Creature Garden - Tinybop

This review of Creature Garden was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 1 March 2018.

About the app

This section contains details about the app provided by an ACCM Reviewer.

ACCM review

This review of Creature Garden contains the following information:

• The level to which the game was reviewed
• App description
• Reviewers comments
• In App purchasing
• Online information
• Gambling
• Advertising and product placement
• Gender stereotypes and sexual references
• Coarse language
• Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents
• Other

The level to which the game was reviewed

There are an infinite number of combinations possible by selecting different creature parts but the game was played five times, each area was accessed and completed including egg hatching, creature construction, treadmill testing and racing.

App description

Creature Garden encourages players to develop their creativity, planning and fine motor skills as they engage with this game. The variety of different sized and patterned eggs offer the opportunity to discuss what sort of torso animal is hidden within and once hatched, parents can discuss how different legs, tails, wings etc. can make an animal lighter or heavier and faster or slower and what the implications are for these features in the air, on land and in the water. The ability to train the creature on a sea, land or air “treadmill” and see what happens if the creature goes too fast, also provides more opportunity to discuss basic physics concepts such as mechanics, motion, acceleration and mass.

Fine motor skills are required to drag and drop different body parts and children are guided with a “fixing point” that appears on the screen and changes colour when the feature can be fixed at that spot. Fine motor control is also required to swap between body part and landscape tabs and drag and drop landscape features. Younger children may require guidance on the game premise in terms of the need to hatch and build a few creatures before they can each be tested for their abilities and then raced on the track. Players must tap on the golden rabbit sign to enter the race track. During the race, obstacles and enhancements can be placed on or in front of each animal so that players can influence which creature wins.

Reviewers comments

This app may provide opportunities to discuss different body parts, which are structurally comparable to the parts of real animals. Parental co-play can assist players to develop their planning and strategy skills by discussing which parts might make the creature faster or slower and why. 

In App purchasing

None noted.

Online information

Camera

Other: receive data from the internet

Gambling

At time of review, the reviewer found no simulated gambling content. If you discover simulated gambling content in this app, please contact us with the details so we can update our review.

Advertising and product placement

Advertising for other apps by the same developer is visible on a banner on the homepage.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

None of concern.

Coarse language

None.

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

None noted.

Other

N/A.

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