Number Munchers is an educational/edutainment computer game in the Munchers series produced by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) for several operating systems. Designed to teach basic math skills, it was popular among American school children in the 1980s and 1990s and was the recipient of several awards.[1] It was later replaced by Math Munchers in 1995.
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Specific to Number Munchers are the five modes of play: Multiples, Factors, Primes, Equality, and Inequality. Players can also choose from a "challenge" mode, which randomizes these modes. In the Multiples mode, Muncher must munch all numbers which are multiples of the number given; for example, if the designated number is 3 then Muncher must eat all 6's, 9's, and 12's and avoid numbers such as 7. In Factors the muncher seeks to ingest the factors of a given number, in Primes he craves prime numbers, and in the Equality and Inequality modes the muncher devours expressions such as 2+4 which are equivalent or not equivalent (respectively) to the designated number.
Game play begins with four Muncher lives (the one currently in play, plus three others in reserve). After scoring a certain number of points, the player gains an extra life. Players lose a life if they swallow an incorrect answer. Additionally, five different types of enemy (or "Troggle") appear throughout the game. Players lose a life if they make contact with a Troggle.
The highest known level is -127, which is equal to level 129 per wrapping.
The Troggles are monsters with two legs and a large head, whose goal is to eat Muncher and/or disrupt his progress by rearranging things on the board. Levels 1, 2, and 3, contain only one Troggle on the grid at any given time. A second Troggle appears starting with level 4, and a third appears starting with level 8. After approximately level 18, the game (especially the movement of the Troggles) accelerates to make responsible munching more difficult.
Safety squares occasionally appear to help protect Muncher from the Troggles. These are temporary havens identified by four small white rectangles on the corner of the square. No Troggle may enter a safety square; if one appears on a square a Troggle currently occupies, that Troggle dies (but may be replaced afterwards). Safety squares may disappear as quickly and randomly as they appear; hence, one must take caution not to remain in one for long.
In addition, Troggles are quite cannibalistic; if one Troggle enters a square already occupied by another, or if two of them enter one square at the same time (even if they are of the same species), one Troggle will eat the other (however, another Troggle may re-enter the board afterwards).
There are five species of Troggle, each with its own binomial name:
As in the other games in the series, a player is awarded with a cut scene (reminiscent of those in Pac-Man and similar arcade games) after every third level; in this game, these are dubbed as "Great Moments in Muncher History". While these scenes are numbered (Act 1, Act 2, etc.), the order they appear in varies from game to game. Once all six have been shown, they begin to repeat themselves (starting with the scene after Level 21). The six scenes are as follows: