Prodigy Math Game - SMARTeacher Inc

App Review

This review of Prodigy Math Game was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 15 March 2021.

About the app

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

ACCM review

This review of Prodigy Math Game 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

Played to level 10 from a year 2 standard and to level 5 at a year 7 standard.

App description

Prodigy Math Game is an educational, quest style app designed to make learning maths fun. It is set in a fantasy world in which the player’s wizard character has to battle the forces of evil. The evil Puppet Master has stolen the warden’s keys to prevent students from gaining knowledge and the wizard needs to battle his way through many worlds in order to defeat the Puppet Master.

Each time the wizard must enter a ‘wizard battle’, the player is presented with a maths question, which if he/she answers correctly, will give the wizard the power to fight the enemy.

The maths questions are quite diverse and are reported to align with curricula across the globe, including Australia's standards from Year 1-8. The questions therefore range in difficulty and complexity through the years and also by gauging the player’s ability during the first questions. The questions are then tailored to the player and become more challenging. The maths problems include simple arithmetic (which requires written answers) to more complex sums, geographical shape identification, chart reading and analysis, true/false statements and time.

Players have a choice of worlds to choose from such as Firefly Forest; Beachfront; Dynocar; and Dragonfire, to name a few. Players win hearts and stars as points, gemstones and other items from a treasure chest, apparel and equipment such as wands. If the player answers a question incorrectly they lose the battle but if they answer correctly they defeat the opponent. The player also gathers pets and other characters along the way.

Reviewers comments

Prodigy Math Game is designed by teachers to help students become more confident and competent in their math skills. It is based in familiar game play where the player has a quest to complete in order to gain points, prizes etc. The maths questions that are embedded in the game are indeed useful and relevant, however the amount of time spent answering math questions is much lower than general play. The game is relatively straightforward and easy to follow with a guided hand to help along the way. Players must have an account to play which requires them to enter their first name and initial of surname from which a user login is created. However, once logged in play can be offline if wanted. This would eliminate the ability to play with others online.

The developers insist that the educational element of the app will always be free but players are aggressively targeted to gain premium membership which involves a monthly or annual fee. Each time a player moves up a level they are presented with teasers that they would be able to have if they become members. This is certainly a concerning aspect of the app. There are also suggestions to purchase items in Lighthouse Town, however, there is no access to this from the app. Parents need to access the website to purchase membership and any items from the store. Parents can also set up a free account to monitor their child’s progress, set goals and receive reports. There is also a space for teachers to set up classroom tasks.

In App purchasing

There is no In-App purchasing in this game.

However, while there is no in-app purchasing, players are told that they can buy further items in Lighthouse Town, which a parent needs to access from the website.

Online information

There is some online connectivity, such as:

• Logins are required for all players.
• Players can play with others online.

The reviewer played this app from the home environment where there was no obvious access to the Internet available. A school setting might be different as students might need to be connected to an Intranet system.

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 is advertising in this game, including:

• Aggressive marketing of premium membership is consistently used throughout the game.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

None noted.

Coarse language

None noted.

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

None noted.

Other

N/A.

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