MathTango: Grades K-5 Learning Reviews

by Jen75077

The game play is good, love the math practice, and the worlds and characters are fun and motivating for my kid. Unfortunately, there is a major flaw that completely ruined it for us. We had to change devices, the old iPad was being returned to the school district. Got a new iPad, and of course all of the apps and games are tied to my own AppleID so figured all was well. All of our other games and apps transferred just fine, seamlessly. However, this app apparently only saves data locally and there is NO way to transfer progress other than a workaround requiring contacting them and sending a log from the old device (yikes) so if you lose or don’t have access to the old device, all of your kid’s progress and all of that work disappears. Poof. Never existed. Super frustrating and took all the fun out of it for us. On the plus side, their customer service is responsive and friendly, even though they couldn’t do a thing to help us. Enjoy the game, it is fun, it is good math practice, but be aware of this flaw.

by Kejdhjdndnfn

My son and I love playing the puzzles together, but we end up having to turn it off as it is so frustrating. We are now several weeks in and have an island full of monsters (earned from activities). The island is totally crowded and then the daily missions/ tasks require you to find a specific monster before you can proceed. This requires you to spend lots of time touching every monster to see their name, and the game has bugs which means you can touch different monsters but the same monster name comes up. This can literally waste hours per week and drives us crazy, as the other aspects of this game are excellent. The way they do the math puzzles is as good as I have seen on any app but to progress you have to do the ridiculous time wasting tasks. E.g Find ‘any’ monster and put him on the trampoline is fine.....but when it says “find Terence, Rafael and Kondo, to complete a different activity with each one”.....you are going to waste an hour doing that. This could be an awesome app if it didn’t waste so much time. The bugs don’t help. So frustrating.

by JustineVT

I was looking for an app to help my 9 year old with multiplication, so I thought I would try this. I had no idea how helpful it was going to be for her addition/subtraction as well.

In response to some people who have written that the problems can be repetitive. They seem to be designed that way on purpose, and for good reason. MathTango helps kids memorize the combinations numbers of common sums so they don’t have to rely on counting all the time ie: all the different ways you can make 14. This has had a huge impact on my daughter’s math calculation speed.

And the best part is my daughter loves MathTango. It does a great job of teaching math and gives kids high rewards for doing it.

I believe there is one small draw back that prevented me from giving it 5 stars. I think the multiplication app requires too much knowledge of the times table already. Also, unlike the addition/subtraction side, it jumps around a lot between different times tables. I needed to give my daughter a multiplication chart so she didn’t get too frustrated.

I think MathTango would be 5 stars if the lower levels of the multiplication could focus on one or two sets of times tables at a time to build confidence and memorization. For example it could start with 0,1, and 2; then go to 2 and 3, etc, etc..

Otherwise, I can’t say enough good things about it. There really isn’t any other apps like it.

by ?!@?@$

Your apps have taught my son to spell, read, count, and construct sentences. Thanks to MT he can now do two digit arithmetic in his head. He loves MathTango so much he beats all 25 levels and then requests that I reset it again. This morning I told him “Please eat all of your breakfast, get completely dressed, pick up all your toys, and then give your mama a big hug. After all that is done you can have an extra 10 min of Math Tango.” Full compliance.

If Originator builds it, I will buy it. I say this as a father who is also an educator (who can spot a glorified-set-of-flascards-app when I see one). I couldn’t be happier with these purchases.

by Teatrooper3

We got MathTango to help my daughter with math as this was a subject she dreads and gets very frustrated about. We wanted something to help her practice and also put a positive spin on math. This was a great way for her to engage without complaining. She loves the characters and the other task to complete the missions. We had trouble finding a treasure chest so I contacted them and quickly got a response to help rectify our situation. Looks like there is a map which shows locations in the parent section. Knowing if we need help and the assistance we get if we need it is a positive aspect of MathTango support team. Daughter is having fun all while learning math!

by DonnaC74

My almost-6yo really enjoys this game. She loves the monsters, loves the puzzles, loves customizing the island. There are a couple of issues we have, though:

- Because numbers are frequently centered instead of right justified, she's having a really hard time with tens and ones places. She'll frequently try to add the tens from one block to the ones from another, and then she gets frustrated.

- She breezed through early levels, but needs to reinforce those skills so she can apply them to the two-digit numbers. I haven't found any kind of setting that would allow her to repeat lessons.

- She gets really stressed out when the monsters get sick. So then when we're trying to work through challenging problems, and she can see their health dwindling, she's too focused on feeling like she's killing her monsters and can't direct her focus to the equations.

I wonder if there are settings I'm missing that would allow us to address these issues?

