I should have listened to that old adage – never work with children or animals.  But, when faced with the task of reviewing an app aimed at the under sixes – and not being under six myself – it seemed sensible to enlist the help of someone who was.  A suitable test child was located, but after a few minutes with the iPhone and Number Sense, our Persian cat entered the room and the job of reviewing the app dropped to a distant second in terms of importance.

Mathomatix: Number Sense (iTunes link), to give it its full title, is an educational game designed to help those of kindergarten age – which I take to mean the under six – develop their maths skills by using fun gameplay and colorful graphics.  There are five subgames inside Number Sense, each dealing with a different area of basic maths.  Booster Balls helps with counting which Do the Dotty also does, but with an emphasis on recalling order, Numberella is for comparing numbers, Fishoonka expands on this to include greater and less than, and finally, Toot Toot Train teaches addition and subtraction.

It’s important to say that pre-Persian, the little girl was rather enjoying counting while playing the first game, and I’ve no doubt it would have continued.  The graphics are bold and bright, with just enough animation to add interest without becoming a distraction.  The sound effects are minimal but again, are effective for the same reason.  Each game has a voiceover provided by a child and as the game appears to be at least partially made in the USA, the child speaks with an American accent.  This is important to note if you’re not American and to give potential buyers an idea of the voice used, I did occasionally expect him to say ‘Timmy’s where, Lassie?  In the well?’

As for the games, they’re straight forward enough until you reach Toot Toot Train, where even I had to read the instructions to find out what to do, and Fishoonka also caused problems due to a slightly badly worded explanation at the top of the screen.  Maths can be a hateful subject, but Number Sense certainly injects some fun – make sure you tap the owl or Drizzle the donkey to see their reactions – and should keep your children entertained while they learn at the same time.

When the games have been completed a trophy is awarded, all of which are stored inside the My Stuff section found on the home screen, plus there are various times when you can take a snapshot and then share it with friends and family.

For little ones, and the parents who want to occupy them, Number Sense makes good sense.  The games are simple to play but challenging for growing minds, plus we really like that it’s not a sensory overload, allowing you to concentrate on the game rather than flashing lights.  Good then, but not quite as good as a Persian cat, at least according to our own highly scientific test!

3/5

$2.99/£1.79