My iPhone has become my kids' occasional babysitter. Whenever we have to wait longer than 60 seconds, I hear the familiar refrain of "Dad, can I play a game on your phone?"
I don't always indulge them because they also need to learn the art to waiting patiently, but when I let them play, the game they most often reached for was Race to Everest. It occurred to me that game time could be spent on something more productive than a glorified game of "I Spy".
So I went over to the iTunes store and picked out what seem to be some of the highest user rated math applications. We played them for a week and here's what we think about iTunes selection of basic math games.
Cute Math
With no difficulty settings and very easy problems, this game is the most basic of the bunch. Under the Cute Math umbrella are six mini-games. The first two were basic counting exercises with cutesy sound effects. There are also simple addition and subtraction games. Both have animation to help kids figure out the solutions, but the link and instructions for starting the animation is small and somewhat hidden.
Finally, there are a couple of games that test what the kids have learned in the other games, throwing random addition and subtraction at them. The games are OK, but seem to be targeted at the 4-6 crowd — too simple for our needs.
Math Magic
Math Magic provides another good looking interface - a simple background is the setting for a straightforward quiz of addition, subtraction, multiplication or division.
Beneath each equation are four possible answers that the user must choose from. When the correct answer is selected, a young child's voice congratulates the user with one of several exclamations. Get it wrong and the voice gives a word of encouragement and the user tries again until the correct answer is chosen. Don't know an answer? Shake the phone to move to the next problem.
