Parents' Guide to Giblins: Fantasy Builder

Players get a chance to hone their time management skills, but gameplay can get slow and repetitive after a while. Giblins: Fantasy Builder features a group of mythical creatures that perform various tasks. They might mine coal, for example, or dig to clear room underground for mining operations. To ensure everyone's producing enough items to sell above ground in a shop to customers or use to create things like swords, players need to pay attention to how close each Giblin is to finishing its task. They also need to know what customers are requesting, so they can keep them working steadily. Although that may sound stressful, you're not really under tremendous pressure to produce things at lightning speed -- the customers don't seem to mind waiting. Most mining tasks require a wait though, unless you spend gems to speed them up -- which you can only do for so long before running out of funds. You'll find additional delays as well, and while you can typically wait until the time counts down, you might be tempted to buy gem packages to avoid this frustration.

Occasional screens will also pop up advertising items that are available for purchase. Aside from the plugs to buy things, the app has some positive elements -- the graphics are definitely above-average, the Giblins grunt and squeak, and they also offer periodic comic relief, such as snoozing in between jobs. Yet even though there's a lot to do consistently, since you're generally just volleying between production and selling goods, the gameplay can feel a bit repetitive -- older kids may start looking for a little more action as they wait for items to be produced. But if they're able to get over that aspect, and they can tune out the suggestions to spend real-world cash, Giblins: Fantasy Builder can potentially serve as an enjoyable way to strengthen young kids' strategy skills.