Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins App Review
App Info
Price: $4.99
Overview
Based on a 2013 Swedish animated film and book of the same name, Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins is a story of a boy who with the help of an imaginary friend is able to have a dog of his own. The building of the treehouse helps Alfie achieve the goal of becoming a dog owner.
Features include:
- Mini games
- Four languages
- Child-safe play environment
Quality
Hocus Pocus has been designed with young children in mind. The target audience of 3-9 year olds will find the interface intuitive. Some kids may need adult supervision to get started. Alfie’s imaginary friend, Malcolm, is there to help when needed.
All of the design elements come together nicely making for a pleasant play experience. Background music can be muted in the Settings menu.
Four languages are available to choose from, the English one having a British accent.
Education
This app is intended to entertain its young users, but there are educational opportunities to be gained by children as they play. Children will need to listen and follow verbal directions, use their critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Entertainment
Hocus Pocus is a highly interactive game, children earn boards needed in the building of the treehouse, items for decorating completed treehouse levels and they must search for other necessary items in accomplishing the final goal of building the treehouse to a specific level in order to unlock a special surprise. Children will accomplish these things by playing numerous mini games. Mini games include activities such as helping Dad cook, a sing-along, dancing, washing dishes, a treasure hunt, vacuuming, protecting treasure by shooting water balloons at pirate ships and participating in a pirate’s duel which is much like the game of rock, paper, scissors that we grew up playing.
Children can continue to decorate and build additional levels even after the final goal is reached. An option to reset the game is located in the Settings menu.
A movie trailer is available from the main screen for those wishing to watch. It provides users with a glimpse of the story behind the app.
Value
A lite version of this app is available as a free download from the App store which considering the price you may want to consider doing that before purchasing the full version. This app is a bit high when compared to other games available for this age group; however, it is universal and loaded with enough content to keep your child busy for a good amount of time.
Multiple user profiles may be nice for families who have more than one child wishing to play.
Child Friendliness
With the exception of a ratings popup, Hocus Pocus is a child-safe environment where your child can focus on helping Alfie build his treehouse. Ideally, the ratings popup would be removed. The Settings, Info and Movie Trailer buttons on the main screen are not protected, the worst that could happen if a child accesses them is they could possibly reset the game or change the language. Combining all of the buttons into a protected menu for parents would eliminate that risk.
