What’s It Like? DragonBox Numbers surreptitiously introduces kids to basic number concepts through puzzles, challenges, and free play. “Nooms” represent each number from 1 to 10. Kids can stack Nooms, have them “eat” each other and turn into different Nooms (for example, 3 eats 5 and becomes 8), or slice them into smaller Nooms. In the sandbox, kids freely experiment with the Nooms against a number line. In “ladder,” kids build a Noom to reach a star on a number line, which gets more challenging as they want to avoid or pass through certain points along the way. In “puzzles,” kids create pictures using the Nooms in certain ways. All activities earn coins that kids can use to “buy” more levels.
Rating: 4/5
Price: $8
Grades: K-1
Pros: Hundreds of puzzles ensure that kids can’t zip through this app in a heartbeat.
Cons: Other than height, not all Nooms have a quick visual clue as to what number they represent.
Bottom line: Though there are a few kinks, kids experience fun gameplay while internalizing fundamental number concepts.