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One of the first widespread Edutainment Games for the Apple II, beside Oregon Trail. The player takes the role of a somewhat frog-like Muncher, who enjoys eating things. The player must obey the rules of grammar/math/what have you and munch only the items that match what the question is asking for, or else they lose a life - they must also avoid the Troggles, hostile critters that find Munchers tasty. Spawned a whole series of Muncher games. Has a Wild Mass Guessing Page.
The games in the series also include Fraction Munchers, Word Munchers, and Super Munchers. The last gives the titular hero a "super" form he can transform into to take out Troggles. These games were followed up by a Deluxe series of games.
Tropes used in Number Munchers include:
- Airborne Mook: In the Deluxe series, there were Spidey, Mel the Alien, Alvanso the Flying Typewriter, and Ned the Platypus. They could all delete answers from the board.
- Big Eater: Both the Muncher and the Troggles. In the Deluxe games, only some Troggles would remove answers.
- Canis Latinicus: The Muncher and the original Troggles all have "scientific names" as well as their regular names.
- Cutscene: "Great Moments in Muncher History" in Number Munchers; similar but untitled cutscenes in Word Munchers; and Olympic-themed scenes in Fraction Munchers. Math Munchers Deluxe has fake commercials, Word Munchers Deluxe has parodies of various works of literature.
- Cutscene Power to the Max: Muncher is shown to attack and eat a Troggle when selecting a subject in Math Munchers Deluxe
- Divergent Character Evolution: While the first series's Troggles shared a general form (and genus), the Troggles in the Deluxe series are all unique in design.
- Elite Mook: Trogglus smarticus, especially if more than one of them are on the board at the same time.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: Muncher and many of the Troggles in Math Munchers Deluxe. The Troggles seemed on and off about this.
- Halfhearted Henchman: Trogglus timidus. If you approach her, she will move in the opposite direction.
- Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Some of the Cutscenes show the Muncher doing some very cruel things to the Troggles.
- I'm a Humanitarian: If one Troggle enters a square occupied by another Troggle, one of them will eat the other one.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Eating one wrong number or running into one Troggle will cost you a life.
- One Up: An extra life is awarded upon reaching a thousand points, and another at 10,000.
- Scoring Points: Because you want to put cool messages along with your name atop the Muncher Hall of Fame.
- Squashed Flat: Muncher when attacked by an Eggy.
- The Goomba: Trogglus normalus.
- Video Game Lives
- Waddling Head: Every character in the first game.