Sprinkle

LQ: 8.3

?

Brain grade: 8.6
Fun score: 8.0

Sprinkle - Educational Game Review image 1
Game Type: , ESRB Rating: N/A Platform/Console: , , LWK Recommended Age: 5+ Thinking Skills Used: , Academic Skills Used:

 iTunes / Google Play

Sprinkle is mobile game where players must put out brush fires with a water cannon mounted on a crane. In design and functionality it resembles Angry Birds, in that players must be extremely wary of adjusting the angles and trajectory of their water streams. Since there is only a limited supply of water, players need to be careful and use just enough water to put out the fire and move on to the next. Players can receive up to 5 “drops” each level, which is dependent on the amount of water they use. The less water that is used to put out all the fires, the more “drops” players will receive. Players can explore the physics of water, and must put critical thinking skills to the test, as putting out fires often requires a multi-step process, and players often have to use the water to move object and manipulate the environment to their benefit. Levels get more and more difficult as players progress through a variety of worlds and levels, but the touch-based controls make the game easy to learn and play. Sprinkle features no violence and is recommended to children ages 5 and older.

 


this game is good for kids who need help with:

Planning

Developing a systematic approach for setting and achieving goals.

It's nearly impossible to succeed in Sprinkle without conceiving a strategy before starting to put out the fires. While players might be able to get away with it on the first few levels, theses stages are merely just a warm-up for the more intricate play that is to follow. When players begin to encounter boulders, concealed fires, and buttons to build bridges, they can no longer be so gratuitous with the amount of water they spray. Especially for easy-to-reach fires, players, should use a little water as possible. After taking care of the more accessible and immediate fires, players should use what is available on the map to create space and block crevices so that the water can easily access the fires that were once blocked by movable objects. It's often useful for players to think of Sprinkle as a series of steps. These steps should be nearly solidified before they begin fighting the fires. There is more than one way to beat each level, but each method requires a specific strategy. Often times, hasty players will rid the screen of objects that that need to put out fires, and ultimately wind up having to replay the level. Players should note that every object typically has a purpose. It is up to the player to fashion a plan the utilizes the object to access a hard to reach fire.

Flexibility

Adapting and adjusting to changing conditions and expectations, especially adapting to obstacles.

Because players are able to repeat levels, they have an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and make quick adjustments to their style of play. Especially since there are often alternate ways of putting out all the fires, players need to adapt to a new strategy if they knocked a boulder off stage that they had set out to use. In the event that a particular boulder or blockade is necessary to keep on stage, players can always restart the level, using a mistake to make learn how to succeed. Each new level presents new brushfires in maps that become increasingly difficult. Players must demonstrate the ability to meet these new challenges, and in turn, will acquire new sets of flexible thinking skills. Sometimes the solution is not immediately apparent. In stage 12 of level one, players encounter a balance. It takes a few rounds of trial and error to really get a sense of how to work the machine in their favor. Players must be willing to take risks, take the time to try new things, and learn from their mistakes if they want to beat the more difficult levels in Sprinkle.

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