Adventure Academy

App review by Mieke VanderBorght, Common Sense Media
Adventure Academy Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 8+

Solid learning content might get lost within greater game.

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows app Free to try Educational Games
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Parents say

age 7+

Based on 53 reviews

Kids say

age 6+

Based on 14 reviews

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  • Adventure Academy App: Screenshot #1
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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this app.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Adventure Academy is a subscription based massively multiplayer online (MMO) game with a focus on academic subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies. It was developed by the same developer of ABCMouse.com and has a similar all-encompassing approach to delivering educational material. Kids wander around a virtual school interacting with other players, completing quests, and engaging with learning content. Parents must create an account with an email address and password. Each kid plays with a unique avatar for which they'll need to provide a name, birth month and year, user name, and gender. When making the avatar, parents set the learning content difficulty level and choose from three chat options: "standard" for free chatting with filters and monitoring, "quick" for chatting with pre-selected messages only, and "no chat" to disable the chat feature. The first time kids enter a new area there can be long wait times for as content downloads, which may get frustrating. Adventure Academy is free to download and includes a 30-day free trial, after which parents pay $9.99/month or $79.99/year. The list of compatible devices and operating systems listed in the app store isn't entirely accurate; check the developer's website to see if your device will work. Read the developer's privacy policy for details on how your (or your kids') information is collected, used, and shared and any choices you may have in the matter, and note that privacy policies and terms of service frequently change.

Community Reviews

Brent Proctor
Brent Proctor Adult
July 12, 2021
age 6+

Other complaints don't understand values of non-traditional learning formats

This is an excellent app. I've read other complaints rating it poorly for not following a straightforward learning path. This is part of its brilliance. Kids decide what to learn about on their own which increases their interest and capacity for consumption. I was also surprised to see people claiming there was no learning content. It's bursting at the seams with learning content, it's just not presented in a traditional manner which intimidates parents who have not studied the psychology or process of learning in kids. This mentality is largely the reason why our learning systems are so outdated and don't allow for innovation. Other complaints are technical ones. These are likely due to the complainant's hardware or IT skills. For example, one complaint was that the game takes over the whole screen and they didn't know how to exit it. A quick Google could provide a solution (Windows Key - D) There are some technical glitches at times, but with a game of this scale, they're to be expected. Although it's aimed at 7 years+, my five year old son absolutely loves it and has been enthusiastically telling me about science and how his eyes work with light reflection, or telling me about space travel and specific points about the planets, etc. What a shame that something with so much effort clearly put into it, something so innovative and so far unparalleled in its scale gets such a poor rating from people who don't understand the visual, aural, spatial, and over all sensory nature of it. It dares to gamify and succeeds. Absolutely worth the year's subscription. Highly recommended.
3 people found this helpful.
ITMATRS
ITMATRS Adult
April 12, 2022
age 7+

Lacking Structure

No structured learning path. It's like Roblox in a school. App would not allow refund even during the trial period. You have to call ABCmouse customer service (800-633-3331) to have the refund processed manually. My boys had fun making avatars, the platform is bright and engaging but we did not find enough educational value in this program.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
2 people found this helpful.
See all 53 parent reviews

What’s It About?

Create your avatar to enter the ADVENTURE ACADEMY. From there, kids set off to explore the grounds, complete quests, interact with other kids, shop at the virtual store, create personalized buildings, and engage with learning content. Topics in math, language arts, science, and social studies are presented through videos, books, games, interactive problem sets, puzzles, and more. Kids earn points for playing which unlock locations and allow them to buy items for their avatar.

Is It Any Good?

Quality learning content covers a lot of ground, but it can easily get overshadowed by all the gaming extras and consumer elements. Adventure Academy offers beautiful graphics and an impressive breadth of academic topics in a variety of engaging formats. The environment itself is very impressive, with a setting that mimics a real campus. Kids can watch funny videos, play games, read books, and more. It's clear a lot of thought went in to creating the learning material. But, there's no feedback, little help when kids struggle, and no indication of how far along kids are in each individual game (e.g., how many rounds they need to complete). Parents choose from three difficulty levels when they create each kid's avatar, but content doesn't adapt according to how kids actually perform. Some kids may find it quite a challenge to navigate through the game. Particularly for those not used to gaming, moving the avatar around doesn't always feel natural or responsive, and there's a lot of literal distance to cover between learning experiences. It's not always clear how to engage with the activities, and there's so much learning material, it's easy to get lost. The social aspect is a nice touch for kids this age, and there are reasonable measures in place to help keep the space safe, including the option to turn off chat completely. However, all the game features, as well as the large virtual world and massive database of learning material can be incredibly overwhelming. Not only that, but kids can easily spend their whole time in the game without once engaging with the learning content. So while there are alot of fun and impressive elements, a bit more focus on the educational content -- and fewer distractions -- would make it even better.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the academic topics in Adventure Academy. Monitor what your kids are doing and what material they're engaging with. Ask them to tell you about what interests them and what they learned about.

  • Ask your kids how the gaming aspect affects their experience with the app. Does it help them stay engaged? Does is distract?

  • Go over etiquette for online chatting. Discuss what's okay to share and what's not, and how to stay polite.

App Details

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