• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.

• Is it any good?

  5.0

• Common Sense says

  Unique puzzles wow with ability to write objects into game.

Why We Rated This for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

• Ease of play:

  The game starts with a good set of tutorials. These tutorials do not explain everything, but most can figure out the things that are left unsaid. Some of the puzzles are devilishly challenging so hints would have been a nice addition, but they are missing from this game.
• Educational value:

  These puzzles require you to think logically and creatively. Not only must you come up with objects to try, but you can also combine objects in creative ways to create ideal solutions. The game also encourages you to try to same puzzle again and solve it with a completely different solution.
• Online interaction:

  You can share puzzles that you create with others via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. No chat is available.
• Messages:

  This game sends the message that if you use your mind in creative ways, you can accomplish a lot, like solving these puzzles. Since the game rewards creative solutions, players are encouraged to think outside of the box. The game also rewards solutions that don't use violence, thus sending the message that solving these puzzles without violence is a good thing.
• Role models:

  Maxwell never gets flustered even when chaos ensues around him.

What to watch out for

• Violence:

  Since you can summon up guns and other weapons, there can be some cartoony violence. But no blood or gore is shown -- defeated characters simply disappear with a pop. You can create violent situations, such as attaching a piece of meat to a baby and then introducing a lion into the scene. The lion will go after the meat and eat the baby. Again, no gore is actually shown. You can also conjure up Death (who looks like the Grim Reaper), and if you dispatch him on a character, that character will disappear, presumed dead. But you can play this game without violence, and if fact, are rewarded with more in-game dollars for solutions that don't use violence or weapons.
• Sex:

  Not an issue.
• Language:

  Not an issue.
• Consumerism:

  Not an issue.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Not an issue.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Scribblenauts was written by Jinny Gudmundsen

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