Busy Water
© 2016 Edoki Academy
Can you help a goldfish make it to the drain, before he's eaten by a cat? This solid 105-level problem solving game starts easy and gets very hard. The challenge is to unlock each level by creating a path for a surge of water to carry your fish to safety using pipes, ramps and plugs. Many times you have to tilt the tablet to direct the water. Each attempt is scored on a scale of 1 to 3; although we noticed that you nearly always pass in the early levels. Features include the ability to build and save your own levels. There are no hints or coaching, and it's easy to think outside the pipes, using them as ramps, or letting your fish fly through a series of heaters or freezers. The harder levels requires some pretty high levels of problem solving, and because there are no hints, children can get frustrated. Need to know: The looping background music is subtle but gets repetitive (you can turn it off in the settings). We would like the choice of being able to let a child jump to a harder level (the app locks you into a sequence). The tried-and-true format -- and idea of building a path to help a fish-- kept our testers engaged, and the build your own level led to some very innovative projects (one not even involving a fish at all). This app has been adapted for Apple Watch in the form of a trivia game about water. There's an Apple TV version called "Busy Water Aquarium" with a pet fish that must be cared for.
$3.99, iPad, Apple TV, iPhone, Apple Watch
Teaches: logic, problem solving, spatial relations
CTR Rating: 86%