The Setup
Kids help an adorable mammoth as he travels over challenging terrains. In each of Slice Fractions' 90 physics-based puzzles, players slice objects into fractions to clear out ice, lava, or smoke blocking the mammoth's path.
How to Play
In each puzzle, the mammoth appears on the left and sees obstacles blocking his path. Kids solve the puzzle by dropping the correct fraction on the obstacle to make it disappear. At first, it is as simple as dropping a rectangle by popping the balloon holding it up. But the heart of the gameplay involves slicing thru objects to create the needed fractional amount, and then figuring out how to deliver the required fraction to the right place on the screen.
As the puzzles get harder, kids will need to experiment with different ideas. Many of the puzzles require the player's actions of slicing and popping bubbles to be done in a specific order. Also, there are no verbal instructions -- just icons and some hand gestures showing new ways to play. Sometimes, it takes several tries to figure out what the icon or mathematical representation is asking for. But that is part of the fun, and it makes the learning interesting.
App Analysis
Slice Fractions uses slicing mechanics similar to that of the mega-popular puzzler
Cut the Rope; so you know kids will like to play it. While the puzzles themselves are engaging, the app adds some zaniness by having players earn funny hats for the cute mammoth to wear. At the beginning of a new puzzle, players can see how many more puzzles they need to solve to earn the next hat.
Slice Fractions also introduces periodic animations of other characters that add to the fun.
The developers worked with a team of learning experts from the University of Quebec to perfect the math curriculum which is cleverly inserted into the gameplay. Kids playing Slice Fractions will explore part/whole partitioning and fraction notation, equivalences, ordering, subtraction, and more. If kids repeatedly fail a level, some puzzles reveal some help. But a hint button would also be helpful. Nevertheless, this app does a masterful job of teaching kids fractions in a fun game setting.
Best For
The sweet spot for this game is ages 6-8. Slice Fractions is best played by kids who enjoy physics puzzlers. If the developers were to add a hint button, it would make it more accessible and easier for less determined players.
This Slice Fractions app review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen.
All tech products are judged on a five star scale by looking at the following factors: fun, education, ease of use, value, and technical.
