JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade: Mystery Mountain

Last updated

JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade: Mystery Mountain
JumpStart Advanced 3rd Grade.jpg
The current (2007) cover of JumpStart Advanced 3rd Grade
Developer(s) Knowledge Adventure
Publisher(s) Knowledge Adventure
Producer(s) David Fratto
Designer(s) David Fratto
Bernadette Gonzalez
Barton Listick
Rob Wrubel
Programmer(s) Miguel Canales
Artist(s) Bonnie Williams
Writer(s) Doria Briddle
Robert Nashak
David Fratto
Composer(s) HaleSong Music Productions
Randy Hale
Series JumpStart
Platform(s) Windows, Macintosh
ReleaseDecember 2, 1996
Genre(s) Educational/adventure
Mode(s) Single player

JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade: Mystery Mountain is a personal computer game in Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart series of educational software. As the title suggests, the game is intended to teach a third grade curriculum. This is the only version of this game created and, unusually for Knowledge Adventure, was still being sold over fifteen years after its initial release on December 2, 1996. On June 6, 2003, it was included as the "Fundamentals" disc of JumpStart Advanced 3rd Grade.

Contents

Plot

Set in a retro-futuristic universe, the game concerns Polly Spark, the bratty daughter of a wealthy inventor, and her attempt to alter history so that her inane answers to a history quiz she failed will be correct. To do this, she sends 25 reprogrammed robots back in time and, with her father conveniently away on a business trip, she takes over Mystery Mountain, the literal "mountain mansion" where she and her father live. The goal of the game is to help Botley, the robot assigned to keep Polly under control, save the world by retrieving each of the 25 robots and bringing them back to the present.

Gameplay

Each of the game's 25 missions (one for each robot that must be rescued) begins with the user selecting one of Polly's questions from the TransQuizzer. On the TransQuizzer, Polly's teacher Ms. Winkle poses a historical question, and Polly gives a surreally humorous answer. Polly then appears on a monitor to state which robot she has sent back in time for the question and to list the four Mission Clues that need to be found for the mission.

Botley, using his powerful sensory device, then determines which games need to be played in order to retrieve the needed Mission Clues. Once all the Mission Clues have been collected, the user will still need to collect an increasing number of Invention Points in order to be allowed to enter the Time Machine Mission Control. The number of Invention Points required to enter the Time Machine gradually increases over time.

Once inside the Time Machine Mission Control, the user has to get past the Wheel of Invention in order to acquire a Time Key and enter the Time Machine itself, though Polly has apparently reprogrammed the Wheel so it's not just a quiz, but rather a quiz show called "Pollywood Squares". Here, Monty Monitor quizzes the user with questions that provide the point in time where Polly has sent the missing robot and which eventually reveal the correct answer to Polly's original test question.

After this activity is completed, the user enters the Time Machine and travels back in time to retrieve the robot and bring it back to the present, where the rescued robots are deposited in an area called the "robot roost." After the robot has been rescued, the user begins a new mission by selecting another question from the TransQuizzer. However, if the user doesn't start the mission to play all the games to win more Invention Points, Botley mentions that Polly will win. The game continues in this manner until all 25 robots are returned to the present.

Cast and characters

Activities

The First Floor

The Second Floor

The Third Floor

The Time Machine Room

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quiz bowl</span> Academic quiz-based competition

Quiz bowl is a family of quiz-based competitions that test players on a wide variety of academic subjects. Standardized quiz bowl formats are played by lower school, middle school, high school, and university students throughout North America, Asia, Europe, Australia, and Africa.

JumpStart was an educational media franchise created for children, primarily consisting of educational games. The franchise was developed by JumpStart Games and expanded beyond games to include workbooks, direct-to-video films, mobile apps, and other media. It was officially launched on March 10, 2009, offering a blend of educational content and entertainment experiences.

The Learning Company (TLC) was an educational software company founded in 1980 in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Fremont, California. The company produced a grade-based line of learning software, edutainment games, and productivity tools. Its titles included the flagship series Reader Rabbit, for preschoolers through second graders, and The ClueFinders, for more advanced students. The company was also known for publishing licensed educational titles featuring characters such as Arthur, Scooby-Doo, Zoboomafoo, and Caillou.

