Quirky App Of The Day: Sheep Launcher
by Kathryn Zane
May 23, 2011
What do you do with an adorable sheep? Why launch it into space of course! With his goggles and pilot cap, he's ready for the strenuous journey up into the great blue. To be honest, this is just a cute game. None of the blood that I'm famous for liking. Nothing disturbing or gross. Well, especially after yesterday's review. It's just a cute sheep that you happen to launch into space. While he falls, you tap on him to gently bounce him back up into the sky. He falls quickly though. I was surprised at how fast he fell.
The point of the game is to tap him up as far into space as you can. You collect stars as you go, and there are extras like pillows to bounce you back up or jet rockets for a large boost to help you along the way. The higher you go, the better rank and score you get. While he falls, there's fun classical music in the background. There are rank titles like village idiot, weak sauce, and trapeze artist.While there is a little bit of my sadistic nature that makes me want to tap the launch button just to let him fall and assert my superiority, there's also something satisfying in the cartoonish "boing" sounds that play as I tap to save his fleecy life.
This review and it's quirkiness is more geared for the mommies out there that have kiddos at home. While I'm sure that this disappoints some of the guys out there, I can't pass up the chance to make their lives just a tad bit easier. I'm a tech-y mom. When my kids are having a rough time in the grocery store, I give them my phone to play with. They're happy, I'm happy, and the customers around me are happy. We all win.
Saturday, I got to give this app the ultimate test in whether or not it's quirky entertainment that's fit for kids. While I was at a bridal shower for a friend, I was seated at a table that had one mom against two toddlers. For anyone not in "the know." This is not merely being outnumbered two-to-one. This is more of being outnumbered four-to-one. Especially when there's expensive glassware, messy food, and delicate floral arrangements everywhere.
My kids were at home, so I lent a hand. When it came down to opening presents, a riot almost broke out. Trying to inform a four and two year old that they are not allowed to open presents is traumatic for everyone. Before the protesting could get really out of hand, I pulled out my phone and decided now was as good a time as any to test out how effective this app was. The kids had fun. No more pleading, begging, or whining. They watched quietly while the poor sheep was launched further and further into the stratosphere. It got us through to the end of the bridal shower without further interruption.
Best of all, the game is free. So if you want to give it try for yourself or for kids you want to keep quiet, Sheep Launcher is available at the iTunes store.
