It's always a wonderful thing to be able to incorporate learning with fun so it was such a blessing when Dig-It Games offered up their Mayan Mysteries game for review. It was also quite timely for our family, as we will begin studying ancient history again this year.
About Mayan Mysteries
Created by professional archaeologists, Suzi Wilczynski and Robert J. Sharer, your student will be transported back in time to learn about the mysterious world of the ancient Mayans.
Your student will explore this world as friends of Professor Alex Quinn and his niece and nephew. They will help Team Q stop looters from stealing important artifacts through solving puzzles, gathering clues, decoding glyphs, analyzing artifacts, visiting Mayan cities, and learning the Mayan math system and calendar. Along their journey they will learn TONS of great information about the Mayan civilization and culture, including geography, vocabulary, and history. All while having fun.
Our Experience
We received the online subscription and it was super easy to get started on our Mac. Mackenzie was able to set it up herself. Here's what she thought about the game...
Mayan Mysteries was a fairly interesting game with a cool plot line. You set off on an adventure to find a looter who's been digging up artifacts and leaving them at the excavation sites. When you play Mayan Mysteries you learn about Mayan culture and history by playing games and taking simple quizzes.
You get to dig up artifacts and decipher hieroglyphics, all while visiting different excavation sites of important Mayan cities to discover the looter. Overall, Mayan Mysteries is a fun game combining interesting facts and games to create an exciting adventure.
For the most part, Mackenzie did like the game. She would play it without complaint when I asked her to and often would tell me something interesting that she learned. She did not, however, play it on her own for fun. It did involve a lot of reading and answering questions which isn't exactly what today's kids look for when they link of playing a computer game.
You should also know that when you beat the game, which takes approximately 12 hours, that you don't actually solve the mystery. Kind of disappointing. Stay tuned for part 2. Mackenzie felt a little duped. lol
Does this mean that I don't think this is worth the time or money? Absolutely not. I think that Mayan Mysteries is an excellent learning tool. There is a lot of great, detailed information in this game. Your student will definitely be learning A LOT about the Mayan culture while playing this game. Would I give it as a birthday gift? No. Would I use it to supplement our studies? Absolutely! It's way more fun than just reading a book.
If you are going to be studying the Mayan culture then this is definitely worth a look. It is a great way to supplement a study on the Mayan culture. And guess who's going to be studying the Mayan culture soon? We are. And we will revisit this game again to add in a fun element to our studies. They also have an ancient Rome version that I am considering for when we study Rome again.
F.Y.I.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/DigItGames
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DigItGames
Age Range: 11 - 14
Pricing: $21.99 for single user online account, $9.99 for iPad app
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