Common Sense Media Review
By Chris Morris
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Challenging robot adventure surprises with touching story.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Machinarium
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
Using only clever animation and in-game sound effects, kids will have to determine exactly what the problem is and how best to solve it as they work their way through the adventure/puzzle adventure Machinarium. For players who get particularly stuck, the game offers one hint per level. In one early level, for instance, players will have to get past a guard by using scattered trash to create a fake uniform.
Is It Any Good?
MACHINARIUM is unlike anything you've played in the app store. Its minimalist interface and hand-drawn graphics might catch your eye, but its clever story and sly humor make it unforgettable. It's a point-and-click adventure/puzzle game -- and those puzzles can be real brain stumpers -- but it's one with heart and emotion that's communicated through subtle, understated means, a rarity in this over-the-top gaming world. The game, originally released on PC, won several awards from respected industry sites -- and it makes a wonderfully smooth transition to iOS devices.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
When kids are stuck, offer suggestions on different ways to think about the problem.
Let kids know that the kind of creative thinking they're using in the game is helpful in real life, too. Remind them that when a problem seems insurmountable, there may be a creative solution.
App Details
- Device : iPad
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , hypothesis-testing , problem solving , Emotional Development : empathy , persevering , Creativity : developing novel solutions , imagination
- Pricing structure :
- Release date : September 8, 2011
- Genre : Puzzle Games
- Publisher : Amanita Design
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.0 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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