Video game:Reading Blaster, Ages 7-8

Owned by Knowledge Adventure and published under their educational media franchise, JumpStart, the Math Blaster series began in 1983 with the educational computer game Math Blaster! In the earliest games, players follow protagonist Blasternaut�later renamed Blaster�his sidekick Spot, and their robot companion Galactic Commander in order to play interactive, space-themed math games and puzzles. The series originally focused solely on mathematics, but it later expanded to include other subjects such as language arts and science. Knowledge Adventure published spin-offs for these subjects, beginning with Reading Blaster in 1994. As the games evolved over time and graphics improved, the main characters changed appearances several times and Blaster's universe changed as well. Beginning in October 2005, Knowledge Adventure began a new plotline set in the year 8296, in which Earth is controlled by computers and humans have completely forgotten how to do simple math because of their reliance on technology. The players follow Blaster on a quest to restore the humans' knowledge and put a stop to a controlling computer named Cyclotron X. In a few of the Blaster games, the main character is a green creature named Rave who must stop a mad scientist known as Dr. Dabble. These particular characters were introduced in Math Blaster Mystery: The Great Brain Robbery. Players can find the Blaster games online, on handhelds such as the Nintendo DS, on consoles such as the Nintendo Wii, and as applications on mobile devices. Targeted to children from ages three through 12, these games combine specific lessons with arcade-style gameplay designed to reinforce topics. Many parents and teachers use these games as educational supplements, and in 2006, the game Math Blaster: Mastering the Basics won a National Parenting Center Seal of Approval.