Budge World - Kids Games, Creativity and Learning
By Christy Matte,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Mixed bag of mini-games spans ages, lacks settings.
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Budge World - Kids Games, Creativity and Learning
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What’s It About?
BUDGE WORLD - KIDS GAMES, CREATIVITY AND LEARNING is a mini-game collection with characters from franchises such as Garfield, Barbie, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Monster High, Miss Hollywood, Hello Kitty, Caillou, the Smurfs, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Crayola. Budge World is a mythical place inhabited by creatures called Budgers who are builders and like nothing more than to play games and earn a currency called "shine." Kids earn shine for every mini-game they complete. When kids earn enough shine, they can spin a prize wheel and earn new Budgers, background items, and stickers that they can use to decorate the world. The games focus primarily on racing, puzzle solving, dress-up, food prep (decorate a cake, add toppings to a pizza), target shooting, object collection, and some early math and literacy activities. Over time, kids unlock new worlds along with items to use for decorating.
Is It Any Good?
There are enough options in this diverse mini-game collection to appeal to just about any kid, but its relatively simple content and lack of parent controls make it only OK. With so many favorite characters and choices, the challenge is really that it feels spread a bit too thin. Will a child who loves sorting passengers by color with Thomas equally enjoy shooting Miss Hollywood through a cannon at a target? Likewise, will a kid who thinks counting with Caillou is fun also enjoy choosing an outfit for a Monster High character? Hard to say. But Budge has created a proper sandbox space where kids can play what they want without parents being nickeled and dimed for each item. Sure, the subscription fee isn't trivial -- an annual subscription costs about the same as an app a month and requires paying for the entire year in advance -- but there's no advertising or in-app purchases once you're subscribed. A better parent dashboard that allows grown-ups to pick and choose which character experiences are age-appropriate would help for younger ones. While there's nothing earth-shattering about the games, it will entertain little kids for quite a long time and may lightly reinforce some early elementary skills at the same time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the educational value of the app. Do you think Budge World - Kids Games, Creativity and Learning is a good app for learning? Why, or why not? What can you learn?
Talk about screen use. How do you like this app as compared with other apps you could play? If you have limited time for screen use, would you pick this app over other apps on your device? Why, or why not?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Subjects: Language & Reading: letter or word recognition, Math: addition, counting
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: solving puzzles, Creativity: imagination, making new creations
- Pricing structure: Free to try ($3.99/month if paid yearly; $6.99/month if paid monthly)
- Release date: April 7, 2017
- Category: Kids' Games
- Publisher: Budge Studios
- Version: 2.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 7.0
- Last updated: March 12, 2019
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