Meow Match
© 2018 Ember Entertainment, Inc.
Apple's "Game of the Day" (September 11, 2018) features cool kittens, which children will find of interest. Because the app was free, we decided to review it... and sure enough -- there is a clear underlying motive. Money. This is a "match three" puzzle game (like Candy Crush) mixed with kitten characters. The levels are carefully engineered to keep your playing, giving you extra treats for turning on game alerts, sharing your social media information, and giving you bursts of success, with addicting intermittent reinforcements and masterful behavioral shaping techniques. Then -- about 16 minutes into the game (on the first play) you start running out of the things you need to take care of your kittens. The only solution is to buy more fish, in bundles of up to $60 per transaction. This is bad behavior in the app store -- children are pulled in with the kittens and 4+ age rating (a label that has nothing to do with the level, but most consumers don't know this). The real price is wasted time. Our evil inventory for this app includes: • The app urges you to turn on push notifications. • Reward are given for your social media access and information. • Lots of fast, easy fun at first, then lots of punishing pain points later on that can be fixed with purchases. • Listed for ages 4+; a label combined with a pet theme. Created by Seattle-based Ember Entertainment.
iPad, iPhone
Teaches: logic, matching
CTR Rating: 82%