Kaplan—a name that should be familiar to anyone who’s studied for a college admissions test—may be known more for its ubiquitous test prep books and courses than for game development, but it’s teaming up with game publisher Aspyr Media to change that. The two companies have released FutureU, one of the industry’s first SAT test prep video games, for iOS.
FutureU, originally developed in 2008 for Nintendo DS, PC and Mac, is based on Kaplan’s popular test prep content and methodologies. More than just a series of drills and test strategies, FutureU is designed to provide an interactive, engaging, and fun supplemental test prep resources for students preparing for the SAT—the standardized admissions test required for admission to most US colleges.
FutureU takes advantage of iOS’s features with touch-based gameplay that helps sharpen critical thinking skills, build relevant knowledge, and reduce test anxiety. Designed to complement traditional SAT study methods, FutureU consists of six individual games and three quiz types divided into the SAT test’s three main categories: Reading, Writing, and Math. All essential SAT skills are covered in these games, including reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, algebra, geometry, and statistics.
Sounds a heck of a lot better than trudging through dull test prep books, but remember kiddies: this game is a supplement to—not a replacement for—traditional test prep methods. It’ll still be a good while until we can replace our books and teachers with video games.