Community reviews for Mayan Mysteries

The learning game is presented as a mystery that needs to be solved using a detective in Mexico, an American archaeologist, and the archaeologist's niece and nephew. The visuals are cartoon in nature, but they are generally accurate based on respective photographs I've seen of the same structures and artifacts. The game mixes story telling with questions to test for understanding, sometimes through filling in details on a map. Other challenges are just a series of multiple choice questions. As you progress through the game, you want to collect artifacts from the sites and of course points. There are also achievements to earn at some levels. The premise is engaging and flows easily. I originally only had access to the demo version of the website, so it was limited to the first set of challenges. There are features that are offered for teachers that purchase a class license, but with only the demo account there was no way to fully explore the options and figure out how that would look in a classroom. The website was blocked at school as a game website, it did not matter that it is an educational game. This would be a road block in being able to use in school.

Mayan Mysteries is a puzzle-based game that requires users to read/learn clues (the actual lessons) to be able to then answer questions in order to advance in the game . Available for both mobile device and as web-based program the game cover topics in history, geography, culture, and more. Students learn about unearthing artifacts and studying their significance. This game is very educational and challenging. Having worked through a few levels I am still feeling like I would like to get in and play more. What’s awesome about Mayan Mysteries is the classroom version comes with a Teacher Management System that allows teachers to follow each student’s progress in terms of competencies in accordance with the NCSS Curriculum Standards. Mayan Mysteries is also aligned with the Common Core standards for Language Arts and Math. The classroom version (30 units) is $299.00, while the single version is $21.99. I found the game to be engaging and informative. I learned new things playing it myself. The appropriate age range for this game is approximately 10 – 110. Mayan Mysteries seems to offer a great deal of support, both technical and instructional. It was nice that lessons are provided and found those helpful and adequate, but would have liked to see alignment with standards/CC.