Magic Store Math
By Dana Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Hands-on practice, not magic, makes this game effective.
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Magic Store Math
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What’s It About?
In your role as the shopkeeper on MAGIC STORE MATH, you'll first select your username to set up your profile. The app will then tell you what week and day you're on for this session. As customers enter, the items they want to buy appear over their heads. Find and tap the items the customer asks for on the store shelves to see the prices. Then players calculate the total cost, either mentally or by counting coins: Kids can spilt and combine coins in a special work area. Enter the total into the calculator-like cash register. If the total is wrong, a frustrated noise sounds along with a written message that it's not the correct amount owed, and then players can try again. When a certain number of customers have been served, the app alerts the player that they've completed the round and how many minutes it took to do so. Then players can opt to continue to the next round, or it will be saved until the next session.
Is It Any Good?
Most kids love to play store, so combining math problems with a magic-store simulation game is a fun way to get kids practicing. Created by an Icelandic app developer with support from the Iceland Educational Foundation, Magic Store Math has visuals that are different from the typical, non-themed math app and quite eye-catching, including some mildly spooky, potion-making items (such as snakes or a green hand in jars). However, there's no actual "magic" in this app. Instead, kids can practice some mental math and either add the total cost of each item or break each price into smaller coins. Though this option definitely adds to the app's value, it still is a bit repetitive after awhile. A second activity -- such as buying new items from a supply store -- would add more depth and interest to an otherwise solid game.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the two ways players can arrive at their answers on this app. Kids can use the "token board" to visualize the coins separately and together or use mental calculation. Which one does you kid like better? Why?
Consider giving your kid some coins to purchase their own items at a candy store or some other store where they can add small, low-priced items that equal more than a dollar.
Talk about how consistent practice can help make math easier. More than one kid can have a username on this app, so you can save each player's game progress, which may add some competitive fun between students and siblings to see who can come back most often and complete the most days first.
App Details
- Device: iPad
- Subjects: Math : addition, money, subtraction
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: June 27, 2016
- Category: Education
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy
- Publisher: Gebo Kano ehf.
- Version: 1.02
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 9.0 or later
- Last updated: December 10, 2020
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