Common Sense Media Review
By Carolyn Koh
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Adventure game uses 4th grade math in fun mini-games.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Monkey Tales: The Abbey of Aviath
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
An abbey has appeared overnight and an evil witch has taken up residence in it. Using her powers, she is draining the world of knowledge. Kids will have to investigate the abbey, avoiding all the traps the witch has laid in the various rooms and gardens to eventually reach her hide-out and defeat her -- all with logic and math!
Is It Any Good?
Monkey Tales: The Abbey of Aviath is an action-adventure game that has kids solving logic puzzles and completing math mini-games to rescue monkeys. Instead of doing boring math equations on paper, kids get to blast answer and steer spaceships. Their very life may be dependent on answering a question correctly so they know which tile to step on as they cross a tricky puzzle bridge. Logic puzzles include jumping on moving platforms to get where they need to go while avoiding laser traps, using mirrors to deflect lasers, or placing objects to block the lasers. Blocks may also have to be moved to open up a path or create a path over which to walk.
This game is unique because it uses a software algorithm that gages the player's math level as they play the game and adjusts each mini-game accordingly to the math skill. That way kids progress smoothly and are presented harder mini-games suited to their level at each chapter of the story instead of being presented puzzles which they cannot beat.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the math mini-games. Is this what you've learned in school? Are you doing more because you want to get further in the game?
Families can also talk about logic and strategy. Does it help to get an overhead view of the entire map? Do you prefer to think about the puzzle a while before attempting it or do you prefer to try and use the re-do button?
Game Details
- Platforms : Mac , Windows
- Subjects : Math : addition , arithmetic , division , fractions , multiplication , subtraction , Language & Reading : reading
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : logic , solving puzzles
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Monkey Tales Games
- Release date : November 7, 2011
- Genre : Edutainment
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate