Imprimatura
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the goal of Imprimatura is to correctly identify the artists of paintings, some of which have mature or religious themes. In each puzzle, players must select tiles, two at a time, until they find a match. Each match reveals a section of the painting underneath the tiles and gives the player a chance to select the correct artist of the painting from five choices. After an incorrect answer, players can choose to give up or continue matching tiles for more chances to guess. The correct answer reveals the full painting with a caption describing the painting, artist, and historical context. In the main menu, the puzzles are organized by school and by whether identifying the painting is easy, moderate, or difficult. Some paintings show full or partial nudity, and some captions discuss drinking and violence. The art often represents figures or themes from Christianity or other religions. Also, the paintings selected are representative of common historical biases: The artists are predominantly European men, and non-white subjects in the paintings are considered "exotic."
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Is it any good?
IMPRIMATURA could be an absorbing game for young art historians, but may be frustrating for anyone else. The game is best for those who want to get lost in a puzzle, since the challenge of solving the memory game is tricky enough with 9 or 18 colors, after which you still need to correctly identify the artist! It's also best one puzzle at a time since after finishing a puzzle, the list of puzzles resets to the beginning, your score is reset, and the music stops. It would be nice to have a tutorial option to learn the paintings and artists before being tested on them. But, for players who don't mind learning the hard way, this is good exposure to famous art.
App details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Price: $1.99
- Release date: April 16, 2011
- Category: Education
- Publisher: Electronic Terrain Inc.
- Version: 1.0
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 4.2 or later
For kids who love art and creativity
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