Guest Post by Jenny from Dishwasher Required. I was provided with this product in exchange for this honest review.
Mastering math skills can take time and lots of practice. It can be a challenge to find fun and interesting ways to get kids practicing their math skills!
Today I’m reviewing the educational math game Ocean Raiders, made by Logic Roots. Logic Roots makes games designed for kids from first grade and up, all focused on math skills.
Ocean Raiders focuses on addition and is made for first graders, so it was perfect for my 6-year-old twins. The game comes with a playing board, four playing pieces, a ten-sided die, and four dry-erase slates with dry-erase pens.
The “story” for the game is that a ship full of treasure sunk during a storm, and the players are diving down with the goal of getting to the gold.
The guide book offers a couple of variations to make it more challenging and encourages parents to check out their website for even more variations and challenges. The erasable slates offer players the option to write down the numbers while they’re adding, which may be helpful to some players.
The first time I played Ocean Raiders with my kids they were excited but quickly became frustrated. They quit halfway through the game and wouldn’t come back.
I waited a couple of days and suggested we give it another try and they agreed. This time they played the whole way through with some encouragement.
It was interesting to watch them adding up sums much larger than they are used to doing. For example, they don’t yet have much practice adding 6 to 26, so it was definitely challenging for them.
I think this could be a good game to keep in the classroom, as the kids don’t need much supervision while playing it once they learn the rules. My boys enjoyed it but I don’t think it will become their favorite game.
What I did notice is that they didn’t seem to recognize it as math practice, i.e. they didn’t see it as an “educational” game. I see that as a good thing and I’m sure that was one of the goals of the manufacturers.
You can download free printable worksheets for First Grade and beyond from Logic Roots. Or you can check out Ocean Raiders and all of the Logic Roots Mathematics games on Amazon!