Common Sense Media Review
By Chris Morris
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Adorable sim playable without in-app buys -- with patience.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Tiny Tower
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?
Players build a skyscraper over time that includes restaurants, retail stores, apartments and more. Stocking stores and adding floors costs in-game cash as well as time. To "hurry" along construction or a shipment, premium currency is used, which is much more valuable -- but also quite rare.
Is It Any Good?
TINY TOWER is a darned cute game. Mixing old school pixilated art and smart gameplay mechanics, it is a very enjoyable simulation game that brings the original SimTower game to mind. The game smartly balances tending to the needs of its "Bitizens" and the economic aspects. But by utilizing the in-app purchase model, it hits problems.
While nothing goes haywire with the game if you choose not to spend real-world cash to buy in-game bux, the game will progress slowly, as finances don't build up quickly naturally. It's still possible to enjoy the game without spending real-world cash, but you'll need to be patient -- plan to close the app and come back to it when you get an alert.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Talk with your kid about Tower Bux. Early in the game, it's easy to run through Bux quickly. What's your stance on using real money to buy Bux?
Encourage kids to go beyond basic gameplay to improve the efficiency of their tower. They can group and order floors, color-code characters' clothing, and assign more Bitizens to their dream jobs.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Subjects : Math : arithmetic , estimation , money
- Skills : Creativity : imagination , Thinking & Reasoning : decision-making , problem solving , strategy , Self-Direction : time management
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : November 23, 2011
- Genre : Simulation Games
- Publisher : NimbleBit
- Version : 1.5.1
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 3.0 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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