Math Rider- A Review – The Delight Directed Homeschooler

Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

My kids need consistent help with math facts. We do timed math pages every day, but it is nice to change it up every now and then. When we can make a game out of math fact review, that is even better! We were given a chance to review a game called MathRider through the Homeschool Review Crew. This is a great educational game that incorporates math facts practice.

MathRider was created by Thomas Brand, founder and managing director of Sharper Edge International Pty Ltd in Australia. Thomas Brand was a dad on a mission. Like many of us, he was on the search for a computer game that would help his kids learn their math facts, but everything he found came up lacking. So he took what he knew about his kids and software design and created his own program. Go Thomas!

The game is designed for ages 6-12, but of course can go a little higher or a little lower depending on your child and their needs. Students get to practice math facts- addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division as they go on quests. You can determine which facts your student will review on their quest. There is a brief story at the beginning of the quest (you can skip it if you want).

The quests are fast paced which really wakes up the brain! The first time we played it, I called out the math facts and had my girls answer them. Without the stress of finding the right keys on the keyboard, they did great. The upbeat music keeps things moving along. Eventually, the girls took turns playing. It can be frustrating to feel the pressure of answering in time, but they got the hang of it and felt success in their quests.

MathRider is a one time fee, downloadable game. It is easy enough to download and set up. We have an older iMac and it was not happy with the game being installed. It would not allow me to enter the registration key or play the game. At first I thought it was a game glitch, but I tried again on my MacBook that is newer and it was fine. Right now, it appears MathRider is available for Mac and Windows. It is not available on tablets, phones, or Chromebooks. I would really love it to be on Chromebooks. My girls each have one and it would be nice for them to have access without having to wait for me.

My older daughter really struggles with school. She really does not like doing math work, but is willing if it is a game. She cannot stand the timed math sheets I give her, but is more than willing to play math facts games as long as they are engaging. She gives MathRider two thumbs up… so… that’s a pretty big deal.