Gruffalo Games App #Review & Gruffalo Bundle #Giveaway

pinkoddy

10 years ago

Gruffalo Games App Oscar-nominated entertainment company, Magic Light Pictures, with Stormcloud Games, have launched The Gruffalo Games app based on the much-loved picture book, The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Coinciding with The Gruffalo’s 15^th anniversary celebrations children get to pit their wits against The Gruffalo in his first ever iOS mobile app. The Gruffalo is one of the world’s most loved children’s characters, and is venturing out of his cave and onto our screens. He is quick-thinking and has super smart moves in a series of simple but classic games, helping complement the key skills children will soon be learning at pre and primary school. The games include snap, three-in-a-row, matching and jigsaws – but each with a monstrous twist! Featuring The Gruffalo and other popular characters from the book, including Mouse, Owl, Fox and Snake.

The Gruffalo Games App Review

The Gruffalo app I would say is suitable for its target audience, preschool and infant children (ages 3-7). There are a variety of games and some are more suited to the older user. There is no advertising or in app purchasing, but the Room on the Broom app does feature on the home screen. There is also a link for parents which requires an “adult” to work out a sum before it can be seen. It takes you to a screen which gives you the option to download other games and buy other related merchandise (a password is required). There is pretty background music (from the films) which really has a feel of being in the forest about it. On the home screen you can poke both The Gruffalo and The Mouse and they blink.

The Gruffalo: Games iOS app is available to download priced 2.99.

3 in a row

This game of tic tac toe is against the Gruffalo himself – who scratches a grid (with his terrible claws) onto the ground. Do not mistake this as just a child’s app – the Gruffalo likes to win! Although he does make the odd mistake. You simply slide your “Mouse” counter on to the grid where you want to go. You see the Gruffalo’s hand and claws as he moves his pieces to the board. The idea is (for anyone who does not know) to get 3 in of your mouse counters in a row, whilst stopping the Gruffalo getting 3 in a row. The overall winner is the person to be the first to win 5 matches.

Nut Catch

This is a fairly simple game of getting the mouse to catch as many nuts as possible, but whilst avoiding the other things falling from the sky. Good for hand-eye co-ordination. The more you play the faster it gets, and more things fall. There’s a squirrel with a golden nut and if you catch him then a load of golden nuts fall from the sky (no extra points for it though).

Jigsaw

The jigsaws are progressive – in that you must complete the easier ones before you can move on. Of course the last jigsaw is of the Gruffalo. There is a timer and your best time is recorded and displayed next to the puzzle. If you get stuck there’s a help button – which moves the pieces to where they are meant to go, and then back to where you had them. You can press this button as many times as you like, but time does not stand still when this happens. The jigsaws are beautifully illustrated and there’s guides (like white edging) to help put the pieces in the right places. When you complete the puzzle lots of woodland flowers and leaves, etc float down the screen.

Snap

This is again another very competitive game. I played this and The Gruffalo can be really fast – and that’s with my hand over the cards ready all the time. There’s 3 cards for you to pick from, but they are all turned over. The overall winner is the best of 5 – and it makes no difference how many cards have been dealt before the “snap.”

Marching Bugs

I think this is the most challenge of the games. Bugs go marching across the screen whilst holding a leaf with something on, then one of the bugs will not be holding anything and you have to drag the corresponding leaf down to that bug. This may be a shape, a number, a letter, or an animal. This changes in difficulty – as it could be all blue circles, or there could be a more complicated pattern. It could be the bug at the end of the line, or the one at the beginning.

Match Me

A good game of pairing (but you can see all the pairs). Simply find the ones that go together. This can be the ones that are the same (two Gruffalo jaws), or ones that fit together (like a Gruffalo top and bottom).

I think this is a fantastic app – and I am not a big fan of apps as a general rule. It does not replace the book but does compliment it. It is just right for the target audience, of helping them develop their brains – quick thinking, logic, problem-solving and hand-eye co-ordination. I would certainly recommend it for your Gruffalo fan.

In fact I love it so much that I have agreed to run a giveaway for my readers! Note the App is designed for iPhone, iPod and iPad ONLY.

The Prize: A 15^th anniversary edition of The Gruffalo book, DVD, plush toy and the app – worth £25.00.

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