Count on me!

What is Count On Me! app?

Count On Me! describes itself as a mathventure, an invented word that sums up this app's style well. Children enter the world of Numberia to right the wrongs of its misguided prince using the power of the Magic Ruler.

In practice, this means that children guide their avatar through a game-like environment, following a story and meeting new characters. Each time they encounter an obstacle, they enter into a math challenge to overcome it. These educational 'moments', mixed in with the exploration and story, are paced well to keep children engaged in the app and not overwhelm them nor leave them too long without meaningful learning.

What we love about Count On Me!

Apps with a story tend to pull kids into long playing sessions. However, after a while, children begin to play less frequently as they've become overexposed to the app's content. Count On Me! overcomes this by limiting how much children can play it each day to around 15 minutes.

This planned limitation works very well. It fits into the story as the player's avatar goes to sleep in a room which the player can furnish by buying items from crystals they earn as rewards.

Kids will anticipate the subsequent step of their math adventure the next day. Educationally this is also useful as kids tend to retain knowledge and skills better when they engage with them on a little-and-often basis.

The app looks fantastic throughout. Its graphics and sound are superb. The math challenges are relevant to kid's classroom learning and well designed to guide children to learn more and extend their skills. Incorrect answers aren't punished, and kids needn't fear failure in the app.

What skills does it improve?

Count On Me! guides children through learning and practising many math topics, including counting, sequences and arithmetic.

What age is it appropriate for?

While Count On Me! does not follow any curriculum precisely, the topics it covers are for kids aged between 6 and 9.

Kids towards the upper end of this range might feel at first that the math in the game is a bit easy for them. However, this situation should rectify itself as they play through the first few sessions and the app's adaptive content finds the right level for each player.

Is Count On Me! easy to use?

Count On Me! app's menus are clear and to the point, and the app explains what to do in the game using animations and a voiceover. Aside from a very straightforward user account set up for each player, there is no preliminary setting up to do by players, parents, or teachers.

How will students benefit?

Although kids realise that math apps aren't true games, however they might look, they still appreciate the extra interest game-style presentation provides to learning. Count On Me! provides an inviting and stimulating environment for kids to gain extra daily math practice.

Knowing that the game will only let them play for a finite amount of time lets kids know that they can fit using the app into a convenient slot in their day.

How will teachers benefit?

Unlike many other apps that combine math with an adventure-game environment, Count On Me! has been built with school and home use in mind. The app can be configured to either context by tailoring the user account system to each one.

The app's website describes the educational theory and study underpinning Count On Me!'s design. Teachers considering spending their budget on this app can use this information to inform their decision and, if they go ahead, to justify it.

How will parents benefit?

Count On Me! provides a long-term method of giving kids math practice. Its attractive presentation and fixed session length should make building it into kids' daily life relatively painless. Parents will know that their kids are refreshing and consolidating their school-based learning each day. Parents of up to five children of appropriate age can create multiple accounts, and the same subscription lets all of them play the app.

What Count On Me! can improve on?

There is currently only one subscription option covering a single month. Parents who feel confident that this is an app that their kids would like to use in the long term would appreciate a discounted yearly option.

There is little way for parents and teachers to discover how often kids have used Count On Me! and see what they have covered while using it. A parent/teacher page that provided this information would help teachers with assessment and reassure parents that they are getting value for money from their subscription.

How much does Count On Me! cost?

You can download Count On Me! to use fully for one week without charge.

What is included with the free version vs. paid?

After the trial week is up, Count On Me! is accessible through a subscription paid monthly.

Is Count On Me! safe to use?

Count On Me!'s privacy policy states that it does not gather any user-identifiable data. What data it does collect is to tailor the learning content or improve the app. The app's content is child-friendly. It does not contain any advertisements, and the only in-app purchase is the app's subscription.

Overall rating of the app.

Count On Me! is beautifully presented, contains effective learning content, and is designed to work well at home and school. Its fun story and short daily sessions make Count On Me! ideal as a companion for kids' math learning. It is a five-star app, and all parents and teachers of suitably aged kids should download the app and try its free trial.

You can download Count on me! on your iOS devices from the Apple App Store.