Numbala - Neurodio

This review of Numbala was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 18 October 2018.

About the app

This section contains details about the app provided by an ACCM Reviewer.

ACCM review

This review of Numbala contains the following information:

• The level to which the game was reviewed
• App description
• Reviewers comments
• In App purchasing
• Online information
• Gambling
• Advertising and product placement
• Gender stereotypes and sexual references
• Coarse language
• Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents
• Other

The level to which the game was reviewed

Level 7

App description

Numbala  starts in Pinomba Island where a young person is looking for his/her dog in a small ship. Numbers are shown on the screen and the player has to recognise the number either by its shape, the number of dots or the numeral itself, and respond by clicking on the correct number on the scale at the bottom of the screen. Once this action is completed the ship proceeds on its way. When the number is shown as a block, the player has to fire at it with a separate button to break it into smaller components. If the ship hits a barrier then the game is over and the player has to start again.

The levels in the game progress and get increasingly more difficult. At level 7 some of the numbers on the scale disappear and the player has to search for them. The quests also become more difficult and avoiding barriers and objects along the way becomes harder. After Pinomba Island the game progresses into Masamu Forest and the difficulty level increases again and involves not just recognising the numbers but having to solve simple addition and subtraction sums.

Reviewers comments

Numbala was designed by a team of psychologists, neurologists and computer scientists. It is well researched and has the potential to teach young children basic mathematical concepts. The screen is colourful and characters are cute and will appeal to children. The app is quite challenging however and while it will keep children engaged for some time, younger children would benefit from co-play with parents. The level of difficulty can be set from easy to ‘normal’. The reviewer used the easy setting which was still quite challenging. The first island, Pinomba Island, mainly teaches number labelling and recognition of what the numbers actually mean.The mathematical concepts then develop into simple arithmetic sums.

There is some connectivity to the Internet to the developer’s website which is protected by a maths question. To play this app players will need good spatial awareness skills, fast response times, good hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. Parental co-playing is therefore recommended for children under 8 and parental guidance is recommended for children 8-12.

In App purchasing

None.

Online information

Connection to the developer’s website is accessible by answering a simple sum.

Gambling

At the time of review, the reviewer found no simulated gambling content.  If you discover simulated gambling content in this app, please contact us with the details so we can update our review.

Advertising and product placement

There are frequent pop up ads for other apps by the same developer.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

None noted.

Coarse language

None noted.

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

N/A.

Other

N/A.

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