Rhythm Games & Apps (2025 version

Here is a list of rhythm games and apps that I recommended to my students a couple of years ago. Although I have not tried all of them, I do plan on featuring as many as I can on the Music Teacher Plays series:

Android Games & Apps

• A Dance of Fire & Ice

• Arcaea

• Cytoid

• Perfect Ear

• Complete Rhythm Trainer

• Polyrhythm – Rhythm Trainer

iOS Games & Apps

• Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat

• Beat Swiper

• Beatstar

• Epic Orchestra

• Rhythm Cat

• Perfect Ear

• The Most Amazing Sheep Game

Trying out the Rhythm Cat app on my iPad.

Browser Games & Apps

• Friday Night Funkin

• Fhyrthm Haven

• A Dance of Fire and Ice

• Osu

Nintendo Switch

• Just Shapes & Beats

• Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer

• Taiko no Tastsujin

ROBLOX

• Ro-Beats

• Friday Nigh Bloxxin

• Rhythm Master

Steam

• Beat Saber

• Just Shapes & Beats

• Ro-Taiko V2

• Rhythm Doctor

• Neon Beats

• Rhythm Quest

Check out some of the past episodes of Music Teacher Plays, in which I test out music apps and games:

Do you have any favourite rhythm games or apps? Share them down in the comments below.

Showing off my Everki Atlas Backpack

I began my search for the ultimate laptop backpack in 2020 that could double up as a minimalist travel bag. At the time, my shortlist contained the Tortuga Setout Divide, the Nomatic Travel Pack, and the Everki Atlas. When it was time to choose, there could only be one.

Only the Everki Atlas could hold my 17” laptop, so it was a no brainer.

However, after three years of use, I can safely say that I am so glad that I wound up with it. The Atlas’ sturdy construction has withstood the test of time. The pouches and zippers were well thought out. And at $169.99 USD, it’s a pretty good deal.

Check out my video review here:

Student Website Review: CMUSE

My student M is back again with a website review of CMUSE’s History of Website page:

CMUSE: Brief History of Music Student Review

The name of the website is called Brief History of Music: An Introduction. The website is It is written by Dr. Justin Wildridge. He is a media composer and multi-instrumentalist based in the South-West of England where he works from his own studio.

The article includes some of how music started, the history of music, and a very descriptive introduction to all the important music time periods.

I liked how much information is included, and how it included a lot of information in a very short amount of words. It is a pretty great introduction to all the time periods and the basics of music history.

I didn't really like some of the words included in the article, because they are pretty complicated, and I needed to search them up.

I'd say that it is pretty easy to navigate in the article unless you only want to learn about a specific time period. It was organized in order from the older times periods to more modern time periods, so it makes sense. This one would be one of the pretty descriptive and informative types based on the websites I looked at, and it included everything other websites had and even more. I would rate it a solid 4.9 out of 5 because it did a great job of informing me, it's just that some of the language was confusing.

About CMUSE

CMUSE is a music and entertainment website which includes articles written by various industry contributors. The articles fall under the following categories:

• Classical

• Jazz

• Rock & Pop

• Music Tech

• Lists & Quizzes

• Inspirational

• Music Promotions

• Musician Interviews

• Feature articles

They cover a diverse range of music-related topics and makes for fun an educational exploration.

Please note that CMUSE is a participant of the Amazon Associates Program, meaning that they share affiliate links on their site.

Online Music Game Review: Chord Drops

The following is a guest post by my student M of Chord Drops, an online music game available at Theta Music Trainer:

Chord Drops: A Student Review

Chord Drops is about recognizing chords. It has you choose what chord you think it sounds like. It mainly practices your ear. It had different levels of difficulty and you could choose if you were a beginner . Or pick a different mode.

It was really interesting, and it is a fun way to practice your ear. I liked the icons and how easy it was to play.

I think that it is a fun game for ear training and that it is fun yet very useful

I would have liked a bit more to it because after a while it can get a bit boring. The icon is a coconut.

Chord Drops: Teacher First Impressions

Chord Drops has 20 levels of difficulty, from Beginner to Expert. There is also a Practice Mode and Play Mode.

In Play Mode, You have five lives and are being scored. If you set up an account through Theta Trainer, your high scores could make it onto the High Score page.

It’s a neat, simple, flash game that gets students to develop their chord recognition in the context of harmonic function.

Check out my gameplay walkthrough livestream of Chord Drops:

Our Favourite Tabletop Games (2021 Edition)

A few months ago, my students and I were surprised to learn that some of my colleagues have been waiting for a game-related blog post with recommendations - both video games and tabletop games. You see, over the years, I have attracted music students who share some of my geeky interests: gaming, anime, manga, sci-fi and fantasy stories.

Our piano parties include gaming after everyone’s performances. Plans are in the works for joint-studio Minecraft parties with my brother’s studio. We all love our games.

Since our combined list is long, I’ll split this into two posts, sharing some of our favourites. First up: tabletop games.

Some of My Favourite Tabletop Games 

I have played countless games through the years with family, friends, and students. The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, G33kmoot, FallCon, and Wil Wheaton’s Tabletop series have introduced me to some really neat games.

It’s very difficult to narrow this list down. These are just some of my favourites. They are games that I like to come back to, time and time again:

Clank! Series (2 - 4 Players, Ages 12+): Both Clank! and Clank! in Space are deck-building games. In the original, players raid a dungeon’s lair to steal some of its loot. At some point, the dragon becomes enraged and it becomes a race back up to the surface. In the sequel, players are sneaking around the evil Lord Eradikus’ spaceship, Eradikus Prime. Players hack into the ship’s system to find the evil lord’s artifacts and try to make it out in an escape pod with some loot.

