MathRider
Sharper Edge Pty Ltd
31 Hannah Street
Beecroft NSW 2119
Australia
Phone: +61 2 9980 2437
Office hours: 9am to 5pm (East Australian Time – GMT+10), Mon-Fri
Compatible with Windows, Mac OSX and Linux
Current sale price - US $37.
Instant download access
Age range 6-10 years old
"30 Day Risk-Free Guarantee" (If for ANY reason you or your child are dissatisfied with MathRider, to get a 100% refund just contact the company within 30 days after purchasing.
Caution: You are now entering the Mathlands . . .
We recently have been using a downloadable math game from Australia. Let me tell you about this fun supplemental way to learn basic math. MathRider is a new math game for kids to practice the number facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division from 1 to 12.
The download and registration of this game is pretty easy, although you may have to download Adobe AIR if you don't have it. After downloading, your "rider" is easily added on the Rider Menu.
In the game the player rides on different quests and learns each of the 4 math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). While the game is played the computer stores and analyzes what the rider knows and what they still need to practice. The cool thing about this is that the players get to actually practice what they don't know instead of doing random problems. There's even an overview map for each number table to see which facts are mastered (answered correctly with consistent speed).
Screenshot from Addition Quest
Each of the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) has four quests, which are the same, but the rewards are different in each quest. The riders enter answers as they move along the quest. They pass through the Mathlands, a richly illustrated background. At the end of the quest the rider gets to see their reward on the main screen of the game.
Quest Progress Map
Along the way your child rides their own horse and takes off on fun adventures, some of which include finding magical flowers, returning gems to elves and rescuing a princess. All your child needs to do is type in the answer to the problem presented and press ‘Enter’.
Below is a picture of one of these overview maps of mastery. In this subtraction statistics example most areas are green (mastered), but a few orange and red areas (problem areas), need more practice. Grey areas show the problems that have not been played yet. This kind of feedback allows parents to figure out where their children still need practice.
This game also allows multiple children to play (up to 10 on a single license), and the game tracks each child separately. (They just log in to their own game.) This feature is great if you have kids at varying skill levels, because the game becomes "their own" based on how well they answer questions on their personal quest. (For example, you can have a younger child working on addition and subtraction while an older child works on multiplication and division.) This feature is also great because you pay once rather than per child.
My daughter, a horse lover, thought this game was a fun way to practice her math and gain a bit of speed in solving basic problems. Yes, she asked to do math on her own time - hurray.
This one gets a thumbs up for helping learn basic facts. We weren't that excited about the graphics, but there is good variety for the quests. There are wizards, elves and other fantasy items we don't really care for, but this is worth considering for the inspiration to quickly learn math facts. I'd be interested in seeing this game with different types of quests rather than the fantasy theme.
To see what other TOS Crew members had to say about the game click here
I received a free trial download of this game to use for the purpose of providing an honest review. Opinions and observations shared are my own. I am not obligated to provide a positive review. No further compensation was provided.
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