Questimate! - Pro
© 2013 Motion Math Games
"How many cans of soda would be as tall as a toaster?" "How many giraffes would be as tall as the Statue of Liberty?" These are the types of questions waiting for you in the paid (full) $8 version of Questimate, a timed, social estimation game where you are presented with a variety of comparison-types of questions. Note that a free trial version is also available. Think "Words With Friends" for estimation and you get an idea on how this works. The social part is handled by Apple's Game Center which requires an Internet connection and an Apple ID, or you can use the lower tech "pass and play" mode which is ideal for classrooms. From an educational point of view, the task of estimating is incredibly valuable, and this app, while not perfect, is great for the job. You are presented with variety of comparison questions, such as "how fast is the world's fastest train?" or "in what year was the cell phone invented?" The questions are lumped into categories like Amazing Animals, Need for Speed, History of Awesome, and GeoOdyssey, and new question sets are continually added, as updates. In addition, you can win hints and power-ups to keep things interesting. To play, you choose a topic and make your own question by choosing two variables to compare (e.g., "what's the speed of" and "a taxi at top speed." Answers are entered via a numerical keypad, a size visualizer or a timeline. Closer estimates earn higher scores, and these points unlock treasures for hints and power-ups. If your estimate is outside the rings you lose a life -- you must make it to the end of a Quest before your three lives are up. Weaknesses to note included the inability to find another player in the social part of the game. You also have the option to invite your Game Center friends, as long as they also own the app. Also many of the items -- like the size of a tortoise or the speed of a cab, can vary widely depending the the context. That's why the use of Wikipedia as a fact checking mechanism is helpful. Still, Wikipedia isn't always 100% accurate, and this variance can put you in a frustrating situation. All things considered, this is an excellent way for children or adults to start estimating together.
$8.49, iPad
Teaches: trivia, reading, logic, estimation, math, graphing
CTR Rating: 88%