App review by Paul Donovan, Common Sense Education | Updated September 2014
The Lost Function

The Lost Function

Pricey attempt to meld role-play and math feels unfinished

Learning rating
Editorial review by Common Sense Education
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Grades
8–12 This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
Subjects & Skills
Math, Critical Thinking
Price:  24.97
Platforms:  Mac, Windows
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Take a look inside

4 images
The story begins when the player's friend disappears.
Townspeople have forgotten how to do math.
Characters ask the player to solve problems.
Students get drilled on a series of Algebra topics

Pros: It combines several modes of learning (such as reading and video).

Cons: The game is priced way too high for what's offered. There are basic playability problems that will frustrate.

Bottom Line: It could be useful for students trying to find a more fun way to go over previously learned material, but the clunkiness and price make several other tools more appealing.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

There is a teacher login, but it only seems to work if a school buys a classroom set of licenses, so a single teacher or parent will not have access to the teacher dashboard to follow the progress of their student. However, for teachers with students who work well by themselves and want to review material at their own pace, or for a small group that wants to work together, this game could have some value as a tool to review or brush up on previously learned algebraic skills.

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Standards:

The basic premise is attractive to gamers, especially those who like role-playing games. The story follows a boy named Pi who mysteriously loses his friend in a cave. When he escapes the cave, he finds a little town where all the citizens have forgotten to do math. Pi goes on quests to help the townsfolk with their math problems, and gets clues to the fate of his friend along the way. Some of the math problems are in a "traditional quiz" format, and some are posed to the player through the story itself. The missions are quick enough that it makes you want to do another one.

Like many games of this type, however, the story is not integrated well with the math topics. The skills are tested in a traditional manner, and if students want to relearn the material, they have the choice of reading a textbook or watching a recorded whiteboard lecture. All of this could be forgiven if it worked, but it doesn't. It freezes often, basic movement seems to work on and off, and the design is showing its age severely. Most students expect something more sophisticated and user-friendly than what this game offers.

The math drills themselves are effective. The concepts match with what algebra students should know. However, it's assumed students know the material, and it's up to them and the teacher to use resources if help is needed. It's not recommended for students learning the concepts for the first time; if they've never seen some of the topics, they're likely going to turn to Google to find other ways to learn the material. Given The Lost Function's technical issues and price point, it would be an easier sell if material were better scaffolded rather than leaning on prior knowledge or outside resources.

Overall Rating
Engagement Would it motivate students and hold their interest? Is it visually appealing? Would it inspire teachers to try something new or change their instruction?

It plays like an unfinished game. The graphics are unpolished, it's clunky and runs slowly, and the math games aren't integrated well with the story. Students expect more from a game than what this delivers.

Pedagogy Does the tool help teachers promote a more student-centered experience? Will students gain conceptual understanding or think critically? Does it deepen teachers’ pedagogical thinking?

It's not designed to help students learn new content, only to practice and review what they've already learned. Students can access information through videos or a more traditional text-based approach.

Support Can students and teachers get assistance when they need it? Is it created with people of different abilities and backgrounds in mind? Is learning reinforced and extended beyond the digital experience?

There's no progress tracking, and each student must have a separate copy of the game. Instruction on concepts is delivered outside of play rather than contextualized. 

Common Sense reviewer
Paul Donovan Classroom teacher
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Key Standards Supported

Creating Equations

  • HSA.CED.1

    Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems. Include equations arising from linear and quadratic functions, and simple rational and exponential functions.

Expressions And Equations

  • 6.EE.1

    Write and evaluate numerical expressions involving whole-number exponents.

  • 6.EE.2

    Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers.

  • 6.EE.2.a

    Write expressions that record operations with numbers and with letters standing for numbers. For example, express the calculation “Subtract y from 5” as 5 – y.

  • 6.EE.2.b

    Identify parts of an expression using mathematical terms (sum, term, product, factor, quotient, coefficient); view one or more parts of an expression as a single entity. For example, describe the expression 2 (8 + 7) as a product of two factors; view (8 + 7) as both a single entity and a sum of two terms.

  • 6.EE.2.c

    Evaluate expressions at specific values of their variables. Include expressions that arise from formulas used in real-world problems. Perform arithmetic operations, including those involving whole- number exponents, in the conventional order when there are no parentheses to specify a particular order (Order of Operations). For example, use the formulas V = s3 and A = 6 s2 to find the volume and surface area of a cube with sides of length s = 1/2.

  • 6.EE.3

    Apply the properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions.

  • 6.EE.5

    Understand solving an equation or inequality as a process of answering a question: which values from a specified set, if any, make the equation or inequality true? Use substitution to determine whether a given number in a specified set makes an equation or inequality true.

  • 6.EE.6

    Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set.

  • 6.EE.7

    Solve real-world and mathematical problems by writing and solving equations of the form x + p = q and px = q for cases in which p, q and x are all nonnegative rational numbers.

  • 6.EE.8

    Write an inequality of the form x > c or x < c to represent a constraint or condition in a real-world or mathematical problem. Recognize that inequalities of the form x > c or x < c have infinitely many solutions; represent solutions of such inequalities on number line diagrams.

  • 8.EE.1

    Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3–5 = 3–3 = 1/33 = 1/27.

Functions

  • 8.F.1

    Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output.1

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