Column Addition vs My First Puzzles
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Column Addition
This educational app teaches and reinforces the column addition method with an interactive interface. Users can solve custom or random problems with adjustable number sizes and receive visual feedback on their progress. It includes optional jigsaw puzzles as a reward for solving problems.
- Interactive column addition learning
- Customizable number of digits
- Random and custom problem generation
- Visual feedback and animations
- Optional jigsaw puzzles
- Adjustable interface colors and animations
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Column Addition helps students learn and practice the column addition method step by step. The app aligns the numbers automatically so students can focus on solving each column. Carrying is handled visually with animations, helping students understand how digits move from one column to the next. Students can solve randomly generated problems or enter their own addition problems. The number of digits can be adjusted, making the app useful for different skill levels. Column addition is also known as columnar addition, long addition, or longhand addition. Features: - Add 2 or 3 numbers - Each number can have 1–5 digits - Randomly generated or manually entered problems - Automatic number alignment - Visual animated carrying - Current operation for each column can be hidden - Operands of the current operation can be highlighted - Customizable interface colors - Adjustable animation speed - Different interfaces for iPhone and iPad - 25 six-piece animal jigsaw puzzles - Puzzle feature can be turned on or off Reviews and Endorsements: Fun Educational Apps: “iDevBooks educational math apps make math enjoyable and entertaining. One of my sons was struggling with math and I must say the use of iDevBooks math apps has really helped him.” Professor Tim Pelton reviewed the sister app Column Subtraction: “Because no wrong entries are allowed the app provides a passive form of positive reinforcement and your child will likely improve in both confidence and competence with respect to the procedure.” Teacher endorsement: “The Math apps by Esa Helttula allow students to practice and reinforce the specific computation strategies taught in class, with as much or as little scaffolding as necessary. They also provide individualized feedback to each student, with an immediacy that is not always possible through pencil and paper practice.” — Rita Zeni, Ecole Sandy Hill Elementary, Abbotsford, BC, Canada Other iDevBooks Math Apps: Other iDevBooks math apps include Column Subtraction, Long Multiplication, Long Division, Lattice Multiplication, Visual Multiplication Table, Fraction Math, Partial Differences Subtraction, Partial Quotients Division, Partial Sums Addition, Decimal Rounding, and more. Feedback: New ideas to make this app better are welcome. Please visit idevbooks.com to give feedback. Privacy: This app has no ads, no in-app purchases, and does not transmit user data during operation. The app also does not contain links to other apps or to the web.
My First Puzzles
Engaging puzzles designed for children aged 2 to 6. This educational game enhances motor skills and provides entertainment with charming graphics and sound effects. Shake your device to replay puzzles.
- 14 different puzzles
- Improves motor skills
- Nice sound effects
- Beautiful graphics
- Shake to replay feature
- Part of 'Learning is fun' collection
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Kids from 2 to 6 will have fun solving their first puzzles. With 14 different puzzles, nice sound effects, beautiful graphics, this game will entertain your children while improving their motor skills. Don't forget to shake your iPhone to replay a puzzle. This game is part of your "Learning is fun" educational game collection. Visit our website for more info: http://ar-entertainment.net/learning/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: My First Puzzles at 3.5 against Column Addition's 3.0. My First Puzzles also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (37 vs 1). Column Addition's advantage is review sentiment (87% vs 77%). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Column Addition costs $3.99 and My First Puzzles $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
My First Puzzles holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: My First Puzzles has 37 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 87% of Column Addition's written reviews are positive against 77% of My First Puzzles's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Column Addition ships an update every 8 months, My First Puzzles every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Column Addition | My First Puzzles |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.0 (1 ratings) | 3.5 (37 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 86.7% of reviews — better | 76.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 37 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Esa Helttula | Alexandre Minard |
Customer experience
Column Addition
My First Puzzles
In-app purchases
Column Addition
No in-app purchases
My First Puzzles
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Column Addition free?
Is My First Puzzles free?
Which has better reviews, Column Addition or My First Puzzles?
Do Column Addition or My First Puzzles have ads?
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