The King of OX

 It seems to be that the Android game market is oddly flooded with education games that are oddly addictive. The most recent one is WestRiver's excellent "The King of OX" which is very different to the other ones I've reviewed. This time the sums have been done for you and you're job is to be the teacher marking the answers. Although the premise might seem incredibly stupid and pointless you will quickly find yourself hooked and with the leader boards for the game allowing you to compare yourself against the world and against your country you'll be back for more.
The game sounds very simple and is simple if the equation is right you click on the "O" and if it's wrong you click on the "X". So in the image beside this paragraph you would click X for the first one and the second one then O for the third one.

Your score is recorded and shown in real time on the screen (in this screen shot the score is O=5 and X=1, or 5 right and 1 wrong) and set against a clock. In the image to the side the "clock" is displayed over the score and runs down swiftly, each wrong answer taking a portion of the clock away meaning if you rush you will do worse than just thinking about things carefully.

OMG Buttface returns!

Although graphically the game is very simple it moves along at a very quick pace and the style suits the game really well. The sounds are similar in that they too are very simple, a different noise for getting something wrong or right though again they fit the idea of the game well and due to the speed would over-pollute if you were to have a background tune.

The best part of the game needs to be the leaderboard which is really well done and has allowed "Buttface" his first appearance on a worldwide game. Although I've not managed to break into the Global or Daily rankings I've managed to break into the "Country" (British) rankings a few times (and at the time of writing I'm 16th in Britain with a score of O=56 X=1, an improvement on the screen capture to the right).

RiverWest have really nailed this game and created something that despite having a stupid premise is addictive, rapid fire and enthralling. It's educational it's fun and although it won't appeal to everyone it's worth a download (if just to try and beat me). Technically it's nothing amazing but this shows you don't need to pushing the boundaries of realist graphics or having amazing music to make an amazingly addictive and playable game.

Addictiveness-10/10 What is it with these maths games being so addictive? The leaderboard is amazing and will have you trying to beat everyone!
Controls-10/10 So stupidly simple...but so ridiculously effective
Graphics-6/10 It's a shame here that the graphics are limited but like many other games it doesn't depend on the looks to be brilliant
Sounds-2/10 The weakest part of the game. It simple makes a different tune depending on a right or wrong answer. Oddly they work though are limited.
Originality-7/10 It seems that mathematical games are actually rather common but they all take a different slant on using numbers, this is unlike the other two.

Total score: 35/50

Overall probably my favourite of the maths games, though it's close between the three of them. The developers are apparently trying to add a Facebook Friends part to the game soon which will hopefully make the game even more addictive. With it's simplicity and it's speed it's hard not to love. If only being a teacher really was this much fun.

Game mark A

If you like this try:
Math Maniac
Mathgame