Frontier Heroes - A Planet H game from HISTORY
Common Sense says
- iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
- $2.99
- Kids' Games
Parents say
Kids say
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Suggest an update A Planet H game from HISTORY
A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Frontier Heroes walks kids through U.S. history, from the Native Americans to the colonies and Revolution and through the Gold Rush. The final time period, Land of the Free, requires a perfect score on every other mini-game to unlock -- which is pretty much impossible. There are no demos or examples of how to play the games, but brief instructions are given. For some games, that's enough. Others will require trial and error and multiple replays to figure out. The history is pretty sanitized, though there's minor violence with Davy Crockett fighting a bear and two railroad builders trying to outrun a train (and sometimes failing) and some shooting in some mini-games. As they complete some games, kids unlock DYKs -- short "Did You Know?" historical facts.
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Great game
What's it about?
Mini-games replicate skills and events throughout U.S. history, teaching a bit about it through interesting facts as kids play. They'll start in early America and must earn enough stars playing each game to unlock the next level. Each time period includes a short cartoon video about life in that time, and the games show a bit of what life (or legend) was like. Games can be replayed to improve scores to help unlock other levels. Kids can review their DYK collections to review the historical facts they’ve learned.
Is it any good?
The cartoon graphics are impressive and fun, and the historical facts are high-interest and delivered in short, easy-to-remember bits. The voices and sound effects are well-done, too, and most of the games are quite fun. The problem is that some are just too hard -- maybe even impossible -- to master, and mastering them all is required to unlock the last time period. Kids can replay each game as often as necessary to improve scores, and the challenge becomes pretty addictive. Kids may lose interest before getting through all the history, but they'll learn a bit and have fun in the process.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about what is realistic in the games (sawing a tree is really hard) and what is not (wrestling a bear).
Ask kids which period of U.S. history they find most interesting. If they could live in any time period, which would they choose?
App details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
- Subjects: Social Studies: events, historical figures, history, timelines
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: strategy
Health & Fitness: fine motor skills - Price: $2.99
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: December 1, 2014
- Category: Kids' Games
- Topics: History
- Size: 97.90 MB
- Publisher: A&E Television Networks Mobile
- Version: 1.2.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 7.0 or later
- Last updated: November 11, 2020
Our editors recommend
For kids who love history
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.