Sweetie Pop - Sisu Apps

This review of Sweetie Pop was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 8 July 2015.

About the app

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

ACCM review

This review of Sweetie Pop 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

This review focuses on levels: 1 -10.

App description

Sweetie Pop is a match three puzzle game where players connect images of items across the screen in an effort to match three or more of the same kind, and create cascading combinations of items. The objective is to play through the multiple levels of increasing difficulty, learning new combinations and matching more items where possible. The skills required to play are spatial/visual, lateral thinking, and problem solving.

Reviewers comments

When the app is first opened, players are taken to a home page with a large Play button in the centre of the screen. Upon clicking this, players have the option of choosing either Puzzle or Challenge mode. Within Puzzle Mode, there are 5 different worlds, each of which can be opened and have 100 different levels within them (these are level-locked, and must be completed in a set order). During gameplay, players are required to match 2 or more items of the same type (e.g. a piece of candy, doughnut, etc). Players can match items in a straight line, or can match items that are connected diagonally. They can match as many items as it is possible to connect with a single finger swipe. Players are given a set time limit they have to reach their target goal (e.g. 1000 points). If players do not achieve the target, they must complete the level again in order to progress forward. If they do, they are met with a pop-up congratulatory screen that displays their best score, as well as the number of gold stars they won out of three. The various Worlds have different targets to reach in order to progress through the levels, thus acting as differing levels of difficulty for players to challenge themselves with.

In contrast, the Challenge Mode does not contain a timer or target to reach. Instead, it allows the player to make 50 moves in order to reach their best possible score. In this setting, players must think about how to obtain the most points within the fewest number of moves, in order to obtain the best score.

At the end of levels, players are presented immediately with full-screen video advertisements – these cannot be stopped until they are finished, and often run approximately 30 seconds in length. After a video ad is finished, players will be presented with a full-screen static advertisement for the same app that also contains a download/install link. Apps that are advertised include Juice Jam (match 3 puzzle game), which is advertised repeatedly, Panda Pop (a match puzzle game), Bingo Blitz, etc.

Despite this, the app does not appear to pose any overt risks to children, and it may provide a fun way of practicing spatial/visual skills as well as basic geometric and problem solving skills.

In App purchasing

No in app purchasing at time of the review.

Online information

Non online profile information required at time of the review.

Gambling

No gambling content found during this review.

Advertising and product placement

At the end of levels, players are presented immediately with full-screen video advertisements – these cannot be stopped until they are finished, and often run approximately 30 seconds in length. After a video ad is finished, players will be presented with a full-screen static advertisement for the same app that also contains a download/install link. Apps that are advertised include Juice Jam (match 3 puzzle game also), which is advertised repeatedly, Panda Pop (a match puzzle game), Bingo Blitz, etc.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

N/A.

Coarse language

N/A.

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

No game playing behaviour which may be of concern to parents was found during this review.

Other

N/A.

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