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Okay, this should be good. DS today had to write about what he did this summer. First they drew a picture and then they wrote sentences about it. He drew a picture of him on the computer, a picture of him visiting his grandmother and then a picture of him going to the hospital. (This is, in fact, reverse chronological order )

For the picture of him on the computer he wrote that he "played Evolver, a math game (pre-algebra)"... He wrote several sentences all about it, but this should be a good starting point for discussion! I haven't seen it--so this is his recounting of the story. It'll be interesting to see what he drew and wrote!

The teacher also gave him differentiated "money" math today so we're starting off on a good note... In the last section he wrote a "problem" for the teacher that went something like "My dad has -1 dollars. I have 7 dollars. When my dad pays me the money he owes me, how much money will I have?" Yeah, I owe the boy 1 allowance

JB

Fantastic!!!

The finger is on the buy button. Must. press. button.

Just wanted to say thanks for talking about this game. I just bought it for my math-hating DS9 - and he loves it. Anything that makes math fun for him is a positive for us. It balances the traditional math he still has to do for school. Thanks again!

I'm still eyeing it. The $60+ price tag is slowing me down, too, but I have it bookmarked...

Downloaded the demo and got a 'blue screen' and system reboot - guess i won't be ordering the full version

I couldn't find a demo and had emailed asking for one. Finally gave up. btw, we have Vista and it works fine. Too bad it didn't work on your computer.

DS has been playing all morning. I have to be around to help him go through the math or he wouldn't do it and there appears to be no penalty for wrong answers (he's not one to bother with the explanations and is happy to just click on everything until he gets it right). Still, this morning we've already (willingly) reviewed GCF, LCM, commutative and distributive properties and more. Looking at the website, you can click on topics covered in the various levels. There is math evolver game on Amazon for $19 which has 15 levels. I'd suggest emailing the company and asking what the difference is. I've got to wonder what the extra $50 buys you.

My understanding was that the Amazon game was only levels 1-5. A reviewer mentioned that in the review. It does mention 15 concepts covered whereas there seems to be more on the full priced game.

I definitely agree that its pricey as far as children's computer games go. I thought of it as comparable to an xbox game and pricewise that's inline. Given how much our DS has enjoyed Timez Attack and has been ready for the next level for a while, it worked for us. YMMV.

JB

Yes, the Amazon version is only 5 levels (I looked at that too).

There are (albeit minor) penalties for incorrect answers. During the game if you make a mistake, usually another baddie will come out and attack you. During the last phase of review (Q&A) answering incorrectly will have an effect on getting bronze, silver, or gold. Knowing our DS, that works for us because he'll play and replay levels until he gets gold medals.

We're still pretty happy with our purchase. We have developed our "school year weekend routine": mornings play outside, lunch, rest time (he reads, other kids sleep), then Evolver for a little bit.

The only thing that I didn't like is that you can't save mid-mission.

Buying the game also gives you online play. I have not evaluated that yet.

JB

Thanks, JB Dad. Since we downloaded it, DS is playing online (but just him as far as we know). Now I understand better how the game works. DS is alread on level 5 - just like Aleks, he does the required minimum and moves on. I see a pattern here, lol! Thanks so much for recommending this game. It's only day one, but DS is begging to play.

I also thought Amazon was levels 1-5, but the box image seems to show 1-15. Well, I'm sure someone will contact them and ask.