Flarts

The game's name is short for "flying darts" -- which is the point of how this title is played. Kids direct the trajectory of darts thrown by a shorts-clad, bearded character in Flarts by sliding their finger backward on the screen and releasing. Their role doesn't end there, though. To guide the dart to its target, they may need to tap intermittently on the screen, fueling it to fly further. Darts have a tendency to float upward and get lodged in things, so shooting can require some practice. Kids can eventually use coins they earn by playing to unlock later levels.

Despite the lack of detailed instructions, kids get plenty of chances to try again in the early rounds of the game, where they're essentially given an unlimited number of darts to throw. They'll advance by downing items like piñatas. Striking the head is worth more coins than an arm or leg, and getting close to the bulls-eye center will also earn you more. Along with peppy background music, piñatas explode in a burst of color, and the final bull's-eye target dramatically pops out after you successfully break all other items in a level. Some design aspects are added to make things easier to play. Small images of the targets kids have left, for example, are shown on the screen, and kids can easily zoom back to the dart thrower by clicking on a button featuring his head, which prevents them from having to scroll forward and backward. Levels get harder as you play, with more obstacles to navigate around and longer distances for the dart to travel. Although kids are basically doing the same thing in rounds, there are different challenges, such a time limit you need to meet in repeated rounds. The shooting process doesn't always seem to be precise -- at times, the force the dart is launched with varies. Once kids get the basic hang of doing it, though, the game can be a lot of fun -- and is essentially free. While kids will see occasional ads, there's hardly pressure or need to buy anything to play Flarts.