Bastion
LQ: 9.15
Recommended Age: 10+
Skills Used: Planning, Working Memory, Mathematics, Reading
In Digby Forever, the player controls a block-headed little creature with a drill. The goal is to dig down as far as the player can dig without hitting (or being hit by) an obstacle. Along the way, there are bombs, creatures, falling debris, and gems. The bombs, creatures, and falling debris are all to be avoided. The player will, however, want to collect the gems. Gems can be turned in for coins, which buy a variety of things.
There are also several different types of ground. Some of it can be dug through easily (such as dirt) and some cannot be dug through at all. There are also types of dirt that can be dug through at slower rates of speed. Finally, there are types of “dirt” that cannot even be touched, such as lava. Digby can dig in any direction, including up.
The game provides different skins (such as Easter and Ice), which change the environment, and different diggers (such as Digette or Pyro). There are ability cards which improve Digby’s stats (such as drill speed) or protect him (like the one that gives him an extra life). These ability cards last for a specific amount of time or until they are used. There are also a variety of stats that the game keeps track of (such as what enemies killed the player), achievements that can be earned, and missions to complete for coins.
Digby Forever contains ads and in-app purchases. The ESRB rated it E for Everyone and LW4K stands by that rating.
Digby Forever helps kids practice and improve the following skills:
Getting started and then maintaining attention and effort to tasks.
Because there are so many obstacles in this game--and their frequency increases the deeper Digby gets--the player must practice their focus skills. If they aren't ignoring internal and external distractions to keep their attention on the game, they could drill right into a bomb or lava--or completely miss a pocket of gems. The player also needs to make sure they are splitting their focus between drilling, avoiding obstacles, and gathering coins. If they don't use these focus skills, they won't complete missions or earn gems to buy things. They also will use up their ability cards quicker than necessary, which will make drilling harder the next time they start a round.
Understanding our own actions, thoughts and feelings.
This game has a lot of moving parts. This can easily cause a player to start reacting without thinking. When this happens, his or her emotions will start to run high and, most likely, more mistakes will happen. This can cause anger and frustration to build, especially if the player isn't able to get far enough in a round to beat missions or earn a lot of gems. When this happens, the player is given a great chance to practice self-control skills. If they don't manage their anger and frustration, and possibly even excitement over the fast pace of the game, their playing will get worse and worse. This will prevent them from advancing through achievements, missions, and goals on the leader board. On the other hand, if they think about Digby's "future" as he digs and work on coping with the changes and emotions, then they will earn gems and be able to buy the upgrades they want.
All membership plans come with full access to our entire suite of tools learning guides, and resources. Here are a few of the ones we think you’ll like the most: