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Category: Games
Developer: Ian Marsh
Requirements: iPhone 2.0 software
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch
File Size: 0.6MB
Version Reviewed: 1.5.1
Price: $0.99 (down from $1.99)

If you had a choice between ice cream and vegetables, most people would pick the ice cream for all of its sugary goodness. Well, that is exactly what you are required to do in Scoops. You start off with an empty waffle cone. Ice cream and vegetables start falling from the sky, and you need to catch the ice cream in the cone by tilting your device left and right to move the cone accordingly. Ice cream good, vegetables bad. You start with three stars, and if you are unlucky enough to catch a vegetable, it takes a star away. When you are down to zero, the game is over.

There really is not a whole lot of game here. The graphics are good, but they should be since there is not a lot of CPU/GPU intense rendering going on with falling ice cream. The use of the accelerometer is kind of a neat twist, as I could see the developer going the way of the touch screen for the controls. I am not smart enough to be able to figure which APIs are easier to work with from a code standpoint, but I like the accelerometer type of controls for this game. Kudos to Ian for that. There is even a warning that pops up if you try to control the cone with your finger, telling you to tilt the device.

I was not able to find any explanation of the scoring in the game, nor on the developer’s website, so I contacted Ian directly. He explained, “Each scoop is worth 50 points times your current multiplier. The star scoop is worth 100 points times your current multiplier if you already have three lives. Every time you catch a scoop, your multiplier goes up one. If you have similar scoops, it goes up two. Every time you miss a scoop, your multiplier goes down one and you loose 10 points times your current multiplier.”

Overall, this game is very functional and designed well. It is not complicated or hard to learn or play. My 2-1/2 year old yells at me when I make him stop playing, so I would have to say it can keep toddlers occupied for quite some time. This is definitely a game for children, and is a successful one at that. So, there you have it. Good game, good design, good execution. Scoops is aimed towards younger children and has decent replayability for that age group. Not a good buy at $1.99, but a better value at $0.99.