Hidden Objects Crosswords

Review

Common Sense Media says

Fun blending of two puzzle types, but clues are tricky.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Hidden Objects Crosswords combines a challenging hidden objects game with crossword clues that are sometimes old-fashioned or refer to alcohol, smoking, or weapons. In each of the 54 levels, players are presented with a crossword puzzle. For each clue, they must find and tap on the correct object hidden in the picture, which is often a room or scene scattered with random objects. For example, for "an old ___ has the sweetest smoke," the player taps on a small image of a pipe. Clues about smoking or wine are scattered throughout the game, as are clues about weapons (often a dagger, though sometimes a gun, pistol, or sword).

  • Ease of use2
    Menus are easy to use and game play is easy to learn, but the difficulty level does not increase as you play. Instead, all of the 54 levels (like most crossword puzzles) have mixed difficulty, with many clues that use older sayings that kids may not know. The answers to the clues are very repetitious, with the same answer appearing in several puzzles, though always with distinct clues. Finding the objects is often very challenging, as they are sometimes very well concealed, are not clearly the objects the clue seeks, or there are several of those objects in the picture. The long wait time between hints and the game writing in the answers to the crossword slows the game's pace significantly. Players can enter their names and track progress, but scores for each level are not saved, which decreases replayability.
  • Violence1
    Some clues involve references to a weapon or violence, such as "an assassin uses this" (dagger) or "watch out if this falls from a plane" (bomb). No violence is shown. A few clues also include references to death, such as "dead ___ tell no tales." In the scoring for every level, players with only a few wrong guesses win the title of "sniper."
  • Sex2
    There are a few images with women in undergarments or a bikini. One clue mentions kissing.
  • Language2
    One clue includes the word "hell."
  • Consumerism1
    The start menu includes a link to more games from the developer. A pop up window appears after a few levels asking the player to rate the game.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking2
    Several clues throughout the game describe alcohol, such as "in vino veritas" (wine), "mixed drinks" (cocktails), and "yo-ho-ho and a bottle of ____" (rum).  Images and clues about smoking are also scattered around, including a "device for communal smoking" (hookah), "smoking sticks" (cigarette), and a pipe.
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Is it any good?

 

This is a neat concept, and there is room for enjoyment for crossworders and hidden-object finders alike. The trick is making sure your kids' age and interest match this game, which has just one difficulty level throughout all the levels. Many clues rely on phrases and sayings kids may not know, and some clues mention weapons or wine. The game also moves more slowly than kids may like, with the challenge of finding objects, the hint timer taking a long time to reset, and the lack of an option to type in the answer to a clue. If your kids are pretty fluent in sayings like, "a bird in the hand beats two in the bush," they'll have a ball. If not, they'll need your help to avoid getting frustrated.

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This review was written by Liz Panarelli

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This review was written by Liz Panarelli
Category:Word Games
Platforms:iPad
Price:$4.99
Size:55.60 MB
Publisher:Dekovir, Inc
Version:1.0
Release date:April 28, 2011
Minimum software requirements:iOS 3.2 or later
This review was written by Liz Panarelli

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
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