4.6
Where to Buy

Box Drop Math Addition Game: A Fun Way for Kids to Practice and Learn Basic Facts App Review

App Info

Price: Free In-App Purchases

Overview

Box Drop Math Addition Game entices students to build speed and accuracy with basic addition facts through 9 + 9 by rewarding quick and correct responses with an opportunity to play an arcade game where players must drop packing boxes onto a growing stack.

Features include:

  • Encourages mastery by awarding points for solution within 3 seconds
  • Gradual increase in equation difficulty level
  • Graphic display of facts mastered and in progress
  • Supports and keeps score for five separate players
  • Nine game levels plus a free play option

Quality

This app is a high-quality app. All functions work well, and the physics engine is remarkably realistic. During the arcade portion of the game, players are challenged to drop packing boxes into a tall stack, and slight misalignment of a box results in a very tippy tower that eventually is likely to fall. Players can counterbalance a poorly placed box with effort, much as they would fix a wobbly block tower by shifting the next block in the opposite direction to provide a counterweight. It’s challenging but not overwhelming.

Developers did include a brief explanatory parents section, but it is somewhat difficult to find. They should put a link to this information on the front page so adults can locate it with ease. I had to do a bit of guesswork to figure out how to play the game, and some children might find that frustrating.  It also seems like there should be links to various parts of the app from common starting points. For example, there should be a way to go from the level explanation back to the home screen, or from the game screen directly to the home screen.

Education

Box Drop Math Addition Game is a fun way to coax children into practicing their addition facts through 9 + 9. There are no substitutes for repetition in the quest to memorize these bits of information, and Box Drop Math Addition should hold most youngsters’ attention.

After each level is completed, the app shows a progress chart that highlights the facts that have been answered quickly (within 3 seconds) and correctly. It’s also nice that the app keeps scores for up to five players at a time. This makes it nice for family or classroom use.

Entertainment

The entertainment aspect of this app is the arcade-like game of dropping a packing box from the crane onto a stack. After the player answers the math fact correctly, he or she gets to test coordination by dropping the box into the proper place. Each level demands one extra box on the stack, starting with six at level one.  If a box is not aligned correctly, the tower will become less balanced. Boxes that are too far out of balance will fall.

If a box falls, the player loses one of the three lives. If more than one box falls from the stack, each one costs a life, so it is possible to lose two or even all three lives in a single fall. At that point, the player will need to start the level again. This could get a little frustrating for a child who has trouble with the task.  I think it would be more fun if players had to complete a few problems between rounds of the game, and I wish there was a way to earn extra lives or at least not to lose multiple lives at once.

Value

The app is free, which is usually a good value. This one can be used again and again by up to five people.  I did not see a way to reset scores, though, so it might be challenging to start students after the first five have used the app.  There is a full version available for an added fee that covers all four operations, but this free version does a good job with providing addition practice.

Child Friendliness

This app is child-friendly. There are some links to additional apps and the developer’s website, but all are protected with an effective gate.

  • Protected parent area (contains external links and app rating)
  • NO social media
  • NO in-app purchase
  • NO 3rd party ads
  • YES external links (protected, but visible)
Box Drop Math Addition Game: A Fun Way for Kids to Practice and Learn Basic Facts
Box Drop Math Addition Game
Box Drop Math Addition Game provides addition facts in order of increasing difficulty and encourages players to build speed at basic addition combinations. A simple but fun arcade game challenges them to stack falling boxes to earn extra points.
Quality
Education
Entertainment
Value
Child Friendly
4.6
Where to Buy