TOS Review/ MathRider

Rather than just another math program, MathRider is more of a math adventure.

Your children will learn their math facts while going on fun, magical quests through the forbidden Mathlands.

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division each have the same quests.

The first quest for each one will send you on your way to the Forbidden mathlands in search of a rare flower. You find out that your mother has a rare kind of fever that can only be cured with a mystical flower called Pythagoras. You must find this flower, and bring it back to your mother.

On the Second Quest, you and your horse, Shadow, are on your way to do some fishing. On the way, you see a mysterious dark cloud gathering in the sky, so you decide to go home, but on the way you notice a bright blue beam, and you find a sparkling deep blue gem with strange inscriptions on it, by the river.
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You take this gem to the wizard, and he tells you that you have found a magical elvin gem, used by the elves to keep darkness away. He tells you that you must return it to them, or their realm, and yours, will fall into darkness.

On the third quest, you are coming home with the firewood that you gathered, and you hear the footsteps of soldiers. You and Shadow hide in the bushes. You notice that the soldiers belong to the evil King Wartain, and you notice that they have captured a young girl as a prisoner in their barred wagon.

She notices you in the bushes, and she drops a letter for you out of the wagon.
You pick up the letter:

You must deliver the letter to King Edelheart at Sky Castle in the kingdom of Bluemoon.

In the final quest, you visit King Edelheart, and you are now ready to rescue Princess Fairblossom.
He tells you of a secret magic portal that will take you to Wartains lands.

Once you have mastered all of your math facts in that level, you are allowed into the dungeon to free the princess. You return the princess to her father and mother, and all are happy again.

As a reward, King Edelheart builds you your own castle.

As you go through these quests, you earn flowers, gems, and flags to decorate your land. 

My kids really like this program.

My 13 year old daughter says, "It certainly makes you faster at your math facts! I didn't have them all down before, but now I do. I like that it's fun, and it's educational, and that it has a horse in it. It is fun trying to earn all of the rewards, and rescuing the princess."

My 6 year old son says, " I like it because you get the rewards. I like learning the math, and I like the quests, but I don't like the horses running so fast. It is hard to do it because you have to type fast. I don't like typing it fast at all, because it is hard."

My kids really, really like this program. They want us to buy it so that they can have it forever.

I do see where it has helped them with their math facts, but I must admit that there is a part of me that wishes I hadn't let them play this game.
I knew that it was kind of magical, and I was OK with that, to an extent.
I wasn't crazy about the sick mother, and I really didn't like the fact that it had an evil king, and that it talked about the darkness.
I am OK with the magical flowers, and gems, and even the elves. I just don't like it getting deeper than that.

Other than the magical aspect of the program, I really liked it too.

My husband and I were torn between purchasing this program for them, because they really enjoyed it, and it really helped them with their math facts, and the magical aspect of it.

My husband thought it was a little trance like.

So, in the end, we decided that there was too much dark magic in this program to purchase it.

If there were a little less dark magic to this program, and if it were more of a happy magical land, we may have decided differently.

Those who enjoy fantasy type games will enjoy this math program.

I did like the fact that the program can tell what your child knows well, and what they struggle with.
It won't keep them redoing problems that they have mastered.

I like that it is intuitive.

There is no teacher preparation required with this program, so that makes it an easy supplement to any program. 

You can check their chart and see where they are, and where they still need help.

This program is great for children of all ages. Even young students just beginning their addition facts can enjoy this. It can also help those teens who just need a little more practice getting those multiplication facts down.

I also really like the fact that you do not have to purchase this program per student.
You can buy this once, and have it for all of your children.

That makes it a better investment.

You can purchase MathRider for $37, and it will instantly download to your computer.

Check out my my fellow Crew Mates thought of MathRider.

*I have received a trial version of MthRider, free, as a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, in return for my honest opinion. No other compensation has been given to me.*