Help a little chameleon eat lots of candy in this simple, free-to-play iOS game (iPad version reviewed here). Tilt the iPad to make your lizard move left and right on the bottom of the screen, and tap anywhere to make him extend his tongue high in the air. Do this to nab and munch as many pieces of candy as you can to boost your score.

Many kinds of candy will fly by that you can eat. Special candies give you more coins, while others turn your chameleon red for a short while to allow for some rapid fire eating bonuses. As you gobble up candy, coins will fly out. Catch these coins and spend them at the shop to buy upgrades for your candies, new kinds of chameleons, and other goodies. Complete objectives and raise your level to unlock even more treats, plus a time attack mode.

But all isn’t rainbows and lollipops in Candymeleon’s world. Make sure not to eat the candies with skull icons on them, and watch out for jumping fish that can chomp on your little head. If you eat the wrong candies or get hit, you lose one of your three hearts. Lose them all and it’s Game Over. Also be wary of web spinning spiders that can slow down your tongue, as well as other obstacles. Even though you can use real money to buy coins to give you a boost, as most free-to-play games of this ilk tend to do, you can still have lots of fun with the game without feeling like you have to buy anything extra. It’s addicting in a simplistic sort of way.

Kid Factor:

Violence is very minimal in Candymeleon. If you get hit or eat the skull candy, the chameleon just makes an ugly face and falls on his back when all his hearts are gone. Reading skill is helpful for wading through the menus, but not necessary to enjoy this simple little gem. I just hope your kids don’t pick up on Candymeleon’s eating habits!

Tags: Game Reviews