Overview
Adorable Pep the car leads the way as kids travel around the map of the United States to learn geography facts. The app offers two games: Bingo and one about mapping out your own Road Trip. Both can be played on three levels of difficulty.
Bingo Makes Learning State Facts Fun
The Bingo game is filled with riddles asked by the 50 states. One state reveals that it is the home of "Death Valley" (A: California). Another tells the player to "Travel directly east of Nevada to reach me." (A: Utah). Other questions involve deciphering state abbreviations, neighboring states, capitals, facts, landmarks, and many other facts.
The easy level presents riddles that aren't as challenging, and it offers hints by having a fully illustrated reference map that is a tap away. On medium, the riddles get harder; and on hard, the riddles are very challenging and the reference map only shows the state names.
Taking a Road Trip Turns into a Game
The object of this game is to travel from the starting state to the ending state by charting your route across the country. You travel to an adjoining state when you answer correctly a question about that state. On the easy level, you can cruise around the country without any penalty for wrong answers. But on the medium level, you get a flat tire each time you answer a question incorrectly. On the hardest level you are only allowed two flat tires. Some of the road trips can reconstruct historic trails, including the Oregon Trail, Lewis and Clark's trip, and the trail of the Pony Express.
Fun Way to Learn Geography!
Instead of having to study flashcards, kids learn state facts by playing these two fun games. With the Bingo game, the app cleverly makes the answers to the riddles easily available by providing the link to the map. With the road trip game, as you travel across the states, many facts are displayed as you cross into each state. In both games, the correct answer is always displayed when you select unwisely; so kids can learn from their mistakes. The games reward kids with "statehoods" for each state; and it uses these prizes to create a timeline showing kids when each state came into existence.
Unfortunately, there is no voice-over for the questions. Players need to be able to read well, which means younger geography-lovers can't play.
Pep the car is cute; and his expressions change as you play, making kids feel as if they have a friend along for the trip. This is a fun way to learn about state capitals, shapes, flowers, nicknames, abbreviations, landmarks, landforms, natural resources, and other facts.
Best For
For iPad owners, State Bingo and Road Trip US is a perfect app to download before going on a road trip. It is also a fun way to make learning facts about the United States seem like a game. If you are an iPhone or iPod Touch owner, download the companion app entitled State Bingo and Geography Crossword.
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