Clank! In Space. Credit: R-M. Arca.

Seven Card Samurai (2 - 8 Players, Ages 9+): Seven Card Samurai is a favourite among members of Ka Muso Kai Calgary and the Edmonton Iaido Club. You know all samurai virtues that are represented by each of our hakama pleats? Those get thrown out the window as we steal rice and fight each other in this exciting card game.

Using Bandits and Ninjas to steal each other’s rice in Seven Card Samurai. Credit: R-M Arca.

Forbidden Series: In Forbidden Desert (2 - 5 Players, Ages 10+), players are members of an archaeological team, tasked with finding the parts to an ancient flying machine. It soon becomes a race against the clock as our sole mode of transportation crashes. Players must work together to find the parts and escape before the desert swallows them up. 

Searching for an ancient flying machine before the desert buries us alive! Credit: R-M Arca

Forbidden Island (2 - 4 Players, Ages 10+) is also a co-operative game. Players work together to collect treasures before the island completely sinks, taking them with it! 

Seeking treasure from the Forbidden Island. Credit: R-M Arca.

Castle Panic (1 - 6 Players, Ages 10+): Castle Panic is a cooperative tower defense game. Players work together to defend the castle from an onslaught of monsters that are trying to storm the castle. Expansions are available.

The monsters are coming! Credit: R-M Arca

Dominion Series (2 - 4 Players, Ages 13+). Since Dominion first came out in 2008, there have been multiple expansions. In this deck-building game, you are the monarch of a kingdom, seeking to build your realm up to a dominion. Standing in your way are the neighbouring kingdoms, seeking to build up dominions of their own.

One of my classmates from Japanese class had a turn that took around 20 cards to complete. Credit: R-M Arca

Defenders of the Realm (1 - 4 Players, Ages 13+): Defenders of the Realm is an adventure/fantasy game with lots of moving pieces. You and your fellow heroes defend the kingdom from dragons, demons, orcs and the undead who threaten to take over the land. Build your team of magicians, the tank, swords people, healers, archers...you know, the typical role-playing (RPG) team.

Defending Monarch City from Orcs, the Undead, Dragons, and Demons. Credit: R-M Arca

7 Wonders (2 - 7 Players, Ages 10+): This is a game I would not recommend to new gamers, just because the game mechanics are a little more complicated than the games I’ve mentioned so far. However, once you get into it, 7 Wonders is a very exciting game.

As the leader of one of the great cities of the Ancient World, you are building your city to last the ages - develop trade routes, build your army, build universities, invade your neighbours, etc. Choose your strategy and build your empire.

Honourable Mentions

The following games have been fun to play at games nights:

Machi Koro (2 - 4 players, Ages 10+): With the roll of a die and your growing deck of cards, build your city to become the biggest in the region. Multiple expansions are available.

Tales & Games: The Hare & the Tortoise (2 - 5 players, Ages 7+ ): Based on Aesop’s Fable of the tortoise and the hare, you bet on who will win the race in this cute card game.

Ticket to Ride (2 - 5 Players, Ages 8+): Collect cards and build your train routes. Winner earns the most points. Multiple expansions are available. Online versions are available.

Biblios (2 - 4 Players, Ages 10+): As the abbot of a medieval monastery, one of your responsibilities is to build the best library of sacred books. You are competing against abbots of other monasteries.

Just One (3 - 7 Players, Ages 8+): This is a short cooperative card game. Players try to uncover as many mystery words as possible. Strive to give your teammates unique one word clues to guess from.

Some of My Students’ Favourite Tabletop Games 

These are some of the games that my students enjoy playing:

Tsuro (2 - 8 Players, Ages 8+): Play your tiles and follow the path. Try to stay on the board and not run into any of your opponents. Last one standing wins. First of a series.

Follow the path and try to be the last dragon standing. Credit: R-Marca

Dutch Blitz (2 - 4 Players, Ages 8+): A fast paced solitaire-type game. First one to play all their cards wins.

Labyrinth (2 - 4 Players, Ages 8+): Explore the labyrinth in search of treasures. Be careful, though! As the game tiles move, so does your path to the loot. First of a series.

The shifting labyrinth. Credit: R-M Arca

Cat Tower (2 - 6 Players, Ages 6+): Stack the cats as high as you can. The first player to get rid of all the cats in their hand wins.

How high can you go? Credit: R-M Arca

Pandemic (2 - 4 Players, Ages 8+): A cooperative board game in which you and your teammates are part of a team of experts, tasked with saving the world from a viral pandemic. First of a series.

King of Tokyo (2 - 6 Players, Ages 8+): It’s an epic dice-rolling slugfest among monsters to become the King of Tokyo. Win either by being the first monster to earn 20 Victory Points or by being the last monster standing.

Last monster standing. Credit: R-M Arca

Trouble (2 - 4 Players, Ages 4+): Players race to the finish line but a simple dice roll with the Pop-O-Matic can send anyone back to Home Base.

Sorry (2 - 4 Players, Ages 6+): Players race Home but a simple card draw can send you back to the starting line.

Where to Buy Tabletop Games

Support local business! We have several, wonderful game specialty stores in Calgary. Each offers an extensive collection and excellent customer service: Imaginary Wars, Metal Galaxy Social Games & Bistro, Sentry Box, and Games People Play. You can also check out Chapters, Mastermind Toys and The Discovery Hut.

Online, check out these Canadian board game suppliers: Boardgame Bliss, Boardgames N More, and Boardgames.ca.

What are some of your favourite tabletop games? Where do you like to buy your games? Share them in the comments.

Stay tuned for Part 2 - Our 2021 Video Game Playlist.