DragonVale - Backflip Studios

This review of DragonVale was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 25 March 2019.

About the app

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

ACCM review

This review of DragonVale 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

Our Reviewer played to level 13

App description

Dragonvale is a SIMS style game that allows players to build and decorate their own dragon park, in order to house dragons for view of the (virtual) public. Construction of buildings, roads and decorations is achieved by selecting the chosen item from the market menu, purchasing and then dropping and dragging into the desired position in the park. Obtaining dragons is achieved by purchasing eggs and waiting for them to hatch. The dragons can then be placed in habitats for public view. Coins are earned by virtual visitors to the park – the more impressive your park, the more coins earned. Red gems can be used to speed up building and hatching processes and to purchase items in the market. The aim of the game is to keep building your park, adding dragons and feeding them to make them bigger in order to earn as many coins as possible.

Reviewers comments

Many parents won’t have much of a problem with the main game itself, however parents should be aware of the following issues:

• You can connect with other players online.
• Although the game keeps going in the background (e.g. continues to ‘develop’ when the game is off), some players may become impatient with the waiting time of some developments - like the hatching of an egg or the building of the habitat – and there is a strong temptation to use real money to purchase more red gems in order to speed up the processes.
• Many features are not accessible unless you purchase more gems. For example, some dragon habitats can be purchased with virtual coins, however the dragon that goes in that habitat can only be bought with gems. Without checking this first, some players may have well spent up to 2 hours waiting for the construction of their habitat only to discover that they can’t even place a dragon in it without spending real money. Processes like these may well encourage in app purchasing.

In App purchasing

There is a lot of in-App purchasing in this game, examples include:

• Pile of Gems $2.99
• Sack of Gems $7.99
• Bag of Gems $14.99
• Pile of Cash $1.49
• Pile of Treats $1.49
• Sack of Treats $2.99
• Sack of Cash $2.99
• Box of Gems $38.99
• Bag of Treats $7.99
• Bag of Cash $7.99

Online information

This game has some online connectivity, such as:

• Players are able to connect with each other through social media.

Gambling

At the 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

• None of concern.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

• None of concern.

Coarse language

• None of concern.

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

• See reviewers comments above.

Other

N/A.

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