JumpStart Numbers

JumpStart Numbers is a JumpStart game released by Knowledge Adventure in September 22, 1998. It is a part of the JumpStart Learning Games series. It focuses on teaching math skills for ages 5-8.

In the game, the player joins Frankie in his dreams and helps him collect dog biscuits by playing games. There are three dream settings: deep space where Frankie is an astronaut, a tropical island where Frankie is a pirate, and the wild west where Frankie is a cowboy.

As in other Learning Games, at the the beginning of the game, the player can select their grade level, from preschool to third grade. Unlike most JumpStart games, users do not select one of three difficulty levels; rather, there is a difficulty bar and "easier" and "harder" arrows, allowing for many increments of difficulty. There is also no toolbar, but rather an options screen accessed by clicking a paw button.

Characters

 * Frankie
 * Patches
 * Sheriff Cat
 * Space Pooch
 * Bonebeard (mentioned)

Story
The game starts with Frankie reading a cookbook filled with dog biscuit-based recipes, when suddenly an alarm on his watch goes off, signifying it's "snack time". Frankie then goes to his doghouse and pulls a rope transforming it into an elevator, which takes him to a secret underground hideout that resembles the interior of a mansion. He then proceeds to open up a vault, and countless biscuits tumble out. After playing with the biscuits for a long time, he finally eats them all, then goes to take a long nap. As he sleeps, "Dream Frankie" explains to the player that, by entering Frankie's three dreams, they can obtain new biscuits to replace the eaten stash.

If one hundred biscuits are earned in each activity, the game is won, and a printable newspaper will appear announcing Frankie's success.

Activities

 * Boneanza: Help Frankie face off against Sheriff Kitty. Signs will appear with equations, numbers, inequalities, etc. on them, and Sheriff Kitty will give certain guidelines on which ones to hit. Click on a sign to have Frankie throw a bone at it.
 * Snacktroids: This activity takes place in the Dog Star Asteroid Belt, which contains numerous dog biscuit-filled asteroids. A certain number is given, and Frankie must form an equation that equals that number by placing asteroids in a space pod. Asteroids will fly by with numbers on them, and the user must place an asteroid in the space pod, click a satellite with either a Plus or Minus sign (on later levels; otherwise, only addition is used), place another asteroid in the space pod, and then pull a lever. Some levels include other features, such as having to break up a "ten" asteroid into "one" asteroids with a hammer. Green creatures in flying saucers called "space pooches" will sometimes appear to hassle Frankie by zapping asteroids into nothingness, but the user can cause him to kick them away by clicking.
 * Bonebeard's Treasure: Help Frankie find lost treasures. The user uses the mouse to guide Frankie across multiple scenes of a tropical island, looking for numbers to complete a sequence (either counting or skip-counting, depending on the level). At the very end, a treasure chest will be presented with another sequence of numbers that the user must complete.

Educational Concepts

 * Counting
 * Addition
 * Subtraction
 * Number Sequences
 * Grouping

Re-releases / Bundles
JumpStart Numbers was included as a part of the JumpStart Preschool Fun Pack, the JumpStart Kindergarten Fun Pack, the JumpStart 1st Grade Fun Pack, and the JumpStart 2nd Grade Fun Pack. In all of the Fun Packs other than Preschool, it was bundled with JumpStart Music and the "Reading" game of the package's grade level. (In the Preschool Fun Pack, JumpStart ABC's and JumpStart Pre-K were included.) It was later sold as part of the JumpStart Preschool-1st Grade Learning Playground bundle alongside JumpStart Artist and JumpStart ABC's.

Trivia

 * For unknown reasons, the box art on the front shows a girl dog alongside Frankie although she never appears in the game itself nor when she was introduced.