Product Review of Dinosaur Train Classic in the Jurassic, Jr
This fun, interactive game was developed to teach kids math. The player progresses through three mathematics games based on counting and measuring. In doing so, players help the dinosaur to reach its destination and feed the dinosaur. Your kid learns to measure by using his/her hand and a log of wood they select in the game.
What Users Love About the App
“I love this game. I even repaired the “broken” Dinosaur Train Toy! (Sadly, I couldn’t repair the motor on the engine—but I made my own Dinosaur Train engine from scratch.) Although the game is great, my favorite game on here (Track Stars) has trouble with the last piece. Luckily, that doesn’t happen often when I’m playing Track Stars. Anyways, good job, PBS.”
“Really great app. Bridge-building provides great math skills and my son will grow into this well. Sorting the creatures into their houses is good and he occasionally needs help. I never had a technical problem. Great app. Worth every penny.”
What Users Dislike About the App
“My kids love it, just like they love the show. But it’s now over 1.2GB (much bigger than companion apps from the pack) and usual tricks don’t fix that. Seems unreasonable.”
“Classic in the Jurassic, Jr. It may offer early math skills appropriate for young learners, such as sorting and measurement, but its clunky nature makes it frustrating and uninspiring to use. The setting and characters offer some appeal to children familiar with PBS Kids’ series, Dinosaur Train, but it’s likely to lose even the biggest fan’s interest quickly due to poor execution. Moving objects around the screen often require multiple attempts and even then can be inaccurate. Also, although the narrating dinosaur should be helpful at guiding non-readers through the games, the voiceovers are slow to respond to player actions. I appreciate the attempt to introduce early math skills to preschool/early kindergarten students in a scaffolded way, but much like the game’s dinosaur characters, this app is destined for extinction.”
“My kid likes to play this because she loves Dinosaur Train, but it requires too much adult intervention. The game where you put dinosaurs in a designated order has particularly unclear prompts and it frustrated her. In the game where you design your train, you have to complete a shape puzzle. In the “Medium” and “Hard” difficulties, not all of the shape combinations that should work do work. This is egregiously buggy, and I had to explain to a confused child that she was doing it right and that her game was broken. Overall, a disappointment.”
“The train building game pieces are really glitchy, and it takes several “exit and back in” attempts before it will accept them, even on easy mode following the outlines. What kid has the patience for that?”
“I saw another review from 2 years ago that had the same problem. Sadly, the problem is still not fixed. The last shape on the tangram puzzles will not click. It’s too bad because this is otherwise something the kids loved, and it has nice educational value.”
