Back on Track

Back on Track is an activity that appears in JumpStart Around the World. It is designed for grades preschool through second grade, and teaches some basic science and identification skills. It is accessed by selecting the train travel option at the travel menu, and costs one travel token to play.

Description
The player controls a train by using the arrow keys. The train can be moved left, right, up, or down on a grid. The player will instructed to collect things that belong to a certain environment. Animals and objects will appear randomly on the grid. The player must move the train over the objects that need to be collected while avoiding the wrong objects. Each time the player collects a correct object, it will appear in a train car behind the train engine, and the train car will automatically trail behind the engine. The player needs to collect a certain number of train cars to complete the activity. When the player has collected as many cars as they need, a train station will appear on the grid. The player wins when the train reaches the station.

If the player drives into a wrong object, they will lose one of their train cars. As the player collects more train cars, they must be careful not to drive the train engine into its own cars. If the train hits one of its train cars, the player loses a try and has to start over.

Sometimes a power-up will temporarily appear somewhere on the grid. If the player collects it in time, the train engine turns blue and gains invincibility for one hit. Occasionally, the train station will also randomly appear on the grid for only a few seconds. If the train reaches the station before it disappears, the player automatically wins the activity regardless of how many train cars they have.

Digital manual description


Use the ARROW keys to drive the train engine around the grid. Drive it over the objects that fit the description written at the top of the screen. Doing this adds cars to the train.

As the train grows longer, be careful not to drive the train engine into the trailing cars. Watch for power-ups. They give the train engine power to drive through the trailing cars without crashing.

When the Train Station appears, drive the train over to it to complete the game.