This month, solve beautifully crafted three-dimensional marble puzzles with the amazing Automotoys. Take studying with flashcards to a whole new level with the slick Study with Subwords. Practice notes, chords, and interval recognition with Ear Training. Finally, for the budding chess master, learn about classic starting moves with Chess Openings Trainer.
Garry Froehlich
Jellybean Tunes
Automotoys
By Idle Friday LTD
Automotoys is an elaborate three-dimensional marble maze. Each maze is full of creative parts that move marbles up and down elevators and ramps, across bridges, and through simple mazes. Kids control everything with a single tap and hold to make all of the parts move. The goal is to move a single marble from start to finish, with faster times earning more stars. Some parts of the maze give you a chance to stop and think, while others require a precise sequence of taps to complete, which may be unsuitable for younger children. Automotoys is exquisitely detailed, creative and well-produced, with tons of fun interactions. Kids can play three levels for free, with the remaining levels unlocked with a single in-app purchase.
Study with Subwords
By Klemens Strasser
Study with Subwords takes the concept of flashcards and turns it into a game of building words. You create lists of words, either by adding the already created lists, or making your own. Lists can be words, such as the names of the planets, or can be associative lists, such as words and phrases in both English and French, or the capital cities of countries. Once you’ve created a list, the app splits the words and phrases into one to three letter chunks (subwords) and presents them as a colourful jumble of circles filled with letters. For simple word lists, you put together letters to build words from the list. In the case of associative lists, the app quizzes you and asks you to put together the correct answer from the subwords (such as what is the capital of Sweden), complete with a hint system if you get stuck. Study with Subwords is playful and fluid, and turns the idea of flash cards into a fun game instead of just rote learning. The app is free to use, with a premium subscription available for access to further pre-made lists, or the ability to scan lists using the device’s camera.
Ear training: notes and chords
By Alexey Ovod
Ear training is exactly what it says: an app for training your hearing to identify notes and chords. The app is quite full featured and flexible, with sections for note recognition, chords, intervals and scales. For each section you can decide which notes and chords on which to test yourself, and you can even change the instrument, music notation and language. It keeps track of which things you have mastered and which need work, presenting them in a chart (but it does not support multiple users). The app is ad supported, and unfortunately does not have an in-app purchase to remove ads.
Chess Openings Trainer
By Piero Toffanin
Chess is an extraordinarily well-studied game with many opening moves mapped out over the centuries. Chess Openings lets you explore those moves not just with text, but by moving the pieces. The app shows you four different potential openings at a time in the free version (and many more with an in-app purchase), and pops up text based on the move chosen. It continues letting you explore moves and counter moves, explaining the name and value of the moves. Finally, after several moves you can replay the opening. The app does not teach the basics of chess, and the explanations are somewhat technical so some knowledge of the game is required, but it may be fun for future chess masters.
