Numbl Review

Numbl reminds me a lot of a small piece count jigsaw puzzle. Like the jigsaw puzzle, Numbl is very pretty, all the pieces fit together, and once you are done there is nothing more to do. Like so many in the App Store, Numbl is a one trick pony, and once you are bored with it the game has nothing more to offer.

The object of Numbl is to quickly use the numbers within the 5x4 grid to create the number at the top of the screen. For instance, if the number is 18, you could tap on two nines if they exist, or you could tap on two sixes, a three, a two, and a one. The goal is to clear out the board as fast as you possibly can, and judging by the high score list, you have to be extremely quick.

After a game or two I got my high score down to 18 seconds. There is definitely room for improvement (maybe a few seconds), but the global high score to beat is just a shade over 2 seconds. Give me a break.

So once you realize that you'll never be on the global high score list, you can either keep trying at the same game or take your skills to the same-screen 9x9 multiplayer arena. It kills me that I can't play a more hefty version of the game, say, a 15x15 grid instead of the standard 5x4. I don't want to sound greedy, but the standard grid with its communist "play it and don't ask for anything else" style is a bit grating. I need much more before I could recommend this one to the masses.

I can though wholeheartedly recommend Numbl to any parent looking for a fun way to teach your kids math skills. It's no Math Blaster, but 6 year old me would've been all over this one.