Parents' Guide to

My City : Mansion

By Mieke VanderBorght, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Virtual mansion rich in consumerism concerns, stereotypes.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire Paid Education
My City : Mansion Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • My City : Mansion App: Screenshot #1
  • My City : Mansion App: Screenshot #2
  • My City : Mansion App: Screenshot #3
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  • My City : Mansion App: Screenshot #5

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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
  • Unclear whether this product displays personalised advertising.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
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What’s It About?

When kids open MY CITY : MANSION, kids find themselves at the front door of a house. Tap the doors to enter, or swipe right or left to explore the neighborhood. In the house, there are objects to move; environments to explore; special actions, like putting fruit in a blender to make a drink, to discover, and characters to play with. Nine locations include the main room, kitchen, bedroom, garage, and pool. Some characters are placed in different locations by default and kids can also choose to add or remove characters as they please. Tap on the characters to change their facial expressions or remove their clothing (unclothed characters still have underwear). If kids have other apps from the My City or My Town series, they can be linked together and kids can travel between them through the subway or other storefront options.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1 ):

In terms of open-ended apps that encourage pretend play, this one offers lots of interaction and discovery, but its messages of consumerism and some stereotypical representations bring it down. Kids with active imaginations who like to lose themselves in pretend worlds or use dolls and props to invent stories will find plenty of material here. It can be great fun to explore everything, and find hidden objects, interactive elements, and locations. And, the option to give characters different emotions is really neat and can be the basis for interesting discussion with your kids. That said, there are some concerns with My City : Mansion that might give some parents pause. One concern is the emphasis on wealth and luxury. A rug with $1000000 on it; a highly luxurious home with a rooftop pool, helipad and golf course; the dollar sign decorations outside the home; and the tagline "live a life of the rich and famous" are all blatant celebrations of being rich. In addition, the developer's My City and My Town series encourage purchase of multiple apps and continuous, perhaps even excessive play. Another concern is the clear lack of diversity in the available characters and some stereotyping of gender and racial roles in society. Finally, it's an open question what a screen adds to the age-old kids' practice of engaging in pretend play. Some families might feel more comfortable offering a few dolls or action figures and some basic household items and letting their kids take it from there.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the scenes and characters kids interact with in My City : Mansion. What kinds of stories can they tell about what their favorite characters are doing? Help your kids write their stories down to read back to them later.

  • Do your kids feel that they, their family, or other people they know are represented in this app? Why or why not?

  • Talk about feelings. Changing the character's facial expressions in the app may be a great way to discuss feelings and emotions with kids. Do their characters have emotions that mimic how they might be feeling in real life?

  • It can be easy to lose track of time with an open-ended app like My City : Mansion. Make your family's guidelines regarding screen time clear to your kids before they start playing. And if they want to keep pretending but they've run out of screen time, give them some dolls or stuffed animals and some household objects to continue the fun.

App Details

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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