The GameChanger is an accessory that turns the iPad into an interactive board game. Since I have a really big weakness for iPad accessories, I was excited to try it out.
The technical specs are simple:
– Compatible with the original iPad and iPad 2
– The app is free to download
– It’s so easy to set up that my 6 year old son did it
In the box is the GameChanger accessory, four player pieces, and two game boards: The Magic School Bus, Animal Mania.
We plugged my iPad into the GameChanger and my iPad recognized it immediately. I downloaded the app from iTunes and once it was installed we dove right in. The first few screens walk you through a little instruction on board placement and how to play.
The main screen gives you your game choices: Action Games, The Magic School Bus and Animal Mania. We decided to go with The Magic School Bus. The Magic School Bus has 3 different variations of play: Space Science, Earth Science or Human Body and Anatomy. We chose to try out the Earth Science.
The game opens and the iPad suddenly became part of the board. The first thing you do is choose your character and where around the board you are sitting. It recognized when we landed on the right spot and if you landed wrong, the iPad would politely remind you to try again.
On certain spots it gives you a science question. If you answer the question correctly you get another turn. The questions felt like they got a little harder the longer we played. Total game time took about 20 minutes and we all had a blast.
I discovered by accident that you don’t need the GameChanger to play The Magic School bus. If your child just wants to answer some science questions, the app will run without the added accessory. You can also download other games from within the main screen that don’t require the board pieces. These apps are free and pretty simple to understand. To be honest, my husband and my son found the additional games Kaboom and Duck Duck Goose rather boring. After about 5 minutes I heard them playing Zelda on the Wii.
Overall it was a nice and simple way to spend some family time. Unlike some board games that take forever, the GameChanger games were quick and to the point. My son has a short attention span and this captured it and retained it very well.
From an adult’s perspective, the game had its moments of “uhh??” It really brings back the days of elementary science and I didn’t realize just how much of that I had forgotten. I found that my son had an easy time with some questions and others even I didn’t know the answer. My only complaint is that the boards do not attach to the GameChanger to keep them in place. A small piece of Velcro on each corner would fix that.
Since some of the questions are pretty tough, I would recommend this game for children in grades 1st thru 6th. To locate your local reseller, visit GameChanger.
“In exchange for my time and efforts in reviewing this product, Identity Games has provided me with a free sample copy. Even though I receive this benefit, I always give an opinion that is 100% mine.”
Very nice 🙂