Math games. They suck. This article is all about why they suck and some ways to make better math games people will actually play.
The Worst Math 'Game' of All Time
Go ahead. Take a look at this … thing … we'll call an educational math game. Suck it up, be brave and wade into the sewer that is math game design :
I don't usually like to torture my readers, but this time it's necessary. You really need to understand how bad it is before you can begin to understand how to do it right.
A Math Game Like a Root Canal
This is not a game. This is a math drill. Worse, it's a math drill that insults a kid's intelligence.
The evil plan of the people who make this kind of game is this :
Let's lure those stupid kids in with some licensed characters and trick them into doing a math drill while we pretend it's a game! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha (cough sputter wheeeeze!)
To those people : Screw you.
For The Rest of You
Before telling you the secret to making a good math game kids will play and learn from, why not try one?
Whoever made this game understood what I'm about to tell you.
To make a good math game, math is a part of the mechanics of the game.
There are no math problems in this game. However, a person playing this game has to use math to progress in the game.
How to Design a Math Game
It's simple really. Just drop the math drill BS and make a game that centers around using math.
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