 in them. For example: 4 + 1, 4+7, 4+3 etc.

Game 2: Subtraction

The same as game 1, except this time the player is given basic subtraction problems.

Game 3: Multiplication

The same as the first two games, except this time the player is given basic multiplication problems. At least I had to think a little bit for a couple of these. Not much though.

Game 4: Division

Yep, you guessed it. Exactly the same as games 1 to 3, only this time the player is given basic division problems. This one initially messed with me, as one of the first problems I was given was 9 divided by 7. Was I really expected to answer 1.29? How could I even do that, given that there was no option to select a decimal place!? It turned out that the way to answer division questions is to enter the whole number along with a remainder two spaces across to the right. So 9 divided by 7 equals 1 with a remainder of 2.

Games 5-8: Random Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division

The remaining four games are identical to the first four, only in these versions the problems are entirely random (as in the player is not asked for a number to work with).

These days it’s almost unbelievable that Atari expected people to spend money on Basic Math. The target age group for the “game” would be pretty narrow (between about 6 and 8 I reckon), and I can’t imagine those kids would be all that interested in having another crack at Basic Math when they can load up Combat or Indy 500 instead. The fact that all problems are limited to single digit numbers (the answers can be higher mind you) and no decimal places are possible really limits its use as a long term educational tool. I can’t say I’m disappointed that Gary Palmer never got the opportunity to program a sequel. Check out the video below to see a 38 year old do primary school level mathematics.

Here’s a summary video for Basic Math. This music is from The Alan Parsons Project album I, Robot, also released in 1977. You might find some enjoyment in that at least.

The Basic Math (1977) RetroCard has now been added to the RetroCard Shop. It’s a rare card, so therefore costs 60 smacks and has a limited release of 20.

Featured Image: Original box via Atari Age

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