Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Bell
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Free game portal offers dozens of titles, many of them iffy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
AddictingGames
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?
AddictingGames is a portal where kids can browse and play more than 45 games for free, earn more than 230 gaming achievements, compare high scores on a global leaderboard, and share game updates via Facebook Connect. Games span most of the popular genres, including arcade, puzzle, physics, shooter, and casino/card. Typically, the games are easy to pick up and play with a few simple instructions.
Is It Any Good?
The quality of games on the AddictingGames platform is a mixed bag. For every hidden gem -- such as the stylish and cerebral puzzle/platformer "Asleep Walking" -- there are many more throwaway titles with dubious themes and gameplay. One example is "Shoot the Puppy," where players can choose to blast a dog into thin air with a giant gun. There's also a game called "Potty Copter," where players pilot an aircraft that's constantly dropping excrement onto the ground; a Worms-like strategy game where one of the characters is a gorilla that flings excrement at its opponents; and a macabre basketball shooting game where players flick severed zombie heads into the basket to score.
On the plus side, AddictingGames is free and offers something for everyone. It uses a rating system to inform players whether a game is suitable for everyone, tweens, or teens; however the lack of actual parental controls to filter out the inappropriate titles makes this an iffy choice for young players unless they're playing under a parent's supervision.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : following directions , Social Studies : geography , Science : physics
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : solving puzzles , strategy
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : May 2, 2012
- Genre : Action Games
- Publisher : Nickelodeon
- Version : 2.24
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 3.0 or later
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate