Common Sense Media Review
By Chris Morris
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Slow & steady kills the (human) race in disease-design app.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Plague Inc.
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 6 parent reviews
Based on 43 kid reviews
Kids say that the app is a unique and engaging pandemic simulator offering various modes that challenge players to either spread a disease or find its cure; it blends education about disease transmission and strategy with an unconventional dark premise. While the game is deemed fun and informative for mature kids aged 9 and up, some parents express concern about its theme and potential distress for younger children.
- educational value
- strategy development
- dark premise
- age appropriateness
- fun gameplay
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
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Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
In PLAGUE INC., players try to create a disease that evolves and strengthens quietly, spreading from country to country infecting, then killing, all humans. That evolution takes place by slowly strengthening the virus, fungus, or bio-weapon, adding symptoms and giving it defenses against cold, water, and the like. Players get points to upgrade their virus by "popping" bubbles that appear on screen as the virus spreads. Once doctors become aware of the problem, they'll work on a vaccine; then it becomes a race to kill the human race before there's a cure. Of particular interest given recent debates is the game's "science denial" scenario, a free-to-play optional offshoot. In this version, the world has largely turned its back on science, putting its faith in things like healing crystals and snake oil. As your plague spreads, though, a band of surviving super scientists will work to find a cure. Depending on how you evolve your virus, though, will the anti-vaxxers support those scientists or turn further against them?
Is It Any Good?
Like Pandemic 2.5, this strategy game is based loosely on a popular web-based Flash game about evolving diseases into superbugs that are strong enough to destroy the world. Unlike Pandemic, though, Plague Inc. better explains the concept and lets people play at a skill level of their choosing. The game is still fairly passive, but the inclusion of DNA points to adapt the disease (and popable bubbles giving DNA point bonuses) keeps people's attention focused on the screen.
As it has matured, the game has become more enthralling, with additional disease types and new scenarios (ranging from a disease spreading in an anti-vaxx world to, believe it or not, a cheerful Christmas scenario). It has taken player feedback into consideration and done away with pain points (like the near impossibility of infecting Madagascar). It has also tied into several pop culture events (such as the Planet of the Apes movies) to keep players attention. At the same time, it has kept its addictive nature, making you eager to try again once it ends. What's more, the loads of enhancements to each disease means that players will constantly return to try new methods and locations to infect as they try to come up with the most destructive bacteria ever known. It may seem macabre, but Plague Inc. is a great way to explore the end of the world (in a darkly humorous way, of course).
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the scenarios in Plague Inc. Could something like that happen in real life? If so, how could it be prevented?
Where's the best place to find information on historical events in which disease played a significant role, such as the plague? How did these start? How did they end?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire
- Subjects : Science : biology , life cycle , Social Studies : geography , government
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , Creativity : developing novel solutions , making new creations
- Pricing structure : Paid, Free (The initial game is free to play, but additional scenarios cost $.99 each.)
- Release date : June 12, 2012
- Genre : Simulation Games
- Topics : STEM
- Publisher : Ndemic Creations
- Version : 1.2
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.3 or later; Android 2.2 and up
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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