Overview
Thinkrolls is back and this time it is introducing kids to new physics concepts. Like the first version of Thinkrolls, Thinkrolls 2 has kids guide a series of adorable round characters through a series of challenging mazes. This time instead of munching their way through cookies or watching balloons float, they’re experimenting with seven new items including accordions, water and barrels, eggs, fans, wormholes, batteries, and light bulbs. With these new items come even more challenges for kids to work their way through, building a basic knowledge of physics at the same time.
- Multiple levels to unlock
- Easy and Hard modes
- Many characters to chose from
- Seven new physics-based components
- Up to 6 player profiles
Quality
Thinkrolls 2’s quality doesn’t disappoint. Much like the original game, kids enter the app on a main screen. There they can select the player and start playing the game. Parents have the option to add up to 6 players and choose the level of difficulty for each player, so kids 5 and up can play at the hard level, while under 5 are set at easy. At first, only a few characters and levels are unlocked, but once kids play through the different levels, they unlock new characters and even more levels. In the actual game, occasionally the accordions are hard to move from side to side, but it tends to be more due to impatient fingers than an actual lag in the app.
Education
While the app introduces kids to new physics concepts, it doesn’t stand out as much for the science as for the problem-solving and critical thinking kids have to do. Even adults may find themselves puzzled by a few of the challenges. The eggs are particularly challenging because they crack easily, but it just requires kids to think more carefully as they use them. The app does a great job of scaffolding as well, starting kids with an introduction to the different objects and gradually making the tasks more difficult. Once kids get the hang of using a particular object, the app combines it with other objects too, making it even trickier.
Entertainment
What Thinkrolls 2 focuses more on than the original Thinkrolls is patience. Kids will have fun rolling through the mazes, but at times they’ll have to stop and wait for a battery to stop carrying a charge or a wormhole exit to appear in a proper spot. For some kids, having to be patient will be a bit frustrating, but most will be so excited to see their characters disappear into a wormhole and reappear somewhere else that they’ll quickly forget about the wait. Others will have just as much fun not being patient and watching their characters fry as they land on live batteries.
Value
There isn’t a lot out there like Thinkrolls, which makes it worth a download. It isn’t priced extravagantly either, especially considering it’s an app that will entertain kids (and adults) for a long time.
Child Friendliness
Thinkrolls 2 is easy for kids to navigate and encourages them to focus on the game. All parent-related information is contained behind a parental block. Parents should note, however, that accessing most of that information requires internet access.
- Protected parent area (can contain external links & social media)
- NO external links
- NO social media
- NO in-app purchase
- NO 3rd party ads
- YES More Apps (protected, but visible)
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