EASTON, PA—“We are pleased to announce that anyone looking for a mesmerizing math challenge can now download a Single-Digits version of the popular 24® Game from Apple’s iTunes App Store” says Suntex Vice President Barbara Asteak. Previously, the only electronic versions of any 24 Game appeared in the Skill Set™ modules on the First In Math® Online Program web site.
The 24® Game Single Digits app was launched in December, 2010, and is compatible with
iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices with iOS 3.2 or later. The original Single Digits card game debuted in 1988, and eventually inspired nine other editions, as well as the 24 Challenge® Program and the creation of the First In Math® Online Program.
The “i” version of the Single Digits game plays like its card-game predecessor and FIM cousin, but players are ‘on the clock.’ Students can play to beat their own best time, or challenge friends to see who is the quickest—Current Time and Best Time are displayed. Play is simple—make the number 24 using all four numbers on the electronic card. Add, subtract, multiply or divide but use each number only once. As players solve cards, blue bars within a small “strength meter” record the number of successful completions; after eight correct plays the game ends and records the elapsed time.
Games offer three levels of difficulty, indicated by dots. The App store lists the game for ages 4 and up, but is probably more appropriate for ages 9 and up. The app costs 99 cents per download and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices with iOS 3.2 or later.
Successful engineer and inventor Robert Sun created the 24® game in 1988. “I wanted to demonstrate that mathematics can be powerful, engaging and fascinating,” says Sun. “Knowing the answer is always 24 alleviates a classic brand of math anxiety—getting the right answer—and instead puts the emphasis on the process and patterns, the method behind the math.”
In 2012, the 24® Game will celebrate its 24th anniversary, continuing to help children sharpen basic math skills such as computation, problem solving, number sense, critical thinking, and pattern sensing. Used in more than 600,000 classrooms throughout the United States and abroad, the 24® Game, and the First In Math® Online Program, are helping to create a new generation of students become critical thinkers and problem solvers.