JumpStart’s Penguins of Madagascar: Dibble Dash mobile launch signifies shift for ed-game studio

Moving deeper into branded content, educational game developer JumpStart has launched Penguins of Madagascar: Dibble Dash in time for the latest Madagascar movie from DreamWorks Animation.

The release is well timed for JumpStart, which focuses on educational games for young kids, and it reflects a shift toward brands in mobile games.

Torrance, Calif.-based JumpStart launched the free-to-play game today on iOS and Google Play. It is coming soon to Windows PCs, Amazon, and Facebook. It combines math education and an endless runner genre with the funny Penguin characters from the films. It challenges players to navigate the penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private through obstacle courses while avoiding Dr. Octavius Brine’s octopus henchman and their mutant-creating goo.

Players can rescue penguins and restore them by solving math problems that allow kids to practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills.

“We are very excited to be able to work with DreamWorks Animation to incorporate characters from the new Penguins of Madagascar movie into an ‘endless- runner’ game — a style which is extremely popular amongst gamers right now,” said Chris Williams, the creative director for JumpStart, in a statement. “Penguins of Madagascar: Dibble Dash sets itself apart from other endless runner games and is so much fun to play, that you’ll hardly even know you are learning math.”

JumpStart has a standing partnership with DreamWorks. It has previously published School of Dragons, a multiplayer game based on DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon. Since School of Dragons’ initial web browser launch in July 2013, the game has grown to more than 16 million players, and School of Dragons for iPad has been ranked a Top 20 free app and Top 10 free game in the App Store.

“JumpStart continues to lead the way in creating entertaining learning-based mobile games for kids, and we’re excited to give Madagascar fans the opportunity to engage with their favorite characters on the go,” said Jim Mainard, the head of digital strategy for DreamWorks Animation, in a statement. “JumpStart’s innovative approach and ability to incorporate curriculum-based learning into popular game styles gives parents a healthy alternative to the nutrition free casual game fare.”