ThinkRolls 2 Review

Developer: AVOKIDDO
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.0
App Reviewed on: iPad 3

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As readers may know, due to recent changes at 148Apps, my time as the editor and writer for the parents’ and children’s section is drawing to a close. I did not think that I had time left to have any more reviews published, yet I felt strongly about letting people know aboutThinkRolls 2: a companion to the original ThinkRolls, which is one of my family's all-time favorite applications.

I must admit, during the last few weeks that I have been putting my affairs in order here at 148Apps, I have not been a very pleasant person to live with, as I try to get as much work done as possible in such a limited period of time. My moments in front of the computer have spilled out from when my son is at school to all times of the day or night when I thought I could get away with it.

Having downloaded ThinkRolls 2, I stayed up later than I should by beginning to make my way through the seven new elements and almost countless levels; yet I must admit that I have not fully solved all of the wonderful physics-based puzzles that make up ThinkRolls 2 - an issue for me as I pride myself on fully testing the apps that I cover, sometimes creating a lag time between first receiving word of an app to a possible review being published. Unfortunately it's a time frame that my last few days at 148Apps does not allow.

As readers may know, ThinkRolls, and now ThinkRolls 2, are brilliant apps that ask users to help a stylized, round, ball-like character through various mazes as they're always falling down towards the bottom of the screen. One will need to work with different objects to allow for the character’s easy access through these landscapes, as one may need to plug up holes that the character can fall into as well as use these tools in other varied ways as the user travels through these puzzling situations.

In my haste to do many things in a short period of time I did not even mention adding a new app,which I know my son will be engaged by,to the iPad with the usual fanfare. Instead, he found ThinkRolls 2 by himself and then began working on these different levels, broken up into different chapters, laden with problem-solving tasks and fabulous issues with spatial awareness.

ThinkRolls and now ThinkRolls 2 have been there for my son when I momentarily could not be, but I feel no guilt as these apps are some of the best uses of screen time available now via iTunes. These apps thoroughly captivate my son as he works on this understanding of applied physics in a way that is cute, fun, and also quite cerebral - an outlet no other toy, game, or really any other experience truly allows.

Including “easy” as well as “difficult” versions of the ThinkRolls and ThinkRolls 2 apps does a wonderful job of suiting the needs of many age groups - from preschool up through adulthood, as my husband has also completed ThinkRolls and will undoubtedly do the same for ThinkRolls 2 as well - high praise as my mate has never made such a time investment in any other app that I have download while working here.

I really admire ThinkRolls 2 as the elements have become even more creative and playful. Here, children will need to work with objects such as an accordion that will need to be compressed or expanded to allow for movement within the mazes. Also included is the chance to fly up high using a fan that may also need to be turned off at times as to not trap the character in inopportune areas. There is even a taste of quantum physics as teleporting wormholes are introduced, as well as the use of water with a floating barrel, an egg, battery, and light bulb that add so very much to this application. New characters that can be seen rolling through these courses are also available to unlock through playing, which my son also appreciates. As one may expect, the visual quality, background music, and other aspects of ThinkRolls 2 are all top-notch in every way, here with a intriguing use of the moon and the darkened sky of nighttime seen within some of these boards that I found oddly quite touching.

After spending a few moments with either ThinkRolls or ThinkRolls2, it's apparent there was an undeniable level of thought that went into both the developing as well as exploration these sometimes challenging and often witty apps.

Do also check out the parents' section for a wonderfully well-written explanation of each chapter of ThinkRolls 2, expertly explaining what one is learning with every new element. I greatly appreciate this area and wish other developers would learn from it. I enjoy reading about these chapters almost as much as I enjoy working on the puzzles being described.

It may be worth noting that, although the original ThinkRolls starts out slowly with very simple mazes to figure out and building from there, ThinkRolls 2 wastes no time and jumps right into having users flex the logical side of their brain - so those with no experience with ThinkRolls may need to spend a little time getting used to the gameplay that fans would hope for from a sequel app such as this.

With the ability to save the game of six different users, ThinkRolls and ThinkRolls 2 are obvious choices for school as well as home settings. Be aware that one can easily change the name of a user from “player 1” or “player 2” as I missed this opportunity within ThinkRolls originally - it's a nice touch that I feel fortunate to have discovered.

I am quite eager to see what new apps AVOKIDDO comes up with next. I have been impressed with their previous apps as well, such as Beck and Boas well as Avokiddo Emotions, I can’t wait to see what they will think up next. They are a developer that I will keep an eye on even when I am no longer going to be associated with 148Apps.