Best apps for math: The Counting Kingdom is a Top Pick for addition and problem solving! *REDUCED for a limited time!*

Bottom Line: A very well designed app to target math and math problem solving skills for kids ages 6-8, but fun for older kids, too. Monsters with numbers are combined to equal the sum on a spell card. Potions can be used to manipulate the monster numbers, and any number of combinations is possible. Great for critical thinking!

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This new app from Little Worlds Interactive is the kind of app that is somewhat difficult for me to review — but only because it’s hard to stop playing long enough to type! The Counting Kingdom is designed to practice addition, but it’s so much more than a flashcard drill app. The app really targets problem solving and critical thinking in math, and does so in a way that keeps the app fun and engaging.

The back story of this app is that many crazy monsters are trying to overtake the castle and a brave small wizard’s apprentice must keep them away. Each level shows castle turrets on one side of the board and monsters on a 4x4 grid gradually advancing toward them, each monster with a numeral on it. They move one space after the completion of each math problem.

Where this app is so well designed is in how the problems are presented. There is no equation where users simply find the answer. Instead, three number cards are shown at a time, indicating a possible answer. The user’s job (acting as the wizard’s apprentice) is to combine adjacent monsters to reach that sum. Combine a 6, 3, and 1 monster then tap the 10 card, and the apprentice pops up to cast a spell and destroy those monsters.

After the first or second level, there are different potions that can be added, too, some increasing one monster by one or two, some subtracting. There is also a zero potion, to make one monster a zero. Cards can be exchanged if needed (at the cost of adding another row of monsters), and eventually a x2 tile is added to the board — any monster landing on that tile will automatically be doubled. There are also monster moving potions, where one monster can be moved one spot to an adjacent tile.

With all of these options, the number of equations that can be completed is endless. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to solve the equation, though of course each combination must equal the number card to result in a spell. I love that one user might first combine some number cards to make a sum of 26, then use a +2 potion on one monster before combining monsters of 8+5+8+5 to equal 26, while another user might combine 6+5+5 and use a sum card of 16.

After each potion, new monsters are added in the first row (until the level is almost complete), and any monsters still in that row are pushed forward one. This does require users to think about how to combine monsters that are on the leading edge, so they don’t reach the castle. In the interest of a good review, I did let my monsters reach the castle (even though I didn’t want to “lose”). When a new monster pushes the leading monster into the turret, the turret is destroyed. Soon after that, monsters will be able to get into the castle and the level is failed.

There is good feedback provided during play. If an equation is wrong, a pop-up tells what is wrong with it (“Monster sum too small”). If it’s wrong twice in a row, the number equation appears at the top of the screen in written form as monsters are tapped, and when a combination equals a number card, the card is highlighted.

The settings section, available from the home screen before entering the levels, allows the user to turn the music and sound effects up and down independent of each other. This is my preferred setting for sound — music annoys me after just a few minutes, but I like sound effects.

The Counting Kingdom can also be played with text in nine different languages! There isn’t much text in the app, but this is still a great feature to use this app worldwide. Also in settings the user can play the intro story again, reset the saved data and view the privacy policy and credits.

It’s hard for me to come up with anything I’d like to change about this app. As it stands, it’s probably a great fit for most users in about first through third grade. However, it might be good to have the ability for the key adult to change the difficulty level for some users, to keep the app from getting too difficult for those who aren’t ready to move on.

It also would be nice to have separate user profiles, to allow families with more than one child to effectively use the app at individual levels. A new 6-year-old might not be ready to move as quickly through the levels as his 8½ year old sister, for example. Or, for that matter, my 7-year-old daughter might need a little more time than I do. And different user profiles would allow the app to be more effectively used by teachers.

These are just small details, though. I love this app a lot, and think it’s a win for kids in the early elementary years. It challenges critical thinking in a format that’s fun and engaging. Strategy is engaged at the level of the learner. It’s a must-have for any parent looking to strengthen math skills at this level. Plus, at $2.99, the price is in line with current market trends for quality apps. The Counting Kingdom is highly recommended.

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