Mastering Maths Nightmare

Neomails flooded my box, from neofriends and strangers alike... HOW DID YOU ACTUALLY GET THAT !?! Can you help me get it too? What is the secret to your success?

The second set of neomails cascaded in later when my highest high score was approved and I proudly added the gold Maths Nightmare trophy to my cabinet. It will sit there bright and shiny forever and ever. So – instead of just answering neomails, I thought I would share my wisdom with everyone, all at once.

The current Maths Nightmare game has been up about two years, and is a big improvement over the previous version. I always found the other game to be annoying; it was really hard to find exactly the right place to put the cursor, even when you knew the answer. The new game runs much better, and is a lot more fun to play.

Anyway, here is your guide to Mastering Maths Nightmare. I can’t promise you an avatar, but with practice you should be able to collect a nice amount of NP.

1) Choose ‘division’. Division is the easiest way to get lots of NP. While division can be hard, the good news is that unlike multiplication or division, where the answers can get BIG, in division the answers are always small, either one or two digits. Small is easy to remember, easy to type, which is GOOD. Even if you don’t pick division, focus on one function and stick with it – you have to get in the mode of ‘knowing the answers’, and it’s much easier to do that if you are practicing the same type of problem every time.

2) Choose ‘Potato Counter’ or ‘Brain Tree’. The harder the level, the higher the multiplier, and the more points you get. ‘Potato Counter’ answers are mostly one-digit, which lets you type really fast. You get more points on ‘Brain Tree’, though, so if you get good at that level, you can get more points and improve your avatar score

3) Practice, practice, practice. Forget about the calculator – you can never check it fast enough to complete the levels. You have to KNOW the answer as soon as the cloud pops up. The good news is – there are a limited number of problems. While you may not know immediately that 855 / 45 = 19, after you see it for the 10th time you start to remember. That is really the key – memorizing the problems, which comes from practice. It will help you in math class too!

4) Remember the sequence. In each level, nine clouds will pop up. They follow the same sequence each time – tracing a zigzag pattern up and down, gradually moving from right to left. Moving the mouse to the right place before the cloud pops up there will make you faster, which is key to this game. As soon as you put in your answer, go where the cloud is going to be next; don’t wait for it to pop open.

5) Point, click, number pad, enter. To put a number in, you first need to put the mouse into the cloud and click to get a cursor there. I generally do this with my right hand, because I am so used to using the mouse right handed. I then enter the numbers with my left hand, using the num lock number entry pad on my computer. Normally I would do that with my right hand too, but there isn’t time to go back and forth. So – practice entering numbers right handed – you can get quick fast.

6) Remember the bonuses. You have one minute to complete levels 1 through 3. With a little practice, you will soon be doing this every time. You then have to complete levels 4 through 7 in one minute – this is a much harder task, especially on Brain Tree. There is a built in delay between each cloud appearing, so you have to really pound in the answers as quickly as the clouds appear or you won’t finish level 7 in time. Practice makes perfect, though!

7) Go for the avatar on the 1st of the month. Unlike most games, winning the ‘Babaa’ doesn’t require a certain score. You have to be in the Top 50 scorers on the monthly high score table. So – the easiest way to do that is to play the game on the 1st, before the high scores go really high as more people play the game. If you can get beyond Brain Tree Level 7 on the first day of the month, you should score high enough to get on the high score table and get your avatar.

8) Play at a time of day when you are sharp and fast. For me, that is the morning, but that may not be the right time for you. You have to be on top of your game, though, so decide when that is for you. Also, make sure that you are away from distractions. The last thing you need when you are trying to solve 705 / 47 is to have your sister yelling at you about your dirty clothes or something.

9) Smile as you collect all the neopoints even from unsuccessful attempts at the high score table. I find the payment from Maths Nightmare to be pretty generous – you should be able to find yourself collecting close to the 1000 NP maximum each time you play, even if you don’t crack the higher levels.

10) Smile as you think about how much better you are getting at math with all this practice.

11) Cheat codes. What are those?

Some of you might think – I like having fun, why should I do math on Neopets when I want to be having fun? The answer, of course, is easy – for the glory of winning the avatar and trophy that comes with mastering Maths Nightmare!