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Puzzle Planets
Common Sense says
- iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- $0.99
- Puzzle Games
Parents say
Kids say
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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 Puzzle Planets is a science-based puzzle game about forming planets and initiating life. The game teaches very rudimentary ideas about tectonics and geological formation but is not otherwise educational. There are some creatures pictured in the planet profiles that have weapons and another wearing a bikini, but these are static images and not part of the actual gameplay. Scores can be optionally posted to Facebook, which requires logging in.
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Is it any good?
PUZZLE PLANETS is a game from National Geographic about forming planets: first the tectonic plates are put together; then mountains, rifts, and volcanoes are formed; and finally the continents are seeded with life. Each of the 15 planets plays out in these three phases, with the player spinning the planet to match up tectonic plates, pinching and spreading areas to create continents, and then spinning again to create life. The planet's profile screen will show an imaginary creature in one of three evolutionary stages depending on how quickly the planet was successfully completed.
The gameplay is sort of fun but repetitive; after a few planets the only value in playing again is to improve times to see all three stages of all the creatures. However, with only 15 planets the entire game can be played in about an hour or so. Also, although the game does follow the stages of geological planet formation, there is very little science other than that basic idea.
App details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Price: $0.99
- Release date: March 18, 2011
- Category: Puzzle Games
- Publisher: National Geographic Society
- Version: 1.0
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 3.2 or later
For kids who love puzzles and outer space
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