Just want to reiterate that we both love MathTango ! These are just some things that could improve the experience in our case.

by Losing Chips. Grrr

My 7 year old love MathTango! He has plowed through all of the levels in the complete version, and STILL loves playing. I would love to keep his interest going in math, and ask/beg for more levels (maybe even throwing in beginning multiplication and division?). I hope they keep coming in future updates! MathTango is amazing and I will be keeping my eye out for other apps you’ve created.—never mind, we already have them all. Lol! I’m obsessed with your company! We are working on Endless Alphabet with our 2 year old, and the kindergartener loves endless numbers. Our first grader utilized all of the Endless apps, and is loving Tango. Thanks again!! I suggest your apps to EVERYONE! Seriously.

by Ajblox789

Sometimes you get to make your own monster or robot! You have to do missions and play math to earn coins and buy the stuff you need. If your a parent reading this I know it cost money and all, but it’s super good better then other math games! You get to choose you avatar and name yourself and if you complete a lesson theirs a DANCE PARTY! With music and stuff. I hate math but this makes it super fun! Now if you are reading this, BeG yOuR pArEnTs for this math app and tell them to read this and the other ones! Like I said BEST MATH APP EVER ALSO, there are NO ADS ADD FREE!

by Velvetme

Buy the annual subscription even if you have a little one. Mine has a lot of great choices for educational games but she continually requests “monster math”. Several levels in just a few weeks later and she is really engaged with the content, the DANCES and the silly moments killing time in between lessons just playing with the monsters. The screens don’t accurately capture how dialed in and targeted the lessons are. Perfect timing. Super light and simple user feedback. It’s NOT drill and kill. More like “skill uphill”

My daughter is not yet 3.5 so finding a really high quality math program for her has been interesting. I have all the other titles from the company, this one is so different but so effective. Get your dance floor and a few items to play with and your kiddo will be playing at math often and accurately!

by Nikhi680

Looks like we are done with all the missions and now we get a message “more missions coming soon”. When will we get new missions. If we know then it would help us pause the subscription for sometime and renew it later when new missions are ready.

Another ask, is it possible to disable then space program as my kid is in KG and multiplications is something he is not going to do but I see him still playing the space mode and getting stuck, basically wasting time. Is there a way to turn it off?

by Dizzykitty5

The games are repetitive and there isn’t a lot of variety. Overall there are many games yes but it does the same games for a while before moving onto a new type of game. But even with that my six year old son loves it and plays it on his own for over an hour at a time. I thought he would get bored with it but he’s at mission 16 and level 11 difficulty and he wants to play more. Even now while I am writing this review he is anxiously waiting for his tablet back so he can play more. My only worry is what’s going to happen at the end. I would love for new games or features to be added in the future.

by Bbou3

I bought MathTango because we love all the endless reader apps. My 9 yr old is loving this. We now earn playing this for fun. The robots and alien dances are fun. The daily quests keep us guessing using math to earn more dablooms to add more things to our world. Solving the math puzzles are exciting too. All the clicks and sounds make it like an Indiana Jones adventure. I find myself trying to play as well - just wish the family share feature worked. My husband would need a subscription to play on his phone with our son. It another great app ! Thumbs up from a homeschooling family.

by N.M. Landry

I am at the part about Mecha Issac and... 😭 I am trying to get energy but... I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO MULTIPLE!!! I do not know what to do!! Please help me!!! 😭😭 I do not want to lose my monsters! 😭😭😭😢🥺!! That is the end of my “sad news” review. this app IS AMAZING!! I would like to report a glitch. So, you pick up a monster in this app island. Another monster is on the thing you are waiting for. The monster you are holding is shaking their head. Then the monster gets off the thing and you can go on it. But, for some reason, the monster is still shaking their head. That is the glitch. Goodbye! Also, the glitch only occurs when you have been waiting for a long time.

by Js2299

I have tried many math apps for my 2 kids, now 4 and 7. This is the only one that they both love to play and don’t feel like it is work. It is really well done. They always want to get more monsters and build their city. It’s very fun but they also learn through the puzzles. It starts off with adding 0’s and 1’s to doubles to double digits etc....A big tip would be to edit the curriculum (it’s easy, you can just click the topics) so it can focus in on your child’s level or it allows you to focus on an area you think they need more practice on. Also, the support for MathTango is excellent. I emailed them a question and they responded with a helpful answer almost immediately.

