• Editor Rating

  • Rated 4 stars
  • Recommended

  • Mathly Hollows
  • Reviewed by:
  • Published on:
  • Last modified: November 19, 2019
  • Quality
    Editor: 80%
  • Education
    Editor: 90%
  • Entertainment
    Editor: 80%
  • Value
    Editor: 80%
  • Child-Friendly
    Editor: 80%

Review Summary:

The friends of Mathly Hollows need help defending their village from monsters. By solving math problems intended for kids in grades kindergarten through fourth grade the village can be saved. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are the focus of this app.

Reasonably priced, Mathly Hollows nicely combines education and entertainment. Despite missing a few key features, it is a pleasure to play. This app may be best suited for kids in first grade and older.

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Overview

The friends of Mathly Hollows need help defending their village from monsters. By solving math problems intended for kids in grades kindergarten through fourth grade the village can be saved. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are the focus of this app.

Features include:

  • Unlimited number of user profiles
  • Ability to choose grade level and topic
  • Combines fun and learning

Quality

Mathly Hollows nicely combines quality design elements into an easy to use app for kids and adults. The app does contain in-app instructions, but needs additional instructions on the use of the helpers, rewards and how they are to be used.

In-app descriptions of the grade selections are needed to better assist parents and teachers in the customizing of profiles. As it is now, parents and teachers cannot easily identify what is to be expected in each of the selections; such as kindergarten 1 vs. kindergarten 2.

Parents and teachers are not able to quickly identify the progress of each user. The ability to quickly view detailed progress tracking is expected of apps in this price range. Something as simple as identifying in the profile customization screen which sections have been completed or how the user has performed the last three times the game was played would be acceptable. The current method could be very time consuming if you have multiple users.

Education

This app provides math facts for varied level of abilities in grades Kindergarten through Four. Topics covered are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and one category that combines topics. The app divides the math problems into grade selections such as Kindergarten 1, Kindergarten 2, First Grade 1, First Grade 2, and so on up to Grade 3.

Each category, such as Kindergarten 1 – addition, contains 16 progressive levels. The child must unlock one level before moving on to the next; however, addition does not need to be completed prior to moving on to subtraction.

Kindergarten 1, subtraction, level 1 starts with simple math problems such as 1-1=0 and includes problems as difficult as 9-1=8; level 2 could range from 10-1 to 19-1; level 4 introduces math factor 2 and so on.

The variety of math problems presented was good, as was how the problems were presented. In some instances a problem may appear as “?=5”, “2+3=?” or “2+?=5”. Multiple answers are available for the user to choose from.

If two incorrect answers are given for the math problem, the correct answer is quickly displayed before moving on to the next problem.

Providing the option to play without the stress of the timer would be beneficial for those who may struggle with answering the math problems. This option could be placed in the profile setup.

Entertainment

Kids need to quickly and accurately answer math problems in order to save the village. As a math problem is answered the wizard destroys (in a non-violent manner) an advancing monster. Helpers (additional characters in the game) can be called upon to slow the advancement of the monsters.

The intent of Mathly Hollows is to provide kids with an entertaining option for improving basic math skills. The app does a good job of achieving that; however, those that struggle with math may become quickly frustrated due to the time pressure.

Value

This edutainment app contains a considerable amount of educational content. The app does lack some features one might expect from an app in this price range; such as detailed progress tracking.

Child Friendly This app is nicely designed for kids, but could use additional in-app instructions regarding the helper characters and the addition of an option to play without a time pressure would be ideal.

Mathly Hollows is almost a completely child-safe app; the app does not contain in-app purchases, social media or ads. Unfortunately, the ratings pop-up detracts from the otherwise safe environment. These types of pop-ups are undesirable in an app for kids; especially one categorized as educational.

The friends of Mathly Hollows need help defending their village from monsters. By solving math problems intended for kids in grades kindergarten through fourth grade the village can be saved. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are the focus of this app.

Editor rating
Rated 4 stars