GoldieBlox: Adventures in Coding - The Rocket Cupcake Co.
By Amanda Bindel,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Story-based coding adventure plus diverse girl-empowerment.
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GoldieBlox: Adventures in Coding - The Rocket Cupcake Co.
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What’s It About?
Goldie and her friends have a problem -- they wrote "birthday" on the calendar but don't know whose birthday it is. They solve the problem in GOLDIEBLOX: ADVENTURES IN CODING - THE ROCKET CUPCAKE CO. by making cupcakes for everyone and delivering them around town using a rocket-powered skateboard until they find the party. Kids play mini-games to gather ingredients and make the cupcakes and programming the paths using visual code blocks. Each level adds to the adventure, and kids can watch videos or customize coding puzzles.
Is It Any Good?
Diverse and curious group of friends show just how cool coding and engineering can be in a story-based adventure that will appeal especially to girls. The coding portion of Goldieblox: Adventures in Coding - The Rocket Cupcake Co. is pretty run-of-the-mill as far as visual coding games go. Kids can replay to fix mistakes or get help from Ruby Rail's notes (a character who is a nice nod to MIT's Ruby on Rails programming language), but more specific hints about various obstacles would help kids through sticky frustration. The mini-games develop spatial reasoning and tie in to the story's theme. It's the sandbox and Goldie TV that really stand out, though, inspiring creativity and design-thinking without restrictive stereotypes.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why understanding coding is important. Talk about things made with code and the logic and process involved with coding. How can Goldieblox: Adventures in Coding - The Rocket Cupcake Co. help learn the basics?
Watch some of the videos featured together -- with both boys and girls -- and discuss gender issues and stereotypes. Check out our list of Games with Strong Female Characters for ideas of games that don't perpetuate stereotypes.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Subjects: Language & Reading: storytelling, Science: engineering, Hobbies: cooking
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: logic, problem solving, thinking critically, Creativity: developing novel solutions, imagination, Self-Direction: effort, work to achieve goals, Emotional Development: persevering, Tech Skills: coding, using and applying technology
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: August 2, 2016
- Category: Education
- Topics: STEM, Great Girl Role Models, Science and Nature
- Publisher: GoldieBlox
- Version: 1.04
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 7.0 or later
- Last updated: September 9, 2021
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.
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