Crashmo

Common Sense Media says

Fun, cheap puzzle game promotes logic and puzzle creation.

Age(i)

2
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5
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12
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17

Quality(i)

 

Learning(i)

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Crashmo gallery

What parents need to know

Positive messages

This game encourages kids to use logic as they noodle out solutions to various block-pushing conundrums. It also provides an outlet for creative expression in its puzzle-building modes.

Positive role models

Players control a strange sumo wrestling animal whose goal is to retrieve birds sitting atop towers of blocks. He doesn't talk, but his efforts are intended to help his friends.

Ease of play

A lengthy series of tutorials plus additional training levels explain how the game works and provide tips for different strategies. Plus, players can ask for hints when they get stuck during the first 20 levels. That said, some of the puzzles are still really tough and could leave players stumped for long stretches. Happily, you can always skip them and move on to the next, then come back to retry the trickier ones at your leisure.

Violence & scariness
Not applicable
Language
Not applicable
Consumerism
Not applicable
Privacy & safety

Minor privacy concerns. Players can create QR codes for puzzles they make and share these codes with their friends (they can't share with strangers).

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Crashmo is a puzzle game only available for download through the 3DS eShop store for Nintendo 3DS. It presents players with scores of challenging three-dimensional block puzzles that will put their reasoning skills to the test. It's completely free of iffy content. The only thing parents may need to keep an eye on are the puzzles that players can create and swap with one another. Kids can only share with their friends, so there's no worry of inappropriate online interactions, but mischievous players could decide to turn their blocky creations into suggestive art.

What kids can learn

Subjects

Math

  • shapes

Science

  • engineering
  • physics

Arts

  • sculpture

Skills

Thinking & Reasoning

  • deduction
  • logic
  • solving puzzles

Creativity

  • making new creations
  • imagination

Tech Skills

  • digital creation

Engagement, Approach, Support

Engagement

The three-dimensional conundrums are inviting, even when their often tricky solutions don't immediately present themselves. Puzzle-loving kids will be enchanted. 

Learning Approach

Kids will learn through reasoning, deduction, and experimentation. And by crafting their own puzzles, they'll put their understanding of the game's mechanics to an even greater test. 

Support

A lengthy series of tutorials plus additional training levels explain how the game works. Also, the studio mode allows players to create and share their own puzzles. 

What kids can learn

Subjects

Math

  • shapes

Science

  • engineering
  • physics

Arts

  • sculpture

Skills

Thinking & Reasoning

  • deduction
  • logic
  • solving puzzles

Creativity

  • making new creations
  • imagination

Tech Skills

  • digital creation

Kids can learn about puzzle solving, spatial reasoning, and game design in this challenging and creative collection of conundrums. Tower puzzles require players to use both logic and imagination as they consider which way to pull, push, and slide blocks to make them fall into climbable staircases. Then kids can try their hand at creating their own puzzles, where they'll learn how to think like a game designer who has to consider how players react to the puzzles they create. They may even make art out of their puzzle designs.   

This Learning Rating review was written by Chad Sapieha

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What's it about?

A sequel to Pushmo -- one of the best downloadable games available for Nintendo 3DS -- CRASHMO returns players to a park filled with blocky towers in need of manipulation. This time out our hero -- a pudgy red cat named Mallo dressed in sumo wrestling garb -- has accidentally scared away a bunch of birds with one of his big stomps. The feathery creatures have nested atop jumbles of blocks, and the only way to get them down is to rearrange these piles so that Mallo can ascend to their peaks. Kids push, pull, and slide individual pieces paying careful attention to where those above will fall in hopes of creating serpentine paths that lead up around, and through the fallen blocks. Outside Mallo's quest, players can explore a studio mode that allows them to create their own puzzles, then share them with other players via automatically generated QR codes.

Is it any good?

QUALITY
 

Puzzle fans will have a blast with this cleverly conceived sequel. The puzzles feel much the same as those found in Pushmo, save a few important changes. The most important is that the puzzle arena is now a little bigger and players can move the camera all the way around the tower. That means players have to think about the tower in three dimensions, exploring paths that lead up not just its front but also its sides and back. It makes things a bit trickier, but you can always just skip ahead and move on to the next should you run into something you just can't crack.

Factor in the return of the studio mode -- which can be used not only to create new puzzles to share with friends but also to make simple, block-based art -- and you have a wonderful and affordable little eShop game that offers a good deal more entertainment than many full-priced boxed games in stores.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about puzzles. What sorts of puzzles do you solve outside of games? How do you use logic to figure out solutions to the problems you face every day? Could these problems be translated into a game?

  • Families can also discuss being creative and making things. When you create something it's often meant simply to be viewed and admired. Puzzles and games, on the other hand, are things that other people end up interacting with. How does that change your approach to creation?

Game details

Platforms:Nintendo 3DS
Price:$5.00
Available online?Not available online
Developer:Nintendo
Release date:November 25, 2012
Genre:Puzzle
ESRB rating:E for (No Descriptors) (Nintendo 3DS)

This review of Crashmo was written by

Chad Sapieha

About our rating system

  • ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
  • OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids of any age.

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Quality

Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging, great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging, good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging, okay learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

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