Shop Rush
Shop Rush puts you behind a shop counter. Ten customers come in, one at a time, and each brings one order on a card. Fill the order, press Serve, and the customer pays you in stars: 2 stars for an order that is right the first time, 1 star for a right answer on the second try, and none if the customer leaves. A shift is worth 20 stars.
Grades 2–5 mixes four kinds of order, about a quarter each. Make change from a tray of $10, $5 and $1 bills and 25¢, 10¢, 5¢ and 1¢ coins. Ring up a total of two or three items from the price board. Count equal groups, like 3 bags of 4 rolls. Or take a fraction of a pizza, like ¾ of 8 slices. Grades 6–8 has four more: a discount, such as 25% off $48.00, sales tax, such as $24.00 plus 6%, a tip, such as 15% on a $36.00 meal, and a better buy, where you tap the offer that costs less each.
Every percent is chosen so that the answer is a whole number of cents, so there is never any rounding to argue about. If you miss, the customer gives a hint that points at the method, and you try once more. If you miss again, the customer leaves and the worked answer is shown. Pick a pace before you start: Calm has no clock, Busy gives each customer 60 seconds of patience, and Rush gives 30. The page remembers the level you chose last, and your best score for each level and pace is saved on this device.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Shop Rush?
Read the order on the card, fill it, and press Serve. For change you tap bills and coins from the tray, and the Given total shows what you have handed over so far; Undo takes back the last piece and Clear takes back all of them. For a total, a count of groups or a fraction, you type the answer on the till keypad. On a keyboard the number keys and Backspace work too, and Enter serves. A better buy is two buttons, one for each offer. Money is typed the way a till does it: the digits fill in from the cents, so 7 then 5 shows $0.75, and 2 1 0 0 shows $21.00. There is no decimal point key, and $999.99 is the most it takes.
How are the stars scored?
Each customer is worth up to 2 stars. An answer that is right on the first Serve earns 2. A wrong answer brings a hint and a second try, and a right answer then earns 1. A second wrong answer sends the customer away with no stars and shows the worked answer. On Busy and Rush, a customer whose patience bar runs out also leaves with no stars. Ten customers make a shift, so the most you can score is 20. Speed earns nothing extra: the pace only sets how long a customer will wait.
What is the difference between Calm, Busy and Rush?
Calm has no clock, and it is where the page starts, because making change takes time to learn. On Busy each customer waits 60 seconds, and on Rush 30 seconds. A patience bar shows how much is left, and it runs only while a customer is waiting for an answer, not while you read a worked answer. There is a Pause button, and the clock also pauses by itself if you switch to another tab. Your best score is kept separately for each level and pace.
How does making change work in the game?
The customer pays with the next whole dollar up, or with a $5, $10 or $20 bill, whichever is more than the price, and prices run from 25¢ to $9.99. Tap bills and coins until the Given total is the change; any combination that adds up is right, so you do not need the fewest coins. The coins are drawn in proportion to their real sizes, so the dime is smaller than the nickel. Counting up is the method the hint suggests: for a $3.65 snack paid for with $5.00, count 10¢ to $3.75, 25¢ to $4.00 and $1.00 to $5.00, and 10¢ + 25¢ + $1.00 makes $1.35.
Which percent and better-buy questions do Grades 6–8 get?
Discounts use 10% to 50% in steps of 5, plus 60%, 70% and 75%, and may ask for the sale price or for how much is taken off. Sales tax uses 3% to 10% in steps of one half, and tips use 10%, 15%, 18%, 20% and 25%. For example, 25% off $48.00 takes off $12.00 and leaves $36.00, and 6% tax on $24.00 is $1.44, for a total of $25.44. A better buy sets two offers of different counts side by side: 6 for $4.20 is 70¢ each and 10 for $6.50 is 65¢ each, so 10 for $6.50 wins. The larger pack is the better buy only about half the time.