Parents' Guide to Pokemon: Magikarp Jump

This simple little app is more entertaining than it has any right to be. It takes a sense of humor to build a game around the world's worst Pokemon, and humor is what makes this silly collectible-slash-competition game so much fun. After fishing a promising Magikarp out of the water, (if you get a bad one you can -- providing you have diamonds in your pocket -- throw it back and cast your line again) you feed it, train it, then when you're ready, take on other Magikarps in various challenge leagues.

Though much of the gameplay is automated (training and jumping, for instance) it's fun upgrading your Magikarp's food supply and training options, not to mention using your reward money to buy Pokemon friends like Pikachu to cheer you on. Further, there are themes and decorations to buy for your Magikarp's underwater home, and of course, Pokemon Magikarp Jump wouldn't fit into the Pokemon world without a collection feature. Avid collectors will enjoy collecting the many Pokemon companions and different Magikarp patterns, while sharing their finds on social media. If the app has a down side, it's that its free play is limited. A built-in timer forces you to space your Magikarp's training out over many hours unless you're willing to spend the cash to speed the process up. If you're not, the most you can hope for is five or ten minutes of play at one time. Even with this hindrance though, Magikarp Jump offers a lot of fishy fun and proves that even world-class flops like Magikarp sometimes finish first.