Bottom Line: If there's one thing I love, it's a great math app. Or maybe a math app with a lot of free games, or a math app fun enough to stay engaging, but still maintaining a focus on the skills. No, really, I love a well-designed app for kindergarten through sixth grade that never crashes. Amazingly, these great features add up to just one great 5-star app!
Get Zap Zap Math - K6 Math Games for iPad, iPhone and Android just by using these handy download links. It's FREE to try, with 20 learning games available. Pay $9.99 per year to access all content.
I'm no alien to the world of Zap Zap Math - K6 Math Games, even though the app itself is overrun with cute aliens. When I last reviewed Zap Zap Math, I made it a 5-star app due to the extensive amount of free content. I still love the app just as much, and even though it now has a subscription option for the premium edition, I'm leaving it as a 5-star app. The developers didn't take away any great content. Instead, Zap Zap Math added content, making the premium subscription an amazing deal, with over 100 different learning games for kindergarten through sixth grades.
Check out what Ellie had to say about the app in her recent review video:
Zap Zap Math still tops the list of apps I recommend when friends ask me for apps to practice math at home. It's a great option to be able to easily sign up and track each user's progress. It supports multiple users, and the ability for students to log in on different devices allows it to be used easily at school and at home. No more trying to figure out what exactly your child did in math- just log in to Zap Zap Math at home.
Of course I had to try out some of the amazing new content for this review. And I was more than just a little bit amazed at the quality. The newly added games allow the user to practice even more math skills in a variety of different ways. My 7th grade son volunteered to test it for me, and though the math was well below his level, he stayed engaged for quite a long time. He was a very helpful tester, and also pointed out that when he (purposely) got the answer incorrect on some problems, the app didn't just move on, but showed him the correct answer first.
The basic format of the new games is the same as the free games. Each game targets one skill area, and consists of five levels to master. The user earns stars for completing each level, and coins to spend to unlock rooms in the reward spaceship.
There's a great mix of games, too, with some that are speed-based to work on fluency, while others focusing on problem solving or learning new concepts have no time pressure. Each game starts with a tutorial (that can be skipped, if desired) to explain how to complete each game. When playing each level, the user has to attempt five problems to complete the level, and if too many problems are missed the next level remains locked.
In fact, my only complaint about the app is one remaining from my previous reviews. I can find no way to disable the sound. The background music was always present, even when the game was paused. Please, for the love of the sanity of all adults, give us an option to turn off the music and keep the game sounds. I end up just muting the entire device, but the game sounds are quite nice. However, it should be noted that my 12-year-old app tester commented every time I mentioned muting the music that it was such wonderful music, and he'd never want to turn it off. It's possibly only the grown-up ears begging for a break.
It's rare for me to give a 5-star rating to a subscription app, but really: Zap Zap Math has so much more than a math workbook, and it costs about the same. Investing $10 into math education is probably going to be worth it. And don't take my word for it- upgrade for free to try it for one month. But, for those who just can't get around the extra cost, Zap Zap Math is still worth it just for everything that is free.
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Heather H is trying to avoid adding up the minutes left before she leaves for a conference tomorrow! Too bad they can't be multiplied.
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