If you take the subway or the bus, you’ll probably find several people playing the 2048 game on their phones either iOS or androids. The simplicity of this game makes it a cross-generational favorite at the moment. The game was first released in March 2014 as a web version and developed over a weekend by 19-year-old Italian web developer Gabriele Cirulli. Cirulli later released the free app version for both iOS and Android in May 2014. This app has made it to the iTunes App Store featured list numerous times.

Features
This is mainly a mathematical puzzle game. This simple thing to do is join the tiles to get to 2048; this is easier said than done. The starting point is titles of twos this can prove to be problematic when playing this game if there is no strategy involved. The tiles move up or down left to right and vice versa. The more you add matching tiles together, the new tiles will increase in value moving from twos to fours to eights till 2048.

There is a progressive challenge section, which sets a number of moves to make in order to compile the stated number before moving on to the next number. The compilation of tiles has to be done within a set number of moves. The option available is to go back to figuring out ways to get to 2048.

The app is in several languages English, French, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Spanish. You can remove the ads within the app if it’s too distracting but for a fee and can be restored in the menu section (why someone would want to do that is beyond me). There is the option of sharing the information the scores via sms, mail, twitter or air drop.

Drawbacks
The graphics on this app are ordinary, in short nothing fancy and quite bland. This is done intentionally to make sure that the focus is on the objective to get the tiles to 2048.

Ages: 5+
Category: Games
Platform: universal
Language: English, French, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Spanish
Price: Free with In-App purchases- USD 1.99 to unlock the no ads version

Photos: appannie.com

This app was bought by the Pearson Education Incorporated in mid 2013. This app has math based tutorials to help confused math students in both middle and high school and is free. 

Features
This app is a very useful tool for students who are having a difficult time remembering how to do specific types of math problems. The videos offer clear step by step with a teacher demonstrating the idea on a whiteboard. The app is not for students only but comes in handy for parents and non-math teachers.

The app has a short description for the less than 5 minutes videos for the various sections making sure that the selection of the videos is made easily. Virtual need Mobile Math is divided into three sections, Pearson Mathematics Program, Common Core and Virtual Nerd. The Pearson Mathematics Program features Grade 6-8 digits, integrated high school, Algebra 1and 2, and geometry to pick from. In the Common Core section users can get Grade 1-8 basic maths (number and operation in Base Ten, measurement and data, and more) and high school topics such as number and quantity, algebra, geometry, and more. In the Virtual Nerd section this is divided into two categories – by grade (6-8, high school) and assessments (SAT and ACT). 

The videos are short and pretty straight forward and of outstanding value since its free. The lack of access to videos site such as YouTube and Vimeo, this app has a video library that is easy to access and searchable. Also, the instructions are accurate and clear.

The app has no distractions in that, there are no links to social media, outside ads or in-app purchases.

Ages: 10+
Category: Education
Content: videos
Platform: iPad only
Language: English, German, Northern Sami, Spanish
Price: Free

Photos: appannie.com