1982 · Magnavox · Educational

Nimble Numbers Ned!

A math edutainment game, featuring the synthesized 'voice' capabilities of the Odyssey 2.

Released: 1982
Platforms: Magnavox Odyssey 2 Odyssey 2 / Videopac G7000
Genres: Educational
Developers: Magnavox
Publishers: Magnavox
Themes: Action Educational

About

Nimble Numbers Ned!, also known as Nimble Numbers N.E.D., is an 1982 educational video game with platforming elements released by North American Philips for the Magnavox Odyssey². It was developed by Bob Harris and released exclusively in North America as a launch title for the Odyssey²'s voice synthesis module, "The Voice". Players guide the player character Ned over a series of numbered stones while avoiding barrels and answering math and geometry questions. It was designed in collaboration with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville for children grades 1-9. Contemporary reviews found it to be a good educational tool but were mixed on the quality of game itself.

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Nimble Numbers Ned! is an educational game with platforming elements. There are four different game modes. In the first mode, "Jumping Practice", the player character Ned stands in front of five stones represented by numbers.

Ned starts on the left-most stone represented by "0" and must jump to the right-most stone represented by "5". Barrels are being hurled at Ned from the right and must be avoided. In the other modes, the player must complete an educational challenge before each round, in addition to the platforming found in "Jumping Practice". The numbers on the stones also increase each round, reaching a maximum of 100.

Development

Nimble Numbers Ned! was developed by Robert S. Harris who also developed Killer Bees! for the Odyssey² and War Room for the ColecoVision.

Harris was a recent hire for Magnavox, joining the company in late 1981. Harris wasn't pleased with the way the game turned out. According to Harris, his original proposed title was Math Potatoes but marketing choose Nimble Numbers Ned to match with Sid the Spellbinder, another educational Odyssey² game featuring "The Voice".

Reception

The Video Game Update considered Nimble Numbers Ned! to be the best cartridge launched with the Odyssey's "The Voice" module. They praised the game's applicability of the math problems and thought it was a useful product for kids of a variety of ages. Alan R.

Bechtold of The Logical Gamer found the math problems to be excellent and called the idea of rewarding kids for correct answers with an action game "brilliant", but found the platforming sections to be too easy and not varied enough to be a good reward. The Logical Gamer's Mike Wilson thought it was a good learning tool and thought the voice synthesis worked well for the questions but called it "just extra noise" during the platforming phase. JoyStik magazine called it "the best use of the Odyssey² keyboard since the famed Master Strategy series of last year" and "the best use of Odyssey's voice module to date." Videogaming and Computer Gaming Illustrated awarded the game second runner-up for "Best Educational Game" in their first annual Vista Awards in 1983.