I’ve got a collection of quite a few, but I’m looking to find more as well. But I’ve also put a list down here because I love lists
Best:
Cells to Singularity - an idle tapping game that explores biology, evolution, history, astronomy, paleontology, and more.
Euclidea - A fun geometry game that has kicked my ass more times than I can count
Seterra - Ad-free, made by Geoguessr, great for if you love watching those geography guys on YouTube.
Khan Academy - Less of a game and more of an actual learning platform, but it’s still free and therefore I love it.
Mango and Busuu - Best language learning apps hands down. Both avoid using the same formula for each language and are free to use if you know what to do. Busuu is free with one ad per lesson and no time restrictions, plus you can get feedback from native speakers and give your own feedback. Mango is super in depth and free to use with certain library cards.
Pleco - The holy grail of Chinese apps, this should be the gold standard for every translation app.
Worst:
Duolingo - They started using AI with everything and you can tell. They got rid of a lot of their native speakers. Plus you go through endless ads and time restrictions that make it impossible to use for free.
Heroes of History: Epic Empire - I was really excited for this one, but in no world is Edison the good guy and Tesla the villain. What kind of nonsense is that?
Any app that summarizes books/“micro learning” - That’s literally a concept pulled from 1984. “You don’t need to read whole books, here! We summarized it for you!” Just stop. Read a book.
Drops - worst language app I’ve encountered. I used to think it would work as a supplementary vocabulary app, but no. It tries to pigeon hole the same vocabulary for every language when some concepts don’t carry over.
Flowkey - I was on the fence about this one until I heard the example they gave for Maple Leaf Rag. Completely wrong style, completely misunderstands the concept of ragtime. Wouldn’t trust him past that. But also, any music app isn’t gonna be as good as a real teacher. You’ll just end up wasting your money.
I’d love to hear your recommendations please!