This was a first for us. Having had a Nintendo 3DS in the house for just about 3 months (it was a Christmas gift from Santa, one which I discussed at length here), we hadn’t yet ventured out into the virtual video game eShop that sits waiting only a few stylus taps away from Powering Up.
Lola’s Math Train, a new 3DS mini-game launching today for $3.99, fits in nicely between OWTK iPad app favorites Toca Boca Train, Dr. Panda’s Daycare, and Motion Math’s Hungry Guppy. That’s right, Lola’s Math Train is an educational math journey on rails with adorable animal pals coming along for the ride. Boom! It is also a darling game with simple yet eye-catching graphics, and a slew of mathematical questions built for skill-building and reinforcing. Of the three levels, none provide the challenge my 3rd grader was seeking and she quickly lost interest despite a fondness for pandas, monkeys and lamby-lambs. Her kindergarten age sis though? For that zany near-6-year-old, Lola’s Math Train is smack dab in her wheelhouse with single digit addition, subtraction, and patterns that supplement her school day curriculum beautifully, and does so with a hefty does of cutesy fun.
There isn’t a single thing wrong about Lola’s Math Train, but that said, the cheers and encouragement coming from the Panda train conductor upon each correct answer could use more spice and variety, especially if a child is to play for an extended period of time. The modest arsenal of catch phrases begin sweet, but quickly grow tiresome. Also, the differences in levels of difficulty should be steeper to provide more of a learning curve for a youngster who picks up the material quickly as a result of the gameplay (that is the idea, after all) or a 4-6 year old child already cool with 2+3 and its equational (made-up word) peers.
In short, Lola’s Math Train is a welcome addition in our home (see what I did there?) and might also be a useful edutainment tool for your pre-K & Kindergarten aged Nintendo 3DS gamers too.
Download Lola’s Math Train from the Nintendo eShop now. Or check it out on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon, and more for your other devices.
*OWTK was provided a download code for Lola’s Math Train to facilitate a review. The developer of the game has also chosen to advertise on OWTK for a month, and sponsor the next OWTK Kid’s Music Monthly Podcast. That said, the opinions expressed above are unbiased and honest, as always.
