Angry Birds Seasons
What parents need to know
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that the latest free update of Angry Birds Seasons introduces underwater physics to the popular app with 30 new Piglantis-themed levels celebrating summer holidays. The previous seasonal levels, including Halloween, Chinese Moon Festival, Easter, and St. Patrick's Day, are still playable too. For players who did not have Angry Birds Seasons already, it's a $.99 new app purchase. Gameplay is essentially the same (launch birds from a slingshot to collapse structures and destroy the pigs hiding inside), although now players will have to adjust for new factors such as buoyancy. The Mighty Eagle power-up is an in-app purchase that instantly destroys difficult levels. A one-time purchase of $.99 unlocks the power-up forever. The destruction in this app is done in such a silly and cartoony way that it's unlikely to make anyone uncomfortable. Also available are an iPad version of the game, Angry Birds Seasons HD, and an Android version of the game.
What kids can learn
- cultural understanding
Thinking & Reasoning
- solving puzzles
Engagement, Approach, Support
New seasonal themes such as the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival and Halloween give the wildly popular game added flavor. The 260 levels (plus bonus levels) are as addictively challenging as ever.
Kids can't help but learn about physics as they observe how objects interact. They can experiment with strategies to find a solution that yields the most points. Themes teach the symbols and traditions of various cultures.
The controls are easy to master, but the puzzles themselves can be very tricky to figure out. All instructions are shown in pictures, so no reading is required.
What's it about?
Kids drag and tap their finger on the screen to aim and launch birds out of a giant slingshot to collapse structures and destroy the pigs that are hidden on and inside them. Each set of levels has a different theme, like spring or Christmas. By observing how the birds behave in flight, and for some levels, underwater, kids will learn how gravity and momentum affect objects of different consistencies. Players can retry a level as many times as they want without penalty, leaving them free to experiment with different strategies.
Is it any good?
ANGRY BIRDS SEASONS isn't a true sequel to Angry Birds since gameplay is essentially the same except for the new seasonal themes (which include Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, and Valentine's Day). The 260 levels (plus bonus levels) are as challenging as ever and are an excellent value for players looking for an extra dose of Angry Birds fun. However, be warned that the app is saturated with ads for Angry Birds merchandise and other Angry Birds games, along with prompts to sign up for the developer's newsletter and social media feeds.
Families can talk about...
Help kids build structures and knock them over. How can the app's physics principles be applied to these real-life models?
Explore each Seasons theme. If your city has a spring cherry blossom festival, for example, check it out. Why are symbols associated with holidays, like the shamrock with St. Patrick's Day?