One of my co-workers introduced me to Dragonbox the other day. It purports to teach algebra through a game. (There are two versions; one for 5 year olds and one for 13 year olds.)<p>The left and the right sides of the field are the sides of the equation. The &quot;dragon box&quot; is x, and you are trying to isolate it on one side. Galaxy images are 0, and can be removed at any time by tapping. Multiplication by 1 can similarly be done. Dice are used to represent numbers and can be added&#x2F;subtracted, factored, divided&#x2F;multiplied; other critters are used to represent other constants (a, b, c) and have the same done.<p>If you get far enough along, they substitute an &#x27;x&#x27; icon for the dragon box, and letters for the constants.<p>However, the game doesn&#x27;t explain <i>why</i> certain operations are allowed or disallowed -- each of the algebraic rules introduced is described as a &quot;new magic power&quot;.