Bastion
LQ: 9.15
Recommended Age: 10+
Skills Used: Planning, Working Memory, Mathematics, Reading
Toy Story Drop is a match-3 style game with Toy Story twists. There is typical match-3 game play, where the player collects a certain number of pieces in a specific number of moves. Toy Story Drop also requires the player to always collect as many batteries as possible in every level in order to unlock story levels. “Story Levels” have cut scenes with the beloved Toy Story characters, as well as a storyline that carries through multiple levels. In stage one, for example, the storyline is all of the toys picking up Andy’s room before he comes home.
The player also has the opportunity to collect the toys and their playsets. When they have completed an entire playset, they unlock special adventure levels with a storyline for that specific character. Woody’s storyline, for example, requires the player to “go against” Dr. Porkchop and rescue people from a runaway train.
This game is free to download but does have in-app purchases. The ESRB rated this game E for Everyone. LW4K agrees that the content is safe for all ages, but due to the need to meet level goals, while also collecting batteries, recommends this game for ages 6 and up.
Toy Story Drop helps kids practice and improve the following skills:
Getting started and then maintaining attention and effort to tasks.
Toy Story Drop provides multiple opportunities for the player to practice shifting attention between tasks. First, most levels have multiple goals that the player has to meet. There are one or more types of pieces that must be collected, which requires the player to split their focus. They must also split their focus between pieces they are collecting and the number of moves they have left. On top of all that, regardless of what other goals exist, the player always needs to be collecting as many batteries as possible to unlock the story levels along the way. If the player can't split and maintain his or her focus on all of these aspects, they will fail to meet the goals and lose a life. If they lose five lives, they will have to wait for their hearts to refill before they can play another level.
Recalling and retaining information in our minds while working.
Because of all the ways the player must split his or her attention, Toy Story Drop also provides a great opportunity to practice improving forgetfulness. With two or three or even more goals to keep in mind, if the player isn't actively working to remember all of them, he or she will soon forget one. And if you don't remember all the goals, you won't complete all the goals, and you'll fail the level or fail to collect enough batteries. If the player fails the level, they lose a heart and, after they have lost enough hearts, they will have to stop playing the game until they regenerate. If they fail to collect enough batteries, they will not be able to unlock the story level and will be unable to move forward with the game. Instead, they will have to go back to earlier levels and replay them until they have collected enough batteries and can once more move forward.
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