Rocket Math

 

 

Bottom Line: A ton of depth, a low price, and a great example of how to blur the line between education and game.

In Rocket Math, kids get to design a rocket, complete math missions for money to buy new rocket parts and, best of all for my sons, get to watch it crash (comically) at the end of each launch. 

Children control the rocket thrust into the air, but eventually the propulsion sections fall away and the rocket must be kept afloat by tapping as many correct answers floating in space as the player can. For example, in shapes, the app will say "tap the triangle" and the child has to tap a triangle to be presented with the next question.

Each proper answer provides a few more seconds of float. Bronze, silver and gold medals are awarded and compiled for successful air time. The number of launches and highest altitude are also tracked, and the app can save the progress of five different players at a time. 

The mission categories are numbers, counting, time, U.S. money, shapes/patterns, add/subtract, multiply/divide and challenge. Within each category are a number of specific missions. There are seven counting missions, for example, including "count by 1" and "count by 10 backwards." 

The wide variety of subjects gives the app an unusually large age/topic range and some of the missions are challenging enough to keep an adult on their toes. Younger players will need some help to learn the rocket-building basics.

One possible improvement I see to Rocket Math is easier access to high scores and perhaps top 5-10 scoring info for each mission with dates. It would be nice to be able track a child's progress with each type of math: "Hey the first time you played, your rocket lasted only eight seconds, but now you're up to 36!" The only way I found to reach the high scores was to pause the game just before blastoff. 

Available for both the iPad and iPhone for 99 cents (and with a free trial) Rocket Math is a must-buy. At the very least, download and try the free version.

 ****

If you would like to download Rocket Math please use the links provided. The cost is the same, but Smart Apps receives a small percentage. Thanks for your support!

iPad/iPhone ($0.99):     U.S.     Canada     U.K.     Australia 

iPad/iPhone lite (FREE):     U.S.     Canada     U.K.     Australia