Ahh, math. It’s my most unfavorite thing in the world, with clowns and spiders in the #2 spot. Even though my phone has a calculator, I still use my fingers to count and kindergarten-level math to figure out tips at restaurants. I’ve reviewed a ton of math apps that claim they make math learning fun and easy, and even though they’re targeting school-aged kids, I still have a hard time following along.
Threes! is a recently-released app that I was hesitant about downloading due my general loathing of everything that involves numbers. I found it in the App Store under the “Best New Games” category right on the front page so it couldn’t be all that bad, right? The icon of a funny-faced tile with pastel colors subdued my anxiety for arithmetic and practically giggled its way onto my iPad.
There’s a great little tutorial at the beginning of the game, and it’s easy to follow and quite explanatory. Players start with a board of tiles with different numbers and colors with game play requiring only single swipes. The goal is to combine the numbers to create tiles of ever-increasing value. When two tiles are combined the resulting free space is filled by another tile. The round’s over when you run out of spaces to be filled by new tiles and a score is determined based on the value of the tiles on the board.
If you’re anti-math like me, this is where it could get tricky. First and most importantly, the tile combinations need to equal integers of 3 or more. Pink tiles with a 2 can only combine with the blue 1 to make 3. From that point the tiles can only combine with others that are exactly like it – threes plus threes, adding a six to a six, and so on. When you start getting tiles of 24 or above there’s little introductions to the higher number tiles, who have their own names and personalities. Check out the gameplay trailer:
I officially have a problem putting this game down. For someone that doesn’t love math, it’s odd that I would be able to not only comprehend the game play but actually enjoy the app. It was (relatively) easy for me to learn, and while my two kids are too young and don’t have the math skills to play, this would be a fun app for school-aged kids who have basic math knowledge.
If you’re looking for a family-friendly numbers puzzler, this is it. At the time this post was published, the download price was $1.99 – the sale price with a 33.3333% discount (cute). It’s highly replayable and has all-ages appeal due to the rated G content, lack of IAPs, and absence of in-game ads.
