Fun blending of two puzzle types, but clues are tricky.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Hidden Objects Crosswords combines a challenging hidden objects game with crossword clues that are sometimes old-fashioned or refer to alcohol, smoking, or weapons. In each of the 54 levels, players are presented with a crossword puzzle. For each clue, they must find and tap on the correct object hidden in the picture, which is often a room or scene scattered with random objects. For example, for "an old ___ has the sweetest smoke," the player taps on a small image of a pipe. Clues about smoking or wine are scattered throughout the game, as are clues about weapons (often a dagger, though sometimes a gun, pistol, or sword).
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
Several clues throughout the game describe alcohol, such as "in vino veritas" (wine), "mixed drinks" (cocktails), and "yo-ho-ho and a bottle of ____" (rum). Images and clues about smoking are also scattered around, including a "device for communal smoking" (hookah), "smoking sticks" (cigarette), and a pipe.
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The start menu includes a link to more games from the developer. A pop up window appears after a few levels asking the player to rate the game.
Violence & Scariness
very little
Some clues involve references to a weapon or violence, such as "an assassin uses this" (dagger) or "watch out if this falls from a plane" (bomb). No violence is shown. A few clues also include references to death, such as "dead ___ tell no tales." In the scoring for every level, players with only a few wrong guesses win the title of "sniper."
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Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Menus are easy to use and game play is easy to learn, but the difficulty level does not increase as you play. Instead, all of the 54 levels (like most crossword puzzles) have mixed difficulty, with many clues that use older sayings that kids may not know. The answers to the clues are very repetitious, with the same answer appearing in several puzzles, though always with distinct clues. Finding the objects is often very challenging, as they are sometimes very well concealed, are not clearly the objects the clue seeks, or there are several of those objects in the picture. The long wait time between hints and the game writing in the answers to the crossword slows the game's pace significantly. Players can enter their names and track progress, but scores for each level are not saved, which decreases replayability.
This is a neat concept, and there is room for enjoyment for crossworders and hidden-object finders alike. The trick is making sure your kids' age and interest match this game, which has just one difficulty level throughout all the levels. Many clues rely on phrases and sayings kids may not know, and some clues mention weapons or wine. The game also moves more slowly than kids may like, with the challenge of finding objects, the hint timer taking a long time to reset, and the lack of an option to type in the answer to a clue. If your kids are pretty fluent in sayings like, "a bird in the hand beats two in the bush," they'll have a ball. If not, they'll need your help to avoid getting frustrated.
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By Liz Panarelli
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based on child development research. How do we rate?
