App of the Week - Dummy Defense

By Sarah Combs

Save Melvin! Melvin needs your help to protect him from boulders, flying office supplies, and all kinds of other dangers. There’s no end to the crazy situations that Melvin finds himself in and you’ll be more than happy to build structures around him to save him from these precarious positions.

Dummy Defense is a puzzle-based engineering game that tasks you with protecting Melvin the Dummy (not as in intelligence level, but as in a fake human form) from bombs, hammers, and boulders.

The player has to build protective structures around this friendly dummy, using an easy touch-and-drag interaction. The really tricky part is that you only have so much money to spend on your building, so you have to construct your protective walls wisely. This makes Dummy Defense a deceptively difficult game. Beware of the upper levels – many players have commented on how difficult the game becomes (but not in a frustrating way!).

The graphics are stellar and the physics engine is even better. The boulders tumble, your walls fall, all as if the game is closely following the real laws of physics. This clearly lovingly crafted aspect of the game is what won us over.

The app has a great range of difficulty, so everyone can play. Toddlers may be too young to fully enjoy the game, but everyone from five years old and up should be able to find some entertainment in Dummy Defense.

You can even claim that there’s some level of educational value, since there’s a little physics involved (more so than Angry Birds at the very least). There’s definitely a bit of thinking involved when you’re building walls and that has to count for something, right?

We got attached to Melvin – he’s a lovable little yellow dude! You’ll want to protect him from all the dangerous situations he finds himself in. And parents, no need to worry! There isn’t any violent content in the game. Melvin is just knocked down when the structure isn’t built correctly. This is definitely one of our favorite puzzle games!

Dummy Defense is recommended for kids (ages 5 and up), tweens, teens, and parents for challenging puzzle fun. Find screenshots, reviews, and family-friendly ratings for Dummy Defense and more of the best Android apps at Famigo.com.

Developer: Andrew Garrison

Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (iOS 3.0 or later) and Android devices 2.1 and up.

App Category: Brain & Puzzle

Price: $0.99

Famigo Family Rating: 5 out of 5 stars