Brisbane, Australia-based Halfbrick, the studio behind the Fruit Ninja mobile gaming franchise, has joined forces with video game developer Krome Studios to launch its first educational offering.

Fruit Ninja Academy: Math Master (US$4.99) is an educational app for iOS and Android devices that aims to teach math skills to kids ages five to seven.

Keeping with the familiar Fruit Ninja gameplay, players slice their way through different math challenges in the colorful world of Fruit Ninja to find the Lost Tablets of Fruitasia and rescue Truffles the Pig.

Marking Halfbrick’s entry into the educational games market, Math Master is meant to be a companion to kids’ learning at school, allowing them to practice math in a more engaging way.

The app covers grade one math skills including addition, subtraction, multiplication, shapes and fractions. Additionally, all challenges are graded and kids can unlock extra content for performing well.

Halfbrick announced plans last September to revitalize its Fruit Ninja property with a new game and web series. In December, the studio appointed Sam White to the post of VP of entertainment licensing for Halfbrick US. White is now tasked with expanding the company’s future and existing game brands, including Fruit Ninja, into larger entertainment franchises.