Now you can play simple mini-games starring your favorite Cartoon Network stars all in one place with Cartoon Network Arcade.  It’s available free to download on iOS and Android, but reviewed on iPad here.  You can select games to play in a hub, as well as earn virtual mini-figurines.  But you have to set up an account to do that last part so I didn’t mess with it.  In each game you can earn coins to buy new characters and power-ups, and view ads to continue your progress.  Let’s take a look at the games you can play.  They may add more or take away some later, but AS OF THIS WRITING, here’s what they’ve got.

Steven Universe: Shattered Dreams

It’s just a continuous runner.  Steven is in a cave being chased by a giant round gem.  Tap the screen to jump and double jump and avoid obstacles.  Get hit once and it’s Game Over.

Go Go K.O.!

K.O. is running down a two lane road and you must tap the screen to make him change lanes and avoid robots.  But watch out because sometimes the robots can fake you out and switch lanes, too!  Get hit once and it’s Game Over.  I tried to watch this cartoon a few times when I was reviewing another game about it.  It was all right, but I couldn’t get into it.  I did like the voice work, though!

Adventure Time: Rainicorn’s Flying Colors

This is probably the most creative and complicated game on here.  Cards are arranged in a playfield and have different colors and Adventure Time characters on each one.  You must line up three of the same color or character to clear them out with what you have in your hand.  And when you clear out the cards on all the marked tiles, you move onto the next round.

Apple & Onion: Bottle Catch

I tried to watch this cartoon once, but couldn’t make it all the way through, it was so bad.  I only watched it because I was changing channels and saw this and was like, ‘what the heck?’  Anyway, you throw a bottle to the other character and must time your taps so you catch it before it falls.  Sometimes your character will throw the bottle high in the air and you might collect some coins.  Not much fun.

We Bare Bears: Stack Tracks

While I don’t watch it regularly, I kind of like the We Bare Bears cartoon, from what I’ve seen of it anyway.  In this one, the bears are stacked on each other and walking down a path.  You must rotate squares on the path to keep the bears going.  It kind of reminds me of Pipe Dream.  If they run out of path, one bear falls off the stack and you keep going.  When all three tumble, it’s Game Over.  I like Pipe Dream, so I enjoyed this one, too.

The PowerPuff Girls: Rainbow Wreckers

Ugh, this one is based on the new PowerPuff Girls cartoon.  I tried to give it a chance and enjoy it, but ultimately it was just bad.  Especially when they decided they needed to add another PowerPuff Girl to the mix.  In this one, you tap the screen to rotate the three PowerPuff Girls.  Make sure the right one is up when you need to punch a certain color of the rainbow (blue for Bubbles, green for Buttercup, and pink for Blossom).  If you have the wrong color you get hit and it’s Game Over.  You can get a power up where newcomer Bliss crashes through all the rainbows on screen.  And that’s it.

Teen Titans Goal

A member of the Teen Titans walks on a path kicking a soccer ball.  You must tap the screen for them to kick it and keep it in play.  Sometimes a troll will block your shot.  It kind of reminds me of a music rhythm game, but it’s not very fun.  I’m not a big fan of either of the Teen Titans cartoons, either.

Craig of the Creek: Camp Cardboard

I couldn’t tell you anything about this game because every time I tried to start it up, it would freeze on me.  That happened a few times in other games, too, but it was every time for this one.  I’ve heard from a few people that the Craig of the Creek cartoon is actually pretty decent, but I’ve never seen it myself.

Ben 10: Brains vs. Bugs

In this one you play as a little alien who has to climb up ladders and jump over pits.  Kind of like a bad version of Donkey Kong.  Tap the screen to jump, but if you fall it’s Game Over.  It seems hard to tell how far you jump, as I missed a lot.

Gumball: Stellar Odyssey

I don’t really like the Gumball cartoon much, but I think it’s because I’m not the target audience.  I think if I were in Middle School, I would’ve loved this cartoon.  It had a great Final Fantasy parody, anyway, and I like the mixed medium art style.  Anyway, in this one you play as Gumball or other unlockable characters.  I like how the characters make parodies of Star Wars.  You orbit these little happy planets and when you tap the button, you jump off and you want to land on another planet.  Watch out for black holes and suns that can affect your gravity, and collect coins along the way.  It kind of reminds me of an old Namco game called Star Trigon, and it plays exactly like a mini-game in the Tamagotchi mobile game I reviewed a while back.

Teen Titans Go: Smashy Pinata

Another Teen Titans game.  In this one you are Beast Boy and you turn into a monkey and can wall jump from the left and right sides of the screen with a tap on the mobile device.  You’ll hit a pinata, and it’ll bounce in the air and you must wall jump into it to keep it in play.  If it falls off the screen on the bottom, it’s Game Over.  Simple, but at least it’s better than the other Teen Titans game.

Summer Camp Island: Contagious Cuteness

All you do is tap on an object in the sky, and it’ll explode.  Any other objects that get caught in the explosion will explode, too, so you want to cause a chain reaction.  If you can hit a witch hat three times, it’ll make more objects come out.  So basically this is a game where you tap on the screen once and see what happens.  Not very cute or contagious if you ask me.  And I’ve never even HEARD of a cartoon called Summer Camp Island!

Gumball’s Block Party

I actually kind of like this one.  Reminds me of a reverse Q*bert.  Gumball hops on cubes in the sky, but can only move left or right at an angle, but never down.  Collect coins and watch out for pits and falling cubes.

Victor & Valentino: Monster Kicks

I’ve never heard of this cartoon, must be new.  Two kids run on each side of the screen, and you tap the screen to pass a soccer ball between them.  Monsters made of dirt or meatballs, not sure which, will pop out between them, and you must pass the soccer ball in time to hit them.  Let too many of them by and it’s Game Over.  It’s all right, but I imagine you can just mash the screen repeatedly to get most of the monsters with the ball.  Kind of reminds me of the Atari 2600 game Stampede, just without as much strategy.

And those are all the games.  It’s all right, just simple fun.  Aside from some bugginess, there isn’t really any problems other than some of the games are a bit TOO simple.  And I wish they had a game about Regular Show, or maybe older CN shows like Dexter’s Laboratory.

Kid Factor:

Just silly cartoon violence and that’s it.  If you’re OK with your kids watching the shows on Cartoon Network, they’ll be OK with this game, too.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but not necessary just to play.  Parental supervision is recommended for the in-game purchases and ads.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television