Buddy’s Magic World

3.4
Where to Buy

Buddy’s Magic World App Review

App Info

Price: Free

Overview

Buddy’s Magic World captures the imagination of young children as they meet and play with the characters from Eggtown. Kids can trigger dialog from characters, play an array of mini-games, and learn about values, friendship, and moral lessons in the stories.

Features include:

  • One free story, multiple stories included with in-app purchase
  • Characters that demonstrate positive values
  • Characters set good examples of kindness and compassion
  • Interactive stories allow users to lead
  • Minigames embedded within stories

Quality

Buddy’s Magic World is a high quality app that works pretty much as expected.  The free trial includes one story, with four more available with in–app purchase, and three more that are listed as “coming soon.” The free story was rather short, so hopefully the other stories are more involved. Stories are told through dialog, some of which happens automatically, and some that is triggered by touching the indicated character. There are mini-games interspersed through the free story, but the controls on the shooting game were a bit difficult to manage and sluggish. The app would also benefit from a protected parent area that outlines its benefits: the lessons it is teaching and the skills that it builds. This would help parents understand the value of the game more fully.

Education

This app (at least the free story that was accessed) does not seem intended to build academic skills or readiness skills.  Its primary focus is character development. The lead characters are presented as moral and upright, if somewhat preachy.  The story explores some issues of friendship and social skills, and helps children understand that their words can hurt others’ feelings, and that a person’s value rests not in physical appearance but in character and inner self.  The mini-games pose some problems that young children will benefit from solving, including coordinating a shooting game and finding the characters or items that need to be touched to activate the next part of the story. One unique feature is that the app accesses the device’s microphone and encourages children to say given phrases to move the story along.

Entertainment

While adults might find the free story in Buddy’s Magic World to be tame and perhaps even a bit boring, young children are likely to be entertained.  The free version of the app includes one story, but it does not seem like it would have much replay value.  It is relatively predictable and just a bit on the preachy side.

Value

Though this app is free to try, it’s far less of a value than other free apps on the market.  The single story is somewhat short, and does not seem like it would have much replay value.  There are currently four more stories available, with three more listed as “coming soon,” but the cost of this in-app purchase is a whopping $29.99.  It might be better if developers could offer an option to purchase single stories as well, and the price currently is very, very high. There are plenty of free and low-cost apps in the App Store that feature interactive stories for a much smaller investment.

 

Child Friendliness

While most of this app is fairly child-friendly, it has one feature that is of major concern. The in-app purchase is far too accessible for young users. I was quite surprised when I accidentally nearly made the $29.99 purchase! I tapped the next story icon after completing the story, and was prompted to enter my App Store password to complete the purchase.  Parents who choose to use this app should definitely make sure their kids do NOT have access to their password, or that their password cannot be activated automatically in any way.

  • NO external links
  • NO social media
  • NO 3rd party ads
  • YES in-app purchase 
Buddy’s Magic World
Buddy's Magic World
Buddy’s Magic World is a set of interactive stories designed for the very young. A magical dragon leads the way through worlds of wonder. The first story is free and teaches a variety of positive moral concepts. Additional stories are available through an in-app purchase.
Quality
Education
Entertainment
Value
Child Friendly
3.4
Where to Buy