Parents' Guide to

Symmetry Shuffle

By Chris Morris, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Deceptively tricky but addictive spatial puzzler.

Symmetry Shuffle Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

Community Reviews

age 6+

Based on 1 parent review

age 6+

Fun Way to Build Spatial Understanding of Flip, Turns, and Slides

Young children are being exposed to elementary geometric concepts at a younger age than ever before. Some attribute this to the new push due to "Common Core Standards", while others state the increased pressure for students to build their fundamental math concepts is a result of the United States less than stellar performance on the latest round of PISA testing. Whatever the actual reason is, there is no disputing the reality, or the need for our nation's students to both competent and competitive members of the global knowledge economy. Symmetry Shuffle by Carstens Studios does an amazing job of introducing and fine-tuning both a child's skill and their understanding of spatial geometric concepts such as flip, turns, and slides. A student can choose between two different play modes "race" or "solve"; along with an option for "easy" or "hard "modes. There are also options for grid size and icons (used in the transformations). The only downside of the game I encountered -other than a difficulty in solving some of the actual puzzles- was in using the "arrow controls" whist on my iPad mini. However, once I moved onto a full-size iPad this issue was reduce to only a minor nuisance. I found the game play to be additive and I could feel the brain buzz as I was challenged with increasing more difficult puzzles. Side note: I consistently suggest this particular app to parents whose children struggle to complete tasks on found on: https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-2/flip-turn-and-slide I find this "pre-assessment" to be an good indication of a student's generalized understanding of this particular concept. --------------------- Geometric and spatial thinking are important in and of themselves, because they connect mathematics with the physical world (Excerpt from "Progressions for the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics, June 23, 2012)

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

SYMMETRY SHUFFLE is a much harder game than it initially seems to be -- but that’s not a negative for die-hard puzzle fans. The game’s premise -- moving objects around on screen -- is basic, but players quickly learn that there’s strategy involved. There are two modes: Timed and Solve. The former is a stress-filled affair, challenging you to solve puzzles and advance before time runs out. The other is more casual, letting players learn the game and begin to figure out their strategy. In either mode, though, hours can slip by as you try to figure out the best methods to win. It is a great app for challenging kids to use higher level thinking skills.

App Details

  • Device: iPad
  • Release date: August 31, 2010
  • Category: Education
  • Publisher: Carstens Studios Inc.
  • Version: 1.0.1
  • Minimum software requirements: OS 3.2
  • Last updated: August 23, 2016

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