Bottom Line: Help Kando the Kangaroo as he goes on a quest to find more milk. Hop across Australia collecting milk bottles and other prizes. Solve math problems along the way to win more milk points. The combination of adventure game with math practice keeps this game interesting for little learners.
If you'd like to purchase Milk Hunt from Skidos Learning Private Limited ($0.99 for a limited time, normally $2.99, iPad/iPhone), please use the handy link provided so they'll know who sent you.
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No ads, but there are in-app purchases available and external links in protected parent areas.
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Kando the Kangaroo has run out of milk. It's your job to help him collect more on a fast-paced romp across Australia, dodging obstacles and animals as he collects milk bottles and other prizes. Along the way, Kando has to stop and solve various math problems to be allowed to continue on his quest. Milk Hunt is a combination of game and math practice that won't soon become boring for your little learner.
The game itself involves Kando hopping across Australia gathering milk bottles as famous landmarks pass in the background (I recognized the Sydney Opera House — what do you see?). Along the way, Kando must hop over logs and across water while avoiding other animals. The game controls are simple swipes and taps to help Kando hop up or jump down to another level. Kando hops along collecting milk bottles and various other stuff, all of which allows him to collect more milk or to fly a plane or dive in the ocean. The game in and of itself is engaging enough to ensure repeated play.
Along the way, though, Kando must pause and solve math problems in the form of multiple choice questions. There are four topics available: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, plus one random category that could involve questions from any of the others. As each question is answered, Kando is rewarded with additional milk points to help him raise his score. With each correct answer, the difficulty of the math problems increases.
As Kando hops along on his quest, occasionally he will collide with an obstacle or run into one of the many animals in his path. The user has the ability to continue play by saving him with first aid kits, but after the initial ones provided are used, additional ones must be purchased with milk points that have been collected. Between the cost of the first aid kits and other boosters that are available, it's very easy to deplete Kando's milk points very quickly.
Milk Hunt is a combination of game and math practice that so far has held the interest of both of my little ones. One nice feature is the ability to turn off the math. I know this would seem like it is taking away an integral part of the app, but one of my kids has just turned five and is not quite as advanced in her math skills as most of the questions we faced. This allowed her to continue play without becoming frustrated.
What I liked:
- Fast-paced gameplay combined with math practice questions.
- The ability to turn off the math and play this strictly as a game is a real plus if you have little players who are perhaps not quite to the level of math that is presented.
What I might change:
- It would be very helpful if users were able to choose varying levels of difficulty in the game. An option to slow down the game play a bit would keep younger users (or those that become agitated at a pace that's too fast) from becoming frustrated quickly and giving up.
- I thing that the point levels for purchases like first aid kits and power ups might be too high and could become an issue for some users. I found that my kids very quickly blew through the points they collected and then were forced to continually go back to the start because they couldn't afford to purchase new lives.
Milk Hunt could be a nice addition to your aresenal of math apps, particularly if you get it while it is at a discounted price of $0.99. While neither the game nor the math sections are particularly revolutionary, wrapped up together they do offer a way to keep your child engaged in the game long enough to sneak in some learning.
*****
Kelli discovered over the weekend that she is no longer cool. She's pretty OK with that revelation. SmartAppsForKids.com was paid a priority review fee to complete this review in an expedited manner.
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