Gibbon: Beyond the Trees helps kids practice and improve the following skills:

Working Memory: Recalling and retaining information in our minds while working.

In order to build up a rhythm and successfully make it through a chapter in the game without starting over, the player needs to have strong working memory skills. Whether Pink is jumping, running, swinging, or releasing their grip, the player needs to remember what touch inputs are required on-screen in order to make these actions happen. The player needs to do this in real-time as well because the screen continues to scroll while the player is performing these inputs. This means that there is no time for the player to sit still in the game and think about how to jump. The player needs to be able to commit these commands to memory to smoothly move through each chapter of the game. 

Self-Awareness: Understanding our own actions, thoughts and feelings.

Self-awareness is also important in this game because the player needs to be able to understand the plight of the gibbons as they are losing their home. As the player moves through the chapters, they begin in a perfect green forest with Pink and her family. The game has no spoken dialogue, only the movements of the gibbons and the hand painted backgrounds for the player to make sense of the story. And as the player moves through the chapters, they see just how much Pink, their family, and the other creatures of the forest lose because of the deforestation taking place. By using self-awareness, the player can empathize with Pink and her family and may be moved to learn more about the subject matter of the game.