1982 · Atari, Inc. · Educational · Puzzle

Math Gran Prix

Atari exclusive

The principle of the game is to fuel your car with correctly answered math questions. It can move 2 to 3 spaces depending on how hard the math problem is. The track contains many triggers that can give extra spaces, extra turns, and even keep your car on the track. There are areas in the track where a car coming from behind can knock you off, to get back answer a math problem correctly. In the end, the one with the most math skills and greatest planning effort will win the checkered flag.

Released: 1982
Platforms: Atari 2600
Genres: Educational Puzzle Racing
Developers: Atari, Inc.
Publishers: Atari, Inc.
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Educational
Country: United States

About

Math Gran Prix (released as Maths Grand Prix in Europe) is an educational video game written for the Atari 2600 by Suki Lee and published by Atari, Inc. in 1982.

Keywords

math
edutainment
motorsports

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player must advance a car through a Grand Prix race by answering mathematics questions, with 9 variations of play. Random bonuses may pop up during play. Both two- and single-player gaming against the computer is possible, with the computer's calculation speed slowed artificially compared to its normal speed of calculation in single-player mode. Questions included addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The game is aimed at 7- to 10-year-old children.

Development

The game was programmed by Suki Lee. Lee went on to work on Obelix, also for the Atari 2600. The cover art for the game was drawn by Warren Chang.

Reception

In a January 1983 review, the British computer games magazine TV Gamer described the game as "certainly a lot more entertaining than its predecessor, Basic Maths". A review in the January 1983 edition of Tilt, a French video game magazine, gave the game 2/6 for graphics and 4/6 for interest, saying that it might even be of interest to adults.

Reviewing the game in 2017 in the book The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 2, Kieren Hawken described the game as "nothing more than a curio. An ugly and very unexciting curio at that!" and gave the game 3/10 overall.