Dragons' Den Review

Dragons' Den might not sound immediately familiar to US readers, hopefully Shark Tank will (assuming Wikipedia hasn't let me down). It's a reality TV show in which entrepreneurs pitch various business ideas to experts in the hope of securing finance from them and eventually great success. In the UK at least, someone's had the foresight to create an iOS game based around the concept.

In the game you take part in three rounds of decision making. You're given a fairly cryptic clue as to what the product is and it's down to you to decide whether it's a good idea or not. You can choose to only invest a partial sum into the product or you can go for broke and invest the entire amount, hoping it pays off in massive dividends. The clues are an interesting bunch. There are 100 pitches in all, comprising of some huge successes and some similarly huge flops. While some clues might appear obvious, others do require a certain amount of guesswork. While guesswork is never ideal in any game, it's not too obtrusive and figuring out each pitch is quite fun.

The problem lies in the length of each game. At only three rounds long, it only takes a matter of minutes to complete a game. You can play more games of course but it makes you wish for a longer version, just so you don't keep feeling like you're going round in circles. There's a pass and play mode too so that you can play with other people which is quite fun. But again it feels short.

Dragons' Den is an enjoyable game but I just wish that it felt less frivolous and brief. The 100 pitches will last you a fair while and it's interesting and informative in its approach. But it would really benefit from an extra game mode that's longer and more involving. Still, for the price, it offers enough to keep you interested.

Download Dragons' Den now, currently only available in the UK.