by Woofjetmeow

My 9 year old was having trouble with math. I sent him to kumon and he hated it. He would cry doing the worksheets and take forever to finish them. I started worrying because he seemed so stressed out over kumon and I didn’t want him to start hating math as a subject, so I decided to look for an alternative. In comes MathTango. He loves it and races to do it right after school everyday. He’s actually doing really well with it and no more crying over not being able to finish worksheets. Kumon might work for some kids, but I think my son has a differently wired brain, so I’m glad that an app like this app exists. It’s amazing, engaging, and most of all fun. I don’t think he even realizes how much he’s learning while he’s playing with MathTango. We love it!

by Anvalogoal

Math tango is an app in its own class on every detail: multiple profiles for the different kids, each profile configurable for the right sequence of challenges so that the child learns but is not frustrated, fun and interesting challenges, both of my kids love playing it, no adds, no unexpected unpleasant surprises. This is my first app review ever, because I love MathTango. We bought the endless apps from Originator when our kids where very young. Fantastic for reading and numbers. In a class of their own. Now that they are learning math I’m glad to find that this company has the right product. I will blindly continue buying every one of your educational packages at this rate. Fabulous job.

by Joshua Ochs

It has some of the whimsy, but that's it. The UI is a confusing mess for kids and adults alike, it uses 3D poorly and makes it hard to see and interact with the objects in the game (no camera control and confusing layout reminiscent of mid-90’s games - in a bad way). It’s reading heavy which makes it unsuitable for young children who otherwise could benefit. So far I can’t locate anything to do other than the column block adding game, which is so repetitive even my four year old groans at it (14’s *again*?). Nothing about it is approachable, entertaining, or fun. It’s rote drilling of the worst kind. The whole purchase system feels like this was going to be a F2P micro transaction abomination, not an enjoyable educational title.

by Bondgirl003

We started out using Originator Endless apps and fell in love. My son loved the monsters and sound effects and even us grownups thought they were fun. When we found this app, we were thrilled. Even though my son is now further along than the program, he still loves playing for review and just to advance his monsters & robots.
Directions are clear enough that kids can figure out mini games on their own and parents don’t have to hover. We’ve deleted a lot of apps because they required just as much of my time as my son’s.
The dances are very well done. Cute moves and graphics are top notch and so fun to watch.
I wish Originator would make learning apps for all ages - robots & monsters would make my boring work day a lot easier to deal with!

by Rk8102

Fantastic for working on basic math skills! Earn monsters, build up a tropical island, and progressively cooler dance routines for addition and subtraction, and a planet star base for multiplication and division and basic algebra. It’s a fun way for kids to do math while they don’t realize they are being purposefully exposed to number patterns, ones, tens, multiples, differences, substitution, etc. It’s a practice app, not a teaching app. If you want a teaching app, use Endless Numbers another Originator app, or ToDo Math. We’ve had this since it was released and it’s nice to see it evolve. My kid started using this, when he was 4 or 5, and still loves it at 8. Before he could read, I used to read him the missions. (It would be nice if they were recorded for late readers.) The daily quests are a nice motivator. It’d be great to see more mini-games and rewards.

by Jennitope

My four-year-old loves loves LOOOOOVES this game and powered through all the missions before the free trial was over. He wept when he reached the end of the missions. I had to create two new ones for him and draw him new monsters. We tried the space game, but he just doesn’t like that setting, he is so attached to his island and his monsters. (He was thrilled to see Isaac at the space station, but then the second character is a new robot.) I was more than willing to pay the monthly subscription fee for a game he loves this much, but we just need more! Please issue more missions, and we would really love if we could do multiplication and division in the island game and not just the space station one.

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by Aloha Erin

We’ve had this downloaded for awhile for our kindergartener and she loves it. Now with the schools closed until probably the remainder of the year, she’s been playing it more than ever. She’s even ventured into the multiplication section & is now mastering that! She’s 6!!! Her teacher had noted that she’s advanced in her math & I really think MathTango has helped that. She genuinely enjoys playing the games & gets so excited when she’s earned a dance party.

This was a great buy - you won’t regret purchasing it!

by LittleBit.Kw

Math Tango is a fun app. I love the characters. I love the colors, scenery, options, I could go on and on. This was the first app I’ve ever downloaded. The monsters dance, and afterwards, before you continue on, they stand there breathing. The animation doesn’t stop. I want to live in that world! So much fun and definitely worthy of five stars! p.s. Click “watch again” after each dance. They dance to different songs & my favorite was the first one. I even videotaped it with my old phone so I could see it over & over. So cute! I’m definitely impressed 👍🏻

by Woodave

This is the only app I have found that both has great educational value and my kids are excited to play. Now that my younger child is starting to use MathTango in kindergarten, I’ve noticed they fixed my two requests from last year- difficulty level is now customizable so it doesn’t get too hard for grade level and all text is now read out loud so kids who can’t read can play independently. Thank you!