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DATA PROCESSING DIGEST "Introduction
of the first WFF 'N PROOF game in 1961 was, in our estimation, a significant
event in the teaching of logic as significant in its field as the launching of
the first satellite in the space race field. If this seems a bit extravagant,
let us point out that challenging, competitive games capable of teaching with
unadulterated enjoyment still are a rarity. "Therefore,
we enthusiastically recommend the new WFF 'N PROOF games. This edition has been
completely revised and improved, so that the present version has vastly greater
scope, allowing the participants not only to construct proofs of theorems, but
also to progress to the exciting practice of constructing logical systems.
"Again, WFF
'N PROOF can be the first exhilarating challenge to children of 6 and, as the
games progress, stimulate the intellect of people of any age or capability. Two
to six persons can play the games. WFF 'N PROOF comes in a handy, attractive
binder complete with 36 logic cubes, playing mats, timer and a 224-page
instruction manual. There are 21 games, all of them new except for a single game
retained from the earlier version." M.I.T. TECHNOLOGY
REVIEW " ... These
games were designed to be amusing, but also to teach some aspects of
mathematical logic. There are 21 types, arranged in order of sophistication. . .
. The games have been used with success as an aid in teaching the formal
manipulations of propositional calculus to elementary and high school students."
REVIEW OF
METAPHYSICS "Why be mired
in books, papers, and blackboards? Should learning always be bound to the
grindstone? This 'Game of Modern Logic' realizes the ludological possibilities
of symbolic logic, and does so in such a way that it amuses school children and
challenges veteran logicians. ..." THE DAILY SENTINEL,
Grand Junction, Colo. "It isn't a
book, but it is the sort of thing book-lovers enjoy, so it's fitting enough to
tell you about WFF 'N PROOF (The Game of Modern Logic) in a book column. It's
attractively put up to look like a book, anyway. Actually it is a series of
games. Six-year-old children (and illogical women like me) will be challenged by
the first few games. ... I've loaned it around for some testing of my own. The
consensus of opinion: (1) It's fun. (2) It will teach logic -- beautifully. (3)
It's worse than bridge for starting husband-wife arguments."
NEW YORK HERALD
TRIBUNE "Last June in
California a class of junior high school students went to summer school and
played a game called WFF 'N PROOF. ... The IQ scores of the students increased,
on the average, 17 points after six weeks. The games were played under the
supervision of their regular teachers." SAN FRANCISCO
CHRONICLE "A new game
devised by a Yale professor is threatening the peace of mind of parents of
school-age youngsters. ... The game gives the kids a perfect opportunity to turn
the tables on elders who demand that they become whizzes at math in a way Daddy
never did. It's a sort of 'Scrabble,' but with numbers. ..."
THE ALPENA NEWS,
Alpena, Mich. "There will
be a lot of 'WFFing' (whoofing') in Roderick Magoon's science room at Besser
Junior High School this year. ... So, parents, if you hear your junior high
school children walking about the house going 'WFF WFF,' they may not have gone
to the dogs, but are on their way to being sound, logical thinkers."
THE HARTFORD
COURANT "YALE LAW
PROFESSOR TURNS TABLES ON MORY'S. ... WFF 'N PROOF a subtle game at modern logic
that has the complexity of chess and the excitement of poker ... is played with
dice and when two or more persons are testing wits they can make the tables at
Mory's look more like the tables at Las Vegas. But the game will be played in
classrooms, not casinos. ..." ESQUIRE " ... you
will approve of WFF 'N PROOF, the game of modern logic. For the expert it's
serious fun. For the skeptic it's putting things in their proper place. For the
novice it's a course of study. ... Although it is played by many for its
entertainment value, WFF 'N' PROOF is viewed primarily as an instructional aid,
and is used at some colleges for that purpose. ..." THE ARITHMETIC
TEACHER "... Junior
high school students will find the games fun, challenging, and stimulating, and
will play them during their free time at lunch and after school. ... This
entertaining enrichment game teaches the fundamentals of the propositional
calculus of logic in a manner that is enjoyable and profitable to teacher and
student alike." THE MATHEMATICS
TEACHER "This is an
interesting game based on propositional logic. Through playing these games, a
child can learn propositional logic, how to make proofs in it, and how the
content of a deductive science depends on the assumptions and rules. The games
can be learned as early as kindergarten, and can be of value even to college
students. ... Certainly the games can be quite exciting, especially for younger
children who could play the game as a mathematical game without bothering with
the logical interpretation. The ideas of proof and formal system can be valuable
even up to the college level, and may be transferable to other situations. ...
We congratulate this 'Layman,' a law professor at Yale, on his excellent
contribution to mathematical education." AUDIO VISUAL
COMMUNICATION REVIEW "Layman E.
Allen's contribution to modern educational technology is a set of game-like
rules the effects of which are quite analogous to the processes determined by
the program of a sophisticated teaching machine. These rules not only allocate
active participation, immediate reinforcement, and individual pacing but also
control the adaptation of learning materials to the increasing competence of the
learners during a game without requiring a complex and expensive piece of
hardware. ... The possibilities of combining principles of sophisticated
teaching machines with motivations inherent in game situations has been
demonstrated here impressively."
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