Nor is the marketing for other freemium games aimed directly at children or aided by involving school districts. And while the company certainly has to cover its costs somehow, one does not see press releases from Candy Crush arguing that it offers for-money options so that it can give Candy Crush to the world for free. Premium members get to keep all of their premium swag when playing at school in the “restricted” version students get a clear view of who has the cool stuff and who does not, and Prodigy gets the extra marketing bump of childhood peer pressure.Ī spokesperson for Prodigy responded that the “optional memberships for families for use outside of school” makes it possible for them to offer content for free.
#WWW PRODIGY MATH GAMES FREE#
Click on the fancy chest, and free players receive the message that “members get amazing things.” CCFC says that in 19 minutes of game play, they saw 16 unique advertisements for membership. When players complete a “math battle,” they see two prize treasure chests, one plain and the other fancy. Premium members have access to restricted play areas within the game and receive more than 100 pets, pieces of gear and accessories. Memberships cost anywhere from $4.95 to $8.95 per month, per child, based on how many months of subscription the parents buy. The game’s website includes a whole page on the benefits of a premium membership in this program that is “teacher-approved and proven to boost learning outcomes” (the latter part is edu-speak for “raise test scores”). CCFC, joined by 21 other advocacy groups, alleges that Prodigy markets itself by offering one strictly-free version to schools, but that version includes advertising for a premium version for students to play outside of school.