Parents' Guide to SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off

Players try to cook food, top it with the requested items, and serve the dish to customers as they run a restaurant in this challenge-oriented app. In Spongebob: Krusty Cook-Off, gamers will come into contact with familiar characters as they advance. The difficulty level gets progressively harder in each round at a demanding, yet doable pace, which keeps playing exciting. Gamers may, for example, be asked to top pancakes with jam, and then in a later round, also add blueberries or strawberries to some orders. There's a wait for food to finish cooking, so their time management skills get a workout as they try to achieve the goals they've been given, which can range from not wasting food to earning a certain amount of money.

Ads appear a bit too often between rounds, and some are long. Players also get a number of gentle pushes to buy things, which feels unnecessary. Because items require both coins and gems, you likely won't be able to afford some things without purchasing more in-app currency with real-world money. You can often eventually earn enough through playing to buy some of the more beneficial items, such as a high-performance coffee machine that will help you serve people faster. But when you do, there can be a wait to receive it. Unless you opt to watch an ad or pay more in-app currency, you may not receive a new item for a half-hour, for instance. The ad and other time delays slow down the overall experience, which can be a bummer if you're playing and in the groove. Aside from that, though, players should enjoy trying to meet the goals they're given in each round of Spongebob: Krusty Cook-Off as they try their hand at running a number of restaurants.