Adding Things Up – Prodigy Math Game Reviewed

Introduction

Everyone loves math, right? Ironically, the majority view mathematics as an unavoidable necessity of life. Young students often throw up their hands in futility when trying to solve even the most basic math problem. Well, for these children who are having difficulty motivating themselves to study math, the Prodigy Math game can be a fun way to help encourage them. The game can also be a coordinated effort between student and teacher to help make learning math more enjoyable.

Concept

The Prodigy Math game erases the need for a pencil and paper to discover solutions to math problems. It also creates a central place where teachers, school administrators and students can work towards promoting strong math skills. There are dashboards with usage reports that can provide essential data to chart an entire school district’s progress. Through a curriculum-aligned program, teachers help their students develop the math skills they need to progress successfully to the next grade level. The game focuses primarily on grades one through eight. There are more than a thousand math skills, which uniquely change as each student improves. Supported by such noble ambitions, the concept of helping young people learn is noteworthy. For concept, the Prodigy Math game scores a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

Graphics and Audio

Teaching math by making it fun, is the primary focus of the game’s creators. As a graduate of the University of Waterloo, Rohan Mahimker wanted to build a more engaging learning experience for teachers and students. Students could play their way into fictional wizards by solving problems. The focus is on solving problems, so the graphics and audio in Prodigy Math are only average. They lack the vivacity of horror games and platforms that otherwise thrive on visual appeal. The graphics in Prodigy Math certainly don’t benefit from any spectacular ratings, but they also do not distract children from the game’s primary goal; teach math. For these reasons, albeit designed for a higher purpose, graphics and audio only score 2 out of 5 stars.

Gameplay

One of the essential things about Prodigy Math is how many players found the game to be addictive. Sure, there are thousands of video games produced that parents would undoubtedly prefer their children didn’t become embroiled in for hours on end. Prodigy Math is not one of those games. Gameplay centers on making it fun to solve math problems. In reality, children don’t even realize they are working on their education. The game makes it seem like fun, not dull schoolwork, especially math. Players solve math problems, cleverly disguised as game objectives, to earn rewards. Experience is gained by duelling with innocent forest denizens. Parents and teachers are comforted in knowing that there is nothing sinister about these creatures. Students explore new worlds as they solve problems by winning little battles. The game concept is fun for children, but the free version lacks variety. The gameplay is fun and fulfills the intended goal of helping teach math skills, but the free version only scores 3 out of 5 stars because of in-game repetitiveness.

Conclusion

Prodigy Math offers a free version, but players should be aware that a for-profit entity provides it. Non-members can use many of the basic features, but to get the full Prodigy Math experience, membership is necessary. The impetus towards pressure tactics to generate these paid memberships drains from the Prodigy Math’s appeal. Game timeouts that sent players back to constant challenges were also frustrating. Prodigy Math has excellent merits as a game to make learning math more enjoyable. The teacher and student collaborative feature is also a promising part of the setup. However, the importance placed on promoting membership purchases somewhat overwhelms an otherwise helpful game. The Prodigy Math game scores 2 out of 5 stars for replay value.

Summary: Math isn’t the most entertaining subject for students to master, but Prodigy Math can be a fun way to learn without them even knowing they’re learning.