Wild Words

Wild Words is an educational game that allows children aged 6 and up to practice spelling more than 200 words which range from 3 to 14 letters in length. When the program has loaded, the computer will first ask you how difficult you want to make the game. There are five levels. There are approximately 40 words in each level. The words that appear on the screen are chosen from this list. Level 1 is the easiest. Each subsequent level is more difficult. Press the number key corresponding to the level of difficulty you want. Once that is done, the game will start. The target word will now appear briefly at the bottom left of the screen. This is the word you have to spell. If you have forgotten the word in question during your activities, you can cheat by typing the letter "H". You will then see the word again and also which letters you have already filled in correctly. Letters will now start falling from a menagerie frieze that scrolls across the top of the screen.

In order to catch the correct letters falling from above, use the two horizontal cursor keys (or 5 and 8 on the Spectrum Plus) to move Microchimp and his wheelbarrow across the screen. Once the right letter is safely on the barrow, move Microchimp towards the word box at the bottom left of the screen. When you have reached the right position to dump the letter, a trapdoor will open. Press the down cursor key (or 6 on the Spectrum Plus) to deliver the letter. The letters must be caught in the right order to spell the target word. If another letter drops into the wheelbarrow at any stage, the letter in the barrow will automatically change. And if a letter hits Microchimp on his head, he loses the letter in his barrow.

After each word is correctly spelled, the child is rewarded with a tune and the jungle flower on the right of the screen grows one step further. The difficulty level increases after 3 and 6 successful attempts; after 9 you can automatically move to the next level or choose a different level.