Review: The Counting Kingdom

September 18, 2014 Ailingforale

Having two children now really gives me a different perspective on games as a whole. Will I still play Warhammer: Space Marine? Yes I will. I would like to play games around my kids as well and then I’d also like them to play with me at times. If at all possible, maybe they could even learn something. The Counting Kingdom does this well. With numbers as your spells to cast on the appropriate number of bad guys, you should be well equipped for this challenge.

There are plenty of levels and areas to play in. With the numbers on the monsters being random, The Counting Kingdom's got some decent replay value. — There are plenty of levels and areas to play in. With the numbers on the monsters being random, *The Counting Kingdom’s* got some decent replay value.

Let’s break down one of the most important things for me lately: difficulty. The Counting Kingdom is as difficult as you want to make it. In its basic form, it’s not that bad. Granted, the equations get a bit more complicated later on by making you count a bit higher. You can overlap your spells to get higher totals to help clear the whole map and get bonuses, but you don’t need to…. but you can. There are potions for you to use to raise or lower the numbers on the monsters attacking your castle to help match your spells. There are also potions to move monsters about the board to help connect and clear the board.

While you've got all the time in the world, if your moves don't "add up" quickly, the catapults will be coming for you. We don't want that now do we? — While you’ve got all the time in the world, if your moves don’t “add up” quickly, the catapults will be coming for you. We don’t want that now do we?

So what’s the point to this whole exercise? Well, to keep a sharp mind and save a kingdom! Both of which are worthy goals. Like I said before, you don’t have to race though this game. The game seems to punish you more for bad tactical errors than it does math mistakes. Take your time and try to clear the board for a bonus if you can. Don’t freak, this isn’t a game with a hard grading curve. Getting three stars doesn’t take much effort and that’s fine for building up confidence in my kids when they old enough to know that I’m not just killing monsters, but saving a kingdom using mathematics as well.

The Counting Kingdom is a learning game based on simple addition math mixed with some tactics and strategy. They don’t have you do more than addition, but I’m not really sure how they could anyway. It’s simple, but can be as complicated as you want it to be while you can sharpen your quick math skills. Little Worlds Interactive went out to make a fun math game and they succeeded! Well played… I now know that I can’t do math with people watching from behind my back.