DSSingleCard.com
Setup & Timing
Math Play is designed so as to be navigated by children, so navigation is rather simple. While the opening credits can't be bypassed, they're rather short. Download time is about average. Unfortunately, the three mini games are not only split into three different download sessions, but they're also in different menus.
Menus & Navigation
Menu options are well-spaced and read input appropriately.
Ease Of Use / Play Control
The whole of the gameplay input consists of dragging cards around the touch screen and tapping the occasional spot in the playing field. Still, despite the simple nature of the controls, certain aspects are not done as well as they could have been. When trying to drop a card between two others (while creating an equation in the line above the player's hand of cards), the card will frequently drop where it's not wanted because there's no buffer space and because there's no spotting line on the screen to indicate where the card will drop.
Content
Math Play's graphics are 90% number cards, 5% borders, and 5% other - and the number cards are a simple number on a card. The sound is forgetable and wholly unnecesary (unless you want to hear cards flipping). There are three unoriginal mini games (read below).
Overall Fun
Math Play. Wow, umm... where do I begin? Let's start with the title. MATH Play. The problem here is that math is optional and the game can be played without using math in two of the three modes (one of which - Equal Match mode - is difficult to work math in at times even if you want to). We'll continue with originality: the three mini games (Equal Shuffle mode, Equal Match mode, and Equal Nine mode) are actually new verisions (rip-offs) of Dominoes, Uno, and BlackJack. How're they different? Equal Shuffle offers an option to play whole equations and forces everything to be equal to something on the board using equal signs (yes, 1=1 is acceptable). Equal Match allows you to play whole equations that are equal to the card showing. Equal Nine forces an equation to get as close to 9 (as opposed to 21 in BlackJack) as possible.
If you can find the game for a dollar or two, it'll keep you occupied for about 45 minutes to an hour (a better time:money ratio than seeing a movie in a theater). In the end, I did spend some time playing the game for a little while during the reviewing process. Why? I had some strong desire to see just how quickly I could win (end each game). Why? I don't know. Perhaps it was some kind of sick impulse because I've been playing too many good games likely. Perhaps I had some morbid desire to see just how much the game was lacking. Perhaps it's just me. Yeah, that's probably it.
Add a multiplayer menu (even if it's an additional location for a download).
Display a spotting line when a card is being placed between two others.
Include more original games.
Utilize some form of graphics.
Overall Single-Card Download Rating: 59 / 100 (a.k.a. 29.5/50)
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