Crazy Gears
By Mieke VanderBorght,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fun STEM-themed free play with easy offscreen connections.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this app.
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Crazy Gears
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What’s It About?
Play in CRAZY GEARS is introduced with a simple instruction: "Find a way to pull yourself to the next level." Kids figure it out on their own as they drag and drop various items into place, experimenting to discover different ways to connect a ball and chain so the next level gets "pulled" across the screen. Through 61 levels, the number of tools and gadgets increases, including wheels, gears, rods, pulleys, weights, racks, hooks, and more. If parents sign up for an account, they can create multiple user accounts, so individual kids can play and not lose their progress. A parents' guide offers lots of definitions and background information.
Is It Any Good?
Crazy Gears is a great opportunity for kids to explore open-ended play and experimentation. Even on the 2-D screen, kids get a really good sense of what gears, weights, pulleys, and other simple machines do. Lots of levels, many with multiple solutions, should keep kids engaged for a while, even if some levels feel repetitive. Though the parents' guide can be dense, it's worth reading, and it's definitely worth sharing the definitions, gadget names, and fun facts with kids. It would be great if the information also were embedded in the game itself. Parents can track kids' progress through the levels, which can help provide inspiration points for which areas to explore more together. Allowing kids to devise their own levels would be a nice feature.
Though the digital experience doesn't capture everything about the machines (such as how much torque is necessary to lift a really heavy item with a chain), this is a really creative, highly accessible -- and fun! -- option for exploring physics and engineering.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about problem-solving strategies. Which obstacles are on each level? What things can kids try to solve the puzzle?
Read through the parents' guide to help name the different tools and big ideas each level introduces. Learn about gears, friction, tension, rack and pinion, and more. Talk about where kids can find these things in real life.
Help kids build similar contraptions in real life and experiment.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Subjects: Science: engineering, motion, physics
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: hypothesis-testing, solving puzzles, strategy
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: March 26, 2015
- Category: Education
- Topics: STEM, Science and Nature
- Publisher: Seven Academy
- Version: 1.4
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 8.0 or later
- Last updated: March 12, 2019
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 suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Download
Our Editors Recommend
Best Engineering Games, Apps, and Websites for Kids
STEM: Apps, TV, and More for Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math
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