I’ve never hid my love for Night & Day Studios on this site, as their first venture into the iPhone app world, Peekaboo Barn was the first app I ever downloaded for my son to play on my phone. They have continued to impress and up the bar in my opinion on apps for children in terms of the illustrations and music that they use. In no way a shock, I think they’ve stepped up again with their latest: Ed Emberley’s Shake & Make”>Ed Emberley’s Shake & Make.
Their own description of the app tells you the basics of what you need to know: “Shake it to break it. Then make it! A puzzle game app for kids age 8 to 108.” Basically you’re given an illustration from Ed Emberley, and after looking at the picture for a moment, give your phone a shake and the illustration burst into multiple pieces to be reassembled, within a time limit, all while having cool, retro music from the 70s play in the background.
Some of the things I like about this app are that they are somewhat challenging, even for me on the time limit. You don’t just start off with all the puzzles available, you have to earn new puzzles and unlock them as you go. The look and feel of the illustrations are perfect for this type of app, and the 70s music fits in great with the feel and makes this a really unique app that parents and kids a like can play and both enjoy. On top of that, I enjoy the fact that you can turn off the timer to allow younger kids more time to figure out the puzzle, and that it also comes with a hint button to help them move along.
Shake & Make features:
– Over 100 puzzles
– Solve puzzles in 60 seconds, earn a higher score the faster you solve
– Unlock higher levels with more complex images
– Try Twirly mode for extra silliness!
– Cool, retro music from the 70s
– For younger kids: turn off the timer to allow more time to figure out the puzzle, or try solving the puzzle by tilting and rotating the phone and watch each piece snap into place.
THE COMMENTARY
I will admit that I was unfamiliar with who Ed Emberley was prior to looking him up after playing around with this app. I will also admit that I am now a fan of Ed Emberley and plan on purchasing one or two of his drawing books, along with printing out some print out from his site for my son. As someone who very much enjoys art and wants his kids to enjoy it as well, I have found a new outlet for them through Ed Emberley and Night & Day Studios. I think the illustrations are a perfect fit for this type of game, and honestly can’t see another style fitting as well as Mr Emberley’s does. I can also see my kids wanting to try and duplicate some of the illustrations right out of the app, and can see them wanting to draw their own characters after playing this for a while.
I caught myself playing the game for over 30 minutes last night before realizing it, and although I had issues at times getting the first piece to land in the right spot, I simply found that as an extra challenge, where some might eventually get annoyed with that fact, but if they do, they’re taking it too seriously anyway. This app is more for older kids, and 8 is probably a good age to start at, but this is easily a game any adult could sit down and play if they had 5 minutes, or a game where you could challenge your kid to see who can get a faster time. I was unsure about it at first, but have been pleasantly surprised and have enjoyed the app very much so far, this is an absolute easy one to recommend.
 ED EMBERLEY’S SHAKE & MAKEby Night & Day Studios, Inc.  $1.99 |
I give it a 4.5 out of 5
**Disclaimer** I did receive a free trial of this app from Night & Day Studios, but this in no way swayed or affected the review of the app itself. I have truly been impressed and enjoyed it. And as always, don’t worry, because if there is something I don’t like, I’ll tell ya.