<i>Carmen Sandiego</i> (video game series) American educational mystery video game series

Carmen Sandiego is a series of American educational mystery video games that spawned an edutainment franchise of the same name. The game released in 1985, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, started off both the video game series and the franchise as a whole, which has continued up to the present day. Each game of the series has a particular theme and subject, where the player must use their knowledge to find Carmen Sandiego or any of her innumerable henchmen. This series was originally owned by Broderbund, but is now owned by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since its initial release the series has won over 125 awards and accolades.

Botley is the name of several places in the United Kingdom:

<i>The ClueFinders</i> Childrens educational software series

ClueFinders is an educational software series aimed at children aged 8–12 that features a group of mystery-solving teenagers. The series was created by The Learning Company as a counterpart to their Reader Rabbit series for older, elementary-aged students. The series has received praise for its balance of education and entertainment, resulting in numerous awards.

Mystery Mountain may refer to:

<i>3-2-1</i> British game show

3–2–1 was a British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, from 29 July 1978 to 24 December 1988, with Ted Rogers as the host.

Bible Quiz, also known as Bible Bowl or Bible Quizzing, is a quiz-bowl competition based on Bible memorization and study. The competition takes place between teams, and participants are quizzed on the content of a pre-determined section of the Bible. They are a popular activity in some Protestant churches and organizations, particularly in the United States. The exact rules of the game differ depending on the sponsoring organization.

<i>Midnight Rescue!</i> 1989 video game

Midnight Rescue! is an educational and entertainment hybrid computer game created by The Learning Company in 1989 for Windows and Macintosh PCs. The program is designed to help strengthen the reading and critical thinking skills of children grades three to five.

JumpStart Typing is a personal computer game intended to teach typing skills to kids aged seven to ten. The game reuses the cast of JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade: Mystery Mountain.

<i>JumpStart Adventures 4th Grade: Haunted Island</i> 1996 video game

JumpStart Adventures 4th Grade: Haunted Island is a personal computer game in Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart series of educational software intended to teach a fourth grade curriculum. The game was released on December 2, 1996.

<i>JumpStart Adventures 5th Grade: Jo Hammet, Kid Detective</i> 1997 video game

JumpStart Adventures 5th Grade: Jo Hammet, Kid Detective is an educational/adventure computer game in the JumpStart series, created by Knowledge Adventure in 1997 and intended for fifth grade students.

<i>JumpStart 2nd Grade</i> 1996 video game

JumpStart 2nd Grade is a personal computer game released on 26 March 1996 by Knowledge Adventure. As its name suggests, it was made to teach second grade students. The working title for the game was "JumpStart Adventures 2nd Grade". It was replaced by JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade in 2002.

<i>JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade</i> 2002 video game

JumpStart Advanced 2nd Grade is a personal computer game created by Knowledge Adventure. It replaced the previous JumpStart 2nd Grade released in 1996. As its name suggests, it was made to teach second grade students. From 2003–2008, it was distributed as the "Fundamentals" disc in a 3- or 4-disc package of the same name, though recently a factory error in some packages caused the Fundamentals disc to be replaced by JumpStart 3D Virtual World: The Quest for the Color Meister going by the same name.

<i>JumpStart SpyMasters: Unmask the Prankster</i> 2001 video game

JumpStart SpyMasters: Unmask the Prankster is a personal computer game made by Knowledge Adventure where the user must stop the Prankster. As in other JumpStart games, one has to solve educational problems to complete the game.

<i>JumpStart Adventures 6th Grade: Mission Earthquest</i> 1998 video game

JumpStart Adventures 6th Grade: Mission Earthquest is a game created by Knowledge Adventure in the JumpStart series. In this game A.R.T., a computer with artificial intelligence, has gone haywire, and now wants to "redesign the chaotic system that is Earth". Zack and Jess, twin brother and sister agents of Earthquest, stop him with the help of their Uncle Eli and dog Roswell. A.R.T. seems to be inspired by HAL 9000 from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

JumpStart 3D Virtual World is a sub-series of the larger JumpStart series of educational games. It was originally titled JumpStart World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carousel (TV channel)</span> Russian TV channel for children

Carousel or Carousel International, also known by its transliterated Russian name Карусель, is a Russian television dedicated to children and youth. It was founded by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It is currently available in Russia, in France via Free, and in the United States via DirecTV.

<i>Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House</i> 2010 video game

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House is an adventure video game for the Nintendo DS handheld game console by Frogwares. It is the first in the Sherlock Holmes series to be made specifically for the DS.