Is Dragonbox worth it?

[4KookieKids]

I keep seeing Dragonbox referenced as a fun game. We are generally a low-screen-time family, but my kids would always *like* to play more games, of course... (Who wouldn't? lol) So I've considered getting this, but I'm just not sure, so I'd love to hear your reviews of it and if it's worth the $20 you put out. (I'm pretty cheap - when my kids wanted to do XtraMath for a while, I always did it in the browser on my kindle so that I didn't have to pay the $5 for the app.)

 

I have a kiddo who is in BA 3C and Singapore PM 4B and another kiddo about to finish Singapore 1B. Is there a way to play it with more than one student (different profiles, or something, not necessarily simultaneously)?

[Farrar]

Short answer: YES.

 

Long answer: Yes, more than one kid can make a profile. It completely turns basic algebra concepts (and in the case of Elements, geometry) into a game. A fun game, no less. My kids started playing it back when it was brand new and we heard the buzz about it (I think we actually got it as app of the week or during a free special before there was even the full version). Now they're both in Algebra I and we refer to it ALL. THE. TIME. Every once in awhile, when I have a kid who is stuck in his thinking, I'll draw it like it's a Dragonbox problem and he'll have a little light go on. Perhaps there are kids who don't enjoy it or who don't get much out of it, but if so, I don't know who they are. I played it and I enjoyed it. It's just so good.

[EKS]

I went through all of the levels in the algebra one.  It was ok.  I found that I used a completely different (and more cumbersome) thought process with the game that I do when actually doing algebra problems--sort of akin to thinking about arithmetic when using base ten blocks.  I'm not sure how well the skills learned in the game would translate to doing actual math.

 

The geometry one doesn't make any sense to me.  Seriously, I can't make it work beyond a certain point--and honestly, I also can't figure out what it is supposed to be teaching.  

 

All of this is to say that I don't really recommend either of them.

[Jackie]

I love them! I've done all of them myself except for Numbers.

 

DD has played with Numbers (she was mathematically past it when it came out, but likes the Nooms), worked through Big Numbers two or three times (she had me keep deleting and reinstalling once she won), all of Dragonbox 5+ and most of 12+, and most of Elements.

 

I have no idea how well they relate to formal Algebra and Geometry, because we aren't there yet. DD does do Hands on Equations, and that's easy for us to relate to the Algebra apps.

[Syllieann]

The algebra app is definitely worth it. I think it's only $5 if you just get that one. Is the $20 for a bundle? We don't do a lot of screen time either, which is the primary reason I don't use the big numbers app. Too much gaming, too little math. It reminds me of prodigy. I'm really disappointed with that one. And it was the most expensive! Nooms is awesome, but your younger is likely past or nearly past it. I also enjoyed the algebra app. DD played it in a waiting room once and all the other kids were drawn in too. Who doesn't want to see what is going on when your kid is yelling, "oh, I need to divide everything by a screaming daytime monster baby!"?

[Farrar]

I went through all of the levels in the algebra one.  It was ok.  I found that I used a completely different (and more cumbersome) thought process with the game that I do when actually doing algebra problems--sort of akin to thinking about arithmetic when using base ten blocks.  I'm not sure how well the skills learned in the game would translate to doing actual math.

 

The geometry one doesn't make any sense to me.  Seriously, I can't make it work beyond a certain point--and honestly, I also can't figure out what it is supposed to be teaching.  

 

All of this is to say that I don't really recommend either of them.

 

It took me going through the whole thing of Elements before I got it at all. I do see what it's trying to teach - it's the basis of proofs - if you can show that these two are parallel and that this one is perpendicular and that's a triangle, then, etc. etc. etc. But honestly, I think most of that is relatively simple and that the hardest part of geometry is actually the vocabulary and much harder logical thinking, which Elements doesn't teach at all.

 

So, yeah, I think Elements is really not that exciting or great. I mean, it's okay. Sort of. It's not on par with the algebra app at all for me.

[smfmommy]

Yes. We own every level.

[debi21]

I own all except Big Numbers. I waited patiently for years to get them on sale (usually at least one is on sale Thanksgiving weekend) and they were still $3-$5 each. I like them.

 

The Nooms are great for my almost 5 who is still working on place value. He is doing other things too, but I can see that it is contributing to number sense. He just told me that thirty-five was three tens and a five. Then he built '100' and I asked him how many tens were in it. He counted them up and declared that there were 10 tens in 100. I am happy for him to be making these kinds of discoveries. Also he is the kid who hasn't connected with c-rods yet, and I'm hoping this will help him out in that regard.

 

My almost 8 has played a lot with Elements and the Algebra ones. Algebra is brilliant. While my son has played with it (2 years ago) I don't think he has retained. I should have him do it again soon. However between these apps and his curriculum, he is comfortable with the idea of x as a variable representing a number, and a simple statement like x - 7 = 4 is easy for him to solve. To me now, that doesn't sound like much, but I also know that I got bumped up to an honors math class in 7th grade, walked in on an equation like that and had no idea what it meant or how to make sense of it. My 2nd grader has a better conceptual understanding than I did then.

 

With Elements, I do like it a lot, but find it easy to forget the various swiping and clicking movements, which frustrates me. I find it really helpful to be next to my son while he's doing it, talking about it out loud, using the vocabulary. I think it's helped him understand the definitions of different quadrilaterals and triangles better, as well as the meaning of the radius of the circle. It has also helped him spot triangles in triangles or in other shapes. But I'm much more involved as he's using Elements to try to narrate what is going on since his 'regular' math is just area/perimeter and identifying shapes - nothing like this.

 

I like them enough I'm considering paying full price for Big Numbers - that's saying a lot.

[CadenceSophia]

They have been amazing for my 4 year old. He played Numbers for hours and hours, and then did Algebra 5+ until he finished it, then he made another profile and did it again. After that Big Numbers came out and he's working on that now. I haven't spent a lot of time looking at Big Numbers but it doesn't seem as good as Numbers at first glance.

My bigger kids aren't really into Dragonbox the same way. If I were you, I'd only buy Algebra 5+ and see if they like it.

[...................]

Yes 100%

[4KookieKids]

Thanks, All! I neglected to mention that I also have younger kids (1 and 3) who would (presumably!) also get use out of some of the simpler ones, so I went ahead and bought the pack. So far today, I've been a little lax on screen time, and let them each play it for half an hour. So we've used three games today and they seem to like them all, so here's hoping! :)