MathGirl Number Garden Lite Released

Icanology has announced the release and immediate availability of MathGirl Number Garden Lite, a free version of their game for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The paid version of MathGirl Number Garden was featured today in the top spot in New and Noteworthy in Education in the App Store. The MathGirl games are two of 13,593 iOS applications in the Education category.

Number Garden, the first in what will be the MathGirl series, is a simple counting game that quickly gets more complex. One to five flowers are grouped on screens in Level 1 and up to 50 flowers are grouped in Level 12. Players discover that they don't have to count each flower, but they can recognize the groupings. By the end of the game, they add and multiply without realizing it.

"We use current trends in graphics and gaming to build a new way to teach math, one that appeals to girls' senses and how girls like to play," said producer and president Lynn Rasmussen. Cute, fresh graphics and an engaging game result in a visual, right-brain approach to math. Players win stars for prizes for their personal gardens. They can play at their own speed and replay levels to get faster and make more points. A four-year-old can tackle the first few levels. Playing through the levels helps older girls add and multiply more fluently. Even adult math whizzes are challenged at the higher levels.


In MathGirl Number Garden Lite, players:
* Play 4 levels (instead of 12)
* Count flowers and hand/fingers
* Get faster by recognizing patterns.
* Earn stars for right answers.
* Replay levels to get faster and make more stars.
* Use stars to "buy" items for their gardens.
* Fill their gardens with flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, bunnies, and snails (a tire swing, magic garden, tree house, and more are available in the paid app)

Designed by mother and daughter team, Lynn Rasmussen and Molly Rasmussen, MathGirl Number Garden is the first of what will soon be the MathGirl series. Lynn Rasmussen is a systems theorist with an MA in human development. Twenty years ago, when her children were small and in public school, she saw what was missing in many students' experiences with numbers. She also saw that the math expertise of individual teachers widely varied. She said, "Too many bright people struggle with math. Our mission is to wipe the 'bad at math' experience off the face of the Earth. Finally, in the iPhone we have an engaging, interactive medium for teaching all children." Molly Rasmussen, a Cornell graduate in design and product development, worked for six years as a swimwear designer. She designed successful brands, including Hannah Montana for girls, and now applies that expertise to app and game design. Robert Bonifacio, MathGirl's programmer, sold his first game to Atari at 12. He's now dedicated to working on projects that make a difference.

Pricing and Availability:
MathGirl Number Garden Lite 1.0 is free. MathGirl Number Garden 1.0 is $1.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies). Both are available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Education category.

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