Scetlander facts for kids

Scetlander (later known as Lander Software) was a company that made computer games and programs. They released many titles for different home computer systems in the 1980s and 1990s. These computers included 8-bit and 16-bit systems.

Fun Educational Games from Scetlander

The Gold Series was a group of educational games. These games were made to help kids learn English and maths in a fun way. They first came out for the ZX Spectrum computer. Later, they were also made for other computers like the Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS.

Each game in the series focused on a different topic. Players could change the difficulty settings to match their skill level. This meant the games were good for different age groups. Terence Anthony Mancey programmed the Amiga and Atari ST versions of these games.

Mix and Match: Learn with Maggie

This game was first made in 1988 for MS-DOS. David Jolliff was the programmer. It was later released for the BBC Micro in 1990. In 1991, it came out for the ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and Amiga. Cliff Johnson was the technical editor for the game.

Mix and Match was designed to help children under 5 years old learn how to match different objects. A friendly sea serpent named Maggie helped them. The game even came with a Maggie badge and a manual.

The game had four main types of activities:

• Two of a Kind: Find two matching items.
• Odd one Out: Spot the item that doesn't belong.
• Forget-me-not: Remember where items are.
• Clock + Calendar: Learn about time and dates.

Most of these activities had six different challenges. These included working with pictures, shapes, sizes (large and small), and numbers. The game was even translated into the Belgian language for the Belgian Ministry of Education.

Count and Add: Shades the Dog Helps with Numbers

This game was made in 1992 for the ZX Spectrum. It was also released for the Atari ST in the same year. Count and Add helped children learn how to count objects and add them together. A dog named Shades guided players through the game.

There were six fun activities in Count and Add:

• Sets 1: Count the objects shown on the screen.
• Sets 2: Type the number of objects needed, then see them appear.
• Animals: Count objects scattered around the screen.
• Train: Count two different groups of objects and add them up.
• Spider: Solve addition problems before a spider reaches a butterfly.
• Clock: Learn to tell the time on a clock.

Count and Add
Review scores Publication Score Atari ST Review (Atari ST) ST Format 8.25/10(Atari ST)

Hooray for Henrietta: Maths Adventures

This game was made to teach maths to children aged 5 to 12. It covered addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. T.R. Tulloch created it in 1989 for MS-DOS. It was then released for the ZX Spectrum in 1990.

In the game, you help Henrietta save her boyfriend, Henry. A parrot named John has stolen Henry's wedding clothes! In each maths challenge, you have a limited time to solve problems. If you're too slow, John the parrot will cover Henrietta in cold custard!

This game was special because it was the first project made with the Scottish Council for Education and Training. It also came with a John the Parrot badge and a guide to help set up the game. In 1996, the game was updated for Windows. This new version had 3D graphics and better sound and music.

Henrietta's Book of Spells: Language Skills

This game helped children aged 7 to 14 improve their language skills. T. R. Tulloch created it in 1989 for Archimedes A3000, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. It was later released for the ZX Spectrum and Amiga in 1990, and for the Atari ST in 1991.

In the game, you help Henrietta break a spell. A character named Morgana the Morbid has turned Henrietta's husband, Henry, into a frog! You can change the game's difficulty to use words with five to nine letters. Each activity you complete earns you a letter.

The activities included:

• Flash: Memorize a word, then type it.
• Complete: Fill in the missing vowels in a word.
• Crack-It: Figure out what letters have been swapped.
• Hangman: Guess letters to solve a word, with limited tries.
• Jumble: Unscramble mixed-up letters to form a real word.

Once you collected all five letters, you had to solve a final Word Jumble. This would break Morgana's spell! The game was written in the STOS language, but the Amiga version used the AMOS language. In 1996, this game was also remade for Windows. The new version had 3D graphics and was available in five different languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian.

Spellbound: An Arcade Spelling Game

Spellbound was a game designed by William Cochrane with graphics by Donald Anderson. It taught children spelling in a unique way. Unlike other educational games, it was designed like an arcade game.

In the game, you guide a helicopter (or a submarine in one level) driven by a character named Hal. Your goal is to fly through five levels and shoot Professor Grime's robots. In each level, you need to collect all the letters that make up a secret word from the robots. After winning a level, you had to type the secret word twice to prove you knew it. The levels took you to different places like Underground, Underwater, Downtown, the North Pole, and a Space Base.

Other Games by Scetlander

Besides the Gold Series, Scetlander made many other games. Most of these were for the BBC Micro computer. Here is a list of some of them: