Abstract: This brief paper is a work-in-progress project. The purpose of the project is to investigate game-based mathematics apps and their relation to student learning outcomes. To understand the relationships, we used an exploratory mixed methods research design that included in-depth video analysis and statistical modeling. We hypothesized three potential mediators that have important implications for student learning when students interact with game-based mathematics apps: student strategy use, student motivation, and student mathematics connections. We collected pre-/post-test data and video data. We have coded the video data for the potential mediators, and are currently analyzing relationships among the mediators and test scores. In this paper we graphed the relationships between the mediators and the pre- and post-tests which show the possible interactions for student strategy use.