Graeme
Amazing to get a child over fear of maths
My daughter hated maths based on her experience at school, so I decided to change that. With focused attention from me I got her to a place where she was a little more confident, and then Prodigy did the rest, propelling her from one of the bottom of the class to one of the top. Prodigy Maths is a Pokémon like game, in which you collect and battle with pets to level up and defeat a bad wizard that has taken over the academy. To make a move in a battle, you must complete a maths question. It's a simple but highly effective game mechanic. The trouble is that my daughter completed all the challenges and collected nearly all pets in Prodigy Maths 18 months to 2 years ago. And the Prodigy team have not updated it since – only the graphics, which were clearly good enough to compel thousands of children to play. She comes back occasionally in the hope that the Prodigy team will have created a special event or unlocked a new level, but each time she is disappointed, and each time the gap between checking grows larger. Fortunately she is well on her way to a strong maths foundation, so it's not all bad. But it's a shame that the Prodigy team don't push forward with new levels. Maybe they have no funding and revenue is too low to pay a team to do it. If that is the case, it's a tragedy, because the difference this game can make is astounding, and it should be supported by parents and teachers alike. It's possible that the cost is too high for many of the families that would like to try it. I think the Prodigy team could change the payment structure so that schools pay a little (or even voluntary) contribution for their use (which is currently free) and parents pay a bit less, possibly with a monthly payment scheme and no year lock in. This would encourage many more paying subscribers, and generate the revenue needed to maintain the game and keep kids playing it for